The short answer
Nimbalyst is an MIT-licensed desktop "visual workspace" for coding agents. It runs Claude Code, Codex and other agent sessions inside one window, next to WYSIWYG editors for Markdown, Mermaid, Excalidraw and mockups, a kanban board for sessions, and task tracking. Its iOS app is a companion to that desktop app: you can watch sessions, answer approvals, reply and start new sessions from your phone.
BotBus only does the phone part, and it does not ask you to change your desktop tools. You keep starting sessions in your terminal, the Codex app or the Claude desktop app; BotBus runs in the background, finds those sessions on its own and puts them on your phone and Apple Watch. If you like Nimbalyst's visual editors, docs and trackers, or you need older OS support, stay with Nimbalyst. If what you actually want is "don't lose track of my agents when I walk away" without moving your work into a new desktop app, BotBus is worth a look.
Everything below about Nimbalyst comes from its GitHub repository (nimbalyst/nimbalyst), nimbalyst.com and its docs, and its App Store listing, checked on October 19, 2026. It ships fast, so treat the official site as the source of truth.
What Nimbalyst looks like today
Desktop app. The README describes it as the open-source visual workspace for Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode. You can run several agent sessions in parallel, each optionally in its own git worktree. Agent edits show up as red/green diffs you accept or reject in place. It ships editors for Markdown, mockups, Mermaid, Excalidraw, CSV and data models, plus Monaco for code; a session board with search and resume; plans, bugs and todos that people and agents both edit; git branch and worktree management, AI-drafted commits, an embedded ghostty terminal, an MCP client and an extension SDK. Content lives in plain Markdown files and git repos.
Platforms. Desktop builds exist for macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel; the README says macOS 12+), Windows 10+ and Linux (.deb and AppImage). Mobile is an iOS app; the App Store lists iPhone and iPad and requires iOS 18 or later, with no mention of Apple Watch. The README's blurb mentions Android, but as of the check date the official docs only describe the iOS app and we could not find an Android download.
Agents. The README lists Claude Code and Codex, with OpenCode and GitHub Copilot marked alpha, and mentions a Gemini provider. It works with your own Claude Code or Codex subscription or API key.
What the phone app does. Per the docs: pick a project and start a session that runs on your desktop, choosing agent and model; a dashboard filtered by Active, Planning and Done; answer tool permissions, plan approvals and commit proposals; queue prompts (even offline), attach images and sync drafts; voice input (alpha); Lock Screen Live Activities and the Dynamic Island on iPhone; push notifications when a session finishes, errors or needs approval, suppressed while you are using Nimbalyst on your Mac. The docs say code diff review "remains a desktop workflow."
Sync and encryption. Phone and desktop sign in to the same Nimbalyst account (Google or an email magic link), you pick which projects to sync, then pair by scanning a QR code on the desktop. Session history, metadata, status, drafts, and .md files from projects with Docs enabled are synced (document editing is alpha). Code files, images, diagrams, PDFs, CSVs and settings are not. The docs say each message is encrypted with AES-256-GCM, keys are exchanged by QR code and never touch their servers, and the sync servers cannot read your content. The README says the sync server is a separate project.
Where sessions come from. Sessions are started by Nimbalyst. Claude Code sessions you started in a terminal can be brought in by hand with File > Import Claude Code Sessions; they become Nimbalyst sessions, and new turns added on the Claude Code side need another import. The import page only covers Claude Code, not Codex.
Price. The desktop app is free and MIT-licensed; the iOS app is free with no in-app purchases listed. A team wiki plan is paid and free during beta. The README notes anonymous usage analytics that you can switch off in settings.
When Nimbalyst is the better choice
These are real strengths BotBus does not match:
- A visual desktop workspace. Writing docs, diagrams and mockups alongside agents, and accepting or rejecting edits inline. BotBus is just a menu bar or background app on the computer; it has no editor.
- Session boards and task tracking that link plans, bugs and sessions together, for people running many agent tasks at once.
- Open source and extensions. You can audit and fork the desktop app and build extensions. BotBus apps are closed source; only the protocol, connectors and fixtures are public.
- Editing Markdown on the phone for projects with Docs enabled (alpha).
- Offline prompt queueing, Live Activities and iPad support, all documented for the Nimbalyst iOS app.
- Older systems. Nimbalyst desktop supports macOS 12+ and the phone app iOS 18+. BotBus needs macOS 26 on the Mac and iOS 26 on iPhone.
If you were going to adopt a new desktop workspace anyway, Nimbalyst's phone app comes along for free and you don't need another tool.
How BotBus is different
No import step: it sees the sessions you already run
This is the main difference. Nimbalyst's phone app shows Nimbalyst sessions; outside Claude Code sessions need a manual import. BotBus runs on your computer and discovers them. Codex sessions are read from the local ~/.codex data (read-only) with no setup. For Claude Code you install hooks once from BotBus settings; after that, sessions you open in the terminal or the Claude desktop app, and their permission requests, appear on your phone and keep updating as new turns run on the computer. You don't change how you launch agents, and the session stays in its original tool. It also works the other way: see continuing a desktop session on your phone.
