Korden vs. Sculptor
Sculptor runs parallel agents in isolated containers and syncs their work into your editor. Korden runs a parallel crew natively on your machine and delivers a pull request you merge — no containers, your own model, a real review gate.
What is Sculptor?
Sculptor, by Imbue, is infrastructure for running and coordinating multiple AI coding agents, each in its own isolated Docker container. Its signature feature, Pairing Mode, syncs an agent's container changes into your local IDE in real time. It's free; you pay only for the model API you use.
How Korden compares to Sculptor
The core difference: Korden runs a multi-agent crew fully on your machine, with your own model, and delivers every change as a pull request you merge. Here's the side-by-side.
| Korden | Sculptor | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs fully on your machine | Yes | Local, in Docker containers |
| Bring your own model | Yes | Your model API |
| Multi-agent crew, in parallel | Director-led crew | Parallel agents in containers |
| Every change is a pull request you merge | PR + approve/merge | Syncs to your IDE (Pairing Mode) |
| Isolation | Git worktrees — no containers | A Docker container per agent |
When Korden is the better fit
Choose Korden if privacy, model choice, and a real review gate matter to you.
- You want isolation via lightweight git worktrees rather than Docker containers.
- You want changes delivered as a reviewable pull request, not synced into your editor.
- You want a Director that plans and routes a specialized crew.
When Sculptor might fit better
No tool is right for everyone — Sculptor can be the better call in these cases.
- You want each agent fully sandboxed in its own container.
- You like Pairing Mode's live sync between the agent and your IDE.
- You're already invested in a Docker-based workflow.
Frequently asked questions
Is Korden like Sculptor?
Do I need Docker for Korden?
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