Termexo vs Poolside AI

Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and ratings

Analysis reviewed Live tool data as of 2026-10-13
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At a glance

DimensionTermexoPoolside AI
PricingFreeContact sales
DeploymentLocal Windows desktopOn-prem, VPC, or workstation (defense)
Target BuyerIndividual Windows developersRegulated enterprises (finance, healthcare, defense)
Core ModelsSupports Claude Code & Codex (no own models)Laguna S 2.1 (118B) & XS 2.1 (33B), open-weight
Context LengthDepends on underlying assistant1M (S 2.1), 256K (XS 2.1)
Key IntegrationsClaude Code, CodexOpenRouter, Vercel AI Gateway, data connectors
Try TermexoTry Poolside AI
Termexo
Termexo

Run Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Antigravity and Grok Build in one Windows window — and let an AI drive those agent terminals over MCP.

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Poolside AI
Poolside AI

Poolside builds open-weight agentic coding models — Laguna XS 2.1 (33B) and Laguna S 2.1 (118B) — for code that stays inside your security

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Pricing
Free
Contact Sales
Plans
$0
—
Popularity
8 views
7.2k views
Skill Level
Intermediate
Advanced
API Available
Platforms
DesktopWebAPI
DesktopCLIAPIPlugin
Categories
💻 Code & Development
💻 Code & Development🛠️ Autonomous Coding Agents⚛️ Foundation Models & LLM APIs🛡️ AI Governance & Guardrails
Features
Run Claude Code, Codex CLI, OpenCode, Antigravity and Grok Build as real terminals in one Windows window
MCP server lets a connected AI find a terminal, send input, submit Enter and read the actual reply
Enable AI control in Settings and restart the agent to bring the MCP connection online
Arrange terminals in a grid from 1 to 6 rows and columns, remembered per project workspace
Taskbar flash, system notification and a banner that persists until you handle the waiting agent
Notifications cover every open project, not just the visible terminal
Alert still fires when the Termexo window already has focus; click it to jump to that terminal
Distinct visual states for waiting-for-approval, waiting-for-input and finished
Session Center searches saved sessions across projects by name, path, branch or model
Resume past conversations through each CLI's native resume command
Session files are discovered read-only — Termexo never edits or deletes them
Model routing profiles for Anthropic, DeepSeek, MiniMax, GLM or any compatible gateway endpoint
API keys stored in Windows Credential Manager; the app only sees whether a key exists
Switch every Claude terminal in a project to another profile or account at once
Task board with todo, executing, completed and verified states driven by terminal activity
Laguna S 2.1 open-weight model: 118B params, 8B active, 1M context
Laguna XS 2.1 open-weight model: 33B params, 3B active, 256K context
Laguna XS 2.1 sized small enough to run on-device
Laguna S 2.1 positioned for frontier-class reasoning at mid-size cost
Single-agent and multi-agent orchestration for coding tasks
Sandboxed execution environments so agent code stays off production
Desktop app for agentic coding sessions with model selection and tool grouping
CLI agent client with slash commands and keyboard shortcuts
VS Code and Visual Studio extensions
Always-ask approval mode before edits are accepted
Data connectors to repositories, databases, and warehouses
Role-based access control for human users and agents
End-to-end trace observability for agent runs
Projects and multi-conversation management inside the client
Custom fine-tuning and Forward Deployed Research Engineers
Integrations
Claude Code
Codex CLI
OpenCode
Antigravity
Grok Build
GitHub
OpenRouter
Vercel AI Gateway

What real users say: Termexo vs Poolside AI

Not marketing copy and not our opinion — a structured sweep of public discussion (reviews, forums, communities and video comments), showing what people praise and what they complain about for each tool.

Termexo

19 mentions across 2 sources · 41% positive — mixed (averaged across 2 sources)

YouTube, Product Hunt

What users praise

  • • Genuinely Windows-native, addressing the underserved Windows agent tooling gap.
  • • Grid layout for multiple PTY sessions makes managing Claude Code and Codex easier.
  • • API keys stored in Windows Credential Manager, not plaintext config files.
  • • Approval notifications when agents need human attention are a thoughtful touch.

What frustrates them

  • • Crash recovery doesn't survive process termination; in-flight operations are lost.
  • • Only one Product Hunt review (4 stars) so far — track record is thin.
  • • Unclear whether agents run natively on Windows or via WSL.
  • • No per-session token spend tracking; runaway agents can silently burn money.

Researched Aug 12, 2026

Poolside AI

40 mentions across 4 sources · 48% positive — mixed (averaged across 4 sources)

Hacker News, YouTube, Bluesky, Lemmy

What users praise

  • • Open-weight models with strong SWE-bench scores (72.5%).
  • • On-prem, VPC, and air-gapped deployment for high security.
  • • 256K context length supports long-horizon reasoning tasks.
  • • Multi-agent orchestration with sandboxed execution environments.

What frustrates them

  • • Community feedback is scarce; limited real-world user reviews.
  • • Platform is still in research preview as of April 2026.
  • • Pricing is opaque; only 'contact us' with no published tiers.
  • • Trademark dispute with Poolside FM creates name confusion.

Researched Jul 17, 2026

Who should pick which

  • Enterprise engineer in finance
    Pick: Poolside AI

    Need on-prem deployment, audit trails, and role-based control—Poolside fits regulated environments.

  • Defense contractor
    Pick: Poolside AI

    Workstation deployment for defense-only scenarios and open-weight models for secure fine-tuning.

  • Windows solo developer
    Pick: Termexo

    Free, local, and dedicated GUI for Claude Code/Codex—no server overhead.

  • Startup prototyping
    Pick: Termexo

    Low cost and quick to adopt; no vendor engagement needed.

  • Healthcare IT team
    Pick: Poolside AI

    Data connectors to warehouses and high-governance needs align with HIPAA-style compliance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Termexo be used on macOS or Linux?

No, Termexo is Windows-only; no cross-platform support is mentioned.

Does Poolside AI require cloud connectivity?

No—it can be deployed on-prem, in a VPC, or on a workstation (defense only), supporting air-gapped environments.

Is Poolside's latest model the same as the May 2026 platform?

The platform launched in May 2026; Laguna S 2.1 is a newer release from July 2026, enhancing reasoning and long-horizon tasks.

Does Termexo work offline?

It runs locally on Windows, but Claude Code and Codex may require API calls to their respective services, so offline use depends on those tools.

Can I fine-tune Poolside models for my domain?

Yes, Poolside supports custom model fine-tuning for domain-specific needs.

Is there a free trial for Poolside?

Pricing is contact-based; no free trial is mentioned in the data.

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Explore each tool further

Termexo
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Poolside AI
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Last reviewed: August 3, 2026