Orchestration primitive or desktop ADE? Choosing your multi-agent coding layer in 2026

The multi-agent coding tool category went from a handful of projects in late 2024 to thirty-plus by mid-2026. Along the way it split into two shapes that solve adjacent-but-different problems. Here's when to reach for each, and why you might end up using both. The two shapes Desktop ADEs. A downloadable desktop application. You install it like any other app, open a window, configure credentials, and see your repo, your agents, and your diffs in a unified UI. Examples in the open-source corner: e