ConduitvsEllipsis
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
Conduit
lostintangent · Agent harness
Panel
5.22 spec wins
- Reliability
- 5.2
- Usefulness
- 6.3
- Cost
- 5.7
- Longevity
- 3.7
“Its author calls it a DIY-DE, which is what you build when the IDE you wanted has too many opinions and yours are better.”
Ellipsis
Ellipsis AI · Agent harness
MCP
Panel
5.33 spec wins
- Reliability
- 5.3
- Usefulness
- 5.8
- Cost
- 5.5
- Longevity
- 4.3
“Installs into your coding agent with npx skills add, so the reviewer now lives inside the thing it reviews.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | Conduit | Ellipsis |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Category | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Runs | local, cloud | cloud, sandbox |
| Platforms | macos | web, macos, linux |
| Context window | not documented | not documented |
| Protocols | ||
| MCP client | No | Yes |
| MCP server | No | No |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-file edits | YesFiles are changed by the coding agents running in Conduit's terminal panes; Conduit adds its own editor pane on top. | Yes |
| Git operations | Yes | Yes |
| Browser control | YesClicking a URL in a terminal opens a browser pane for navigating, testing and debugging web pages; it is not an agent-driven browser tool. | No |
| Sandboxed execution | No | Yes |
| Multi-agent orchestration | YesSeveral agent sessions run side by side in their own panes and worktrees, and synchronized panes can be steered together. | Yes |
| Headless / CI mode | No | Yes |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | any coding agent you configure | Claude, Claude Code, Codex |
| Bring your own model | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | No | No |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | free | usage |
| Starts at | $0/mo | $0/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Bring your own key | Yes | Yes |
| Openness | ||
| Open source | No | No |
| License | proprietary | proprietary |
| GitHub stars | 232 | n/a |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | Conduit | Ellipsis | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 6.0 | 6.0 | no preference |
| El Crítico | 5.3 | 5.3 | no preference |
| El Profesor | 6.5 | 6.0 | Conduit — Verification is placed beside the agent rather than inside its transcript: an editor pane carries live git status, diffs and staging while the session continues in the next pane. |
| La Inversora | 4.5 | 4.5 | no preference |
| La Jefa | 4.0 | 4.8 | Ellipsis — Zero seat fees means sixty seats cost $0 in seats and an unbudgetable amount in vCPU-hours at $0.142 and GB-hours at $0.024; the spend caps are the only thing I can sign. |
| El Hacker | 5.0 | 5.0 | no preference |
Picks are derived from each critic's own scores. Humans vote on matchups on the duels page.