Tencil vs Pinpoint
Pinpoint and Tencil both let you click an element on your local dev site, write what should change and get it to your coding agent. Pinpoint is a browser extension with a local MCP bridge: your agent picks up the notes. Tencil starts the agent itself: every pin is a thread in Claude Code or T3 Code, and its progress streams onto the pin.
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 Pinpoint’s own site on 28 October 2026.
| Tencil | Pinpoint | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An overlay that loads on your dev site, and a daemon on your machine. | A browser extension and a local MCP bridge. |
| How it reaches the agent | Tencil starts a thread with your agent, one per pin or one per batch. | Your agent picks notes up over MCP, hooks or a file. |
| What the agent gets | Component and owners with file and line (React 19), markup, selector, text, size, viewport, an optional screenshot. | Selector, DOM path, about 25 computed styles, the React or Vue component chain with a source file hint, a cropped screenshot, the viewport, and recent console errors and failed requests. |
| Conversation | On the pin: progress streams in, and you reply there. | In your agent. |
| Agents | Claude Code and T3 Code. | Claude Code, Cursor, Codex or any MCP client. |
| Beyond the browser | Web apps on a dev server. | Also the iOS Simulator and the Android emulator. |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
Which should you choose?
They solve overlapping problems in different ways. Pick by how you like to work.
Choose Tencil if
- You want the agent started for you, and its progress on the element while you keep reviewing.
- You want nothing to install in your browser: the overlay loads on your dev site.
- You want to queue comments on a page and send them as one thread.
Choose Pinpoint if
- You want element context in Cursor, Codex or another MCP client.
- You build native apps and want to point at the iOS Simulator or Android emulator.
- You want recent console errors and failed requests attached to every note.
Tencil vs Pinpoint: questions
What people ask when they compare the two.
No. The overlay loads on your dev site from the daemon, through a Next.js component, a Vite plugin or a script tag.
Not directly yet: Tencil talks to T3 Code and Claude Code. T3 Code runs the providers you set up in it, so the models you use there work with Tencil too.
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 FrontmanFrontman runs its own AI frontend agent in your app, on the model provider you choose. Tencil hands what you point at to Claude Code or T3 Code, with no account and no server.