Tencil vs Frontman
Both put an agent on your running app: you point at an element and describe the change. Frontman brings an agent of its own, which edits your source files through a model provider you pick. Tencil brings none: it hands what you point at to the coding agent you already use, Claude Code or T3 Code, and runs on your machine without an account.
npx tencil- Run npx tencil once. Works with T3 Code or Claude Code, on any dev server.
- Press C and click it. Pick up a thread or start a new one, right on the page.
- Watch it change in place. Reply on the pin for another round, then resolve it.
- Review a whole page at once. Queue your comments, then send them all to your agent.
How it works
At a glance
Checked against Frontman’s own site on 28 October 2026.
| Tencil | Frontman | |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | Press C, click an element, type what should change. | Point at an element in the browser and describe the change. |
| What the agent gets | Component and owners with file and line (React 19), markup, selector, text, size, viewport, an optional screenshot. | The live DOM, component tree, computed CSS, routes, source maps, screenshots and server logs. |
| Who makes the change | Your agent, started by Tencil: Claude Code or T3 Code. | Frontman’s own agent, which edits source files but runs no shell commands, tests or git. |
| Models | Whatever your agent runs, under your own login. | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, OpenRouter and more, with your own key. |
| Where requests go | From your browser to the daemon on your machine, to your agent. There is no Tencil server. | Through Frontman’s server, hosted or self-hosted, to the model provider. |
| Frameworks | Next.js, any Vite app (React, Vue, Svelte and more) and any dev server; source files in React. | Next.js, Astro, Vite with React, Vue or Svelte, and a WordPress plugin. |
| Account | None. | Sign-in with GitHub or Google. |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 for the client and integrations, AGPL-3.0 with extra terms for the server. |
Which should you choose?
They solve overlapping problems in different ways. Pick by how you like to work.
Choose Tencil if
- You want a full coding agent on the change, one that can run your tests and commands when you allow it.
- You want no account and no server between your browser and your agent.
- You want every comment to stay a thread in Claude Code or T3 Code.
Choose Frontman if
- You want product and design people to make fixes without setting up a coding agent.
- You want to choose the model provider and bring your own key.
- You build on WordPress, or want routes and server logs in the context.
Tencil vs Frontman: questions
What people ask when they compare the two.
No. Tencil starts a thread in Claude Code or T3 Code, and your agent calls its models under your own login.
No. The overlay talks to the daemon on your machine, locked to localhost, and the daemon talks to your agent.
More comparisons
How Tencil compares with other ways to point an agent at your UI.
- Tencil vs Cursor AnnotateCursor Annotate lets you point at your app for Cursor’s agent, in Cursor’s browser. Tencil does it in your own browser for Claude Code or T3 Code: free, open source, no account.
- Tencil vs React GrabReact Grab copies a React element’s file, component and HTML for you to paste into your agent. Tencil sends it to your agent with your prompt and streams the change back onto the page.
- Tencil vs AgentationAgentation turns UI annotations into structured context you paste or serve over MCP. Tencil sends each pin to Claude Code or T3 Code and streams the change back onto the element.
- Tencil vs stagewisestagewise is an open-source agentic IDE with its own browser and agents on any model. Tencil adds element pins to the dev site in your own browser and hands them to Claude Code or T3 Code.
- Tencil vs OnlookOnlook is a visual editor where designers work on an app in code, on a canvas. Tencil adds pins to your dev site and hands each one to Claude Code or T3 Code.
- Tencil vs PinpointPinpoint is a browser extension that hands notes on elements to your agent over MCP. Tencil starts Claude Code or T3 Code itself and streams the change back onto the pin.