Apple Watch and multiple computers
BotBus has an Apple Watch app that syncs pairing from the iPhone and then connects on its own: check tasks, approve, answer multiple-choice questions and dictate replies, see managing coding agents from Apple Watch. Several computers and several phones can pair with each other, and tasks are grouped by computer and project. Push notifications fire only when an agent is waiting for approval or a reply, finishes or fails, and depend on the notification permission you grant. The iPhone and Apple Watch apps are on the App Store, and the Android app is out too; see the download section.
Changes, files and the computer itself, from the phone
On the phone BotBus shows a task's uncommitted changes, lets you browse files on the computer and open a terminal (Mac, Linux and Windows). The Mac version can also stream the live screen so you can tap and type through a system permission dialog or a simulator, and share a local dev server to your phone, see previewing localhost on iPhone. Nimbalyst's docs keep diff review on the desktop and don't sync code files to the phone; as of the check date they don't mention a phone terminal or screen control.
Agent coverage
BotBus has built-in support for Codex, Claude Code, Hermes, Pi, OpenClaw and DeepSeek Harness, and connects any agent that speaks ACP (OpenCode, for example), see the connector docs. The overlap with Nimbalyst is Codex, Claude Code and OpenCode. GitHub Copilot's CLI is in the ACP registry, so BotBus can connect it, but we haven't tested it.
Pairing and accounts
Nimbalyst asks both devices to sign in to the same account before scanning the QR code. BotBus pairs through the QR code or pairing link on your computer, which carries the group key; the relay only forwards ciphertext but can see device IDs, online status, update times and data sizes, and dev previews are outside end-to-end encryption. Details are in the security docs. Both say content is end-to-end encrypted, and both route through their own sync or relay service.
Comparison table
| Nimbalyst (checked 2026-10-19) | BotBus | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Desktop visual workspace + iOS companion | Background app on the computer + phone and watch remote |
| Where sessions come from | Started in Nimbalyst; Claude Code sessions can be imported by hand | Discovers sessions you start normally; can also start them from the phone |
| Computer | macOS 12+, Windows 10+, Linux | macOS 26+, Linux (x86_64 / aarch64), Windows 10 / 11 |
| Phone and watch | iPhone, iPad (iOS 18+); docs don't mention Android or watch | iPhone (iOS 26+), Apple Watch (watchOS 26+), Android 8.0+ |
| Code changes on phone | Desktop workflow per docs | Uncommitted changes viewable |
| Files and terminal on phone | Markdown sync only | File browser and terminal; Mac adds screen and previews |
| Open source | Desktop app MIT | Apps closed; protocol and connectors public |
Using both, or switching
You can run both if you keep each session owned by one side. Sessions you start in Nimbalyst and review in its editors stay with the Nimbalyst iOS app; sessions you start in a terminal or the Codex and Claude desktop apps go to BotBus. Two caveats:
- BotBus's Claude hooks live in Claude Code's
settings.json. We haven't tested whether Claude sessions launched by Nimbalyst fire those hooks or which app a permission request lands in, so approve a given session in one place only. - Both apps read local Claude and Codex session history, so a session may show up in both. Reply from only one side at a time so two processes don't write the same session.
To move to BotBus:
- Install the desktop app from the download section, install BotBus on your phone and scan the pairing QR code.
- Install the Claude Code hooks from BotBus settings; Codex needs nothing extra.
- For unfinished Nimbalyst work, resume it in the agent's own CLI (
claude --resume,codex resume) and it shows up in BotBus as usual. Use the latest BotBus release.
Limits
- What you can do depends on the connector and task state. Some tasks are view-only; approving, replying, starting and stopping need the computer online and an agent that supports the action.
- The computer has to stay on. Agents run on your own machine and stop when it sleeps, see keeping your Mac awake for agents.
- Not a workspace. No visual editors, document editing, task boards or inline accept/reject of diffs on the phone.
- Some features are Mac-only. Screen control and dev previews are Mac only; on Linux and Windows "use the computer" means files and terminal.
- Sending images is limited. Only Codex and Claude Code accept photos from the phone today.
- Newer OS requirements, closed source, official relay only. If those matter, compare Paseo alternative and Happy Coder alternative.
FAQ
Does Nimbalyst have a mobile app?
Yes. As of October 19, 2026 there is a free iPhone and iPad app on the App Store that works with the Nimbalyst desktop app and an account. The official docs only describe iOS; we found no Android build, and the listing doesn't mention Apple Watch.
Can I use Nimbalyst mobile without the Nimbalyst desktop app?
Not according to its docs: the phone pairs with the desktop app running Nimbalyst, and work runs there. Wanting phone control without switching desktop tools is the case BotBus is built for.
Are both end-to-end encrypted?
Per their own docs, both encrypt content end to end with keys exchanged by QR code. Nimbalyst doesn't sync code files; BotBus dev previews are not end-to-end encrypted, and the metadata its relay sees is listed in the security docs.
How does a Claude Code session started in a terminal reach my phone?
With Nimbalyst you import it by hand in the desktop app and continue it as a Nimbalyst session. With BotBus it appears automatically once the hooks are installed, and it stays a normal Claude Code session you can continue from either the computer or the phone.