Open Orchestrator supports four built-in AI coding tools -- Claude Code, Pi, OpenCode, and Droid -- plus custom tools. This page covers how to configure your preferred tool and tool-specific settings.

Default AI Tool

Set your default AI tool in .worktreerc:

[tmux]
ai_tool = "claude"  # Options: claude, pi, opencode, droid
auto_start_ai = true

Per-Worktree Override

Override the default when creating a worktree:

owt new "Build REST API" --ai-tool opencode

Auto-Detection

Open Orchestrator checks your PATH to detect which AI tools are installed:

which claude     # Claude Code
which pi         # Pi
which opencode   # OpenCode
which droid      # Droid

If the configured tool is not found, worktree creation will fail with an error.

Command Generation

Open Orchestrator generates the appropriate launch command for each tool based on configuration:

Tool	Configuration	Generated Command
Claude Code	default	claude --dangerously-skip-permissions
Claude Code	plan_mode = true	claude --permission-mode plan
Pi	default	pi
Pi	headless (prompt piped)	pi -p
OpenCode	default	opencode
OpenCode	config_path set	opencode --config <path>
Droid	default	droid --skip-permissions-unsafe
Droid	auto_level = "high"	droid --auto-level high

Claude Code Configuration

Claude Code is Anthropic's official CLI.

Default Settings

[tmux]
ai_tool = "claude"

[claude]
# Claude-specific settings

Plan Mode

Start Claude in safe exploration mode via templates:

owt new "Research API options" -t feature

The feature template enables plan mode by default. Plan mode is useful for:

• Research and exploration
• Understanding unfamiliar codebases
• Safer experimentation

Pi Configuration

Pi is a TUI coding agent.

Basic Settings

[tmux]
ai_tool = "pi"

Pi launches as a bare pi and submits prompts via Enter (it is a TUI agent). It has no settings-file hook system, so live status comes from pane-scraping rather than push-based hooks -- see Status Tracking.

Headless Mode

Pi supports headless execution (-p print mode with the prompt piped via stdin), so it works with owt new --headless and owt wait:

owt new "Add a caching layer" --ai-tool pi --headless

Pi does not support plan mode.

OpenCode Configuration

OpenCode is a Go-based AI coding assistant.

Basic Settings

[tmux]
ai_tool = "opencode"

[opencode]
config_path = "~/.config/opencode/opencode.json"

Custom Config Path

owt new "Build API" --ai-tool opencode

OpenCode will use the config path specified in your .worktreerc.

Droid Configuration

Droid is Factory's AI with configurable autonomy.

Basic Settings

[tmux]
ai_tool = "droid"

[droid]
default_auto_level = "medium"
skip_permissions_unsafe = false

Autonomy Levels

Level	Description	Use Case
low	Confirms most actions	Learning, sensitive code
medium	Balanced automation	General development
high	Maximum autonomy	Trusted refactoring

Safety Warning

skip_permissions_unsafe = true should only be used when:

• You fully trust the codebase
• You have backups
• You understand the risks

Custom Tool Registration

Register any AI coding tool via configuration without code changes:

[tools.cursor]
binary = "cursor"
command_template = "{binary} --cli"
prompt_flag = "-m"
supports_hooks = false
install_hint = "Download from https://cursor.sh"
known_paths = ["/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/MacOS/cursor"]

Custom tools behave identically to built-in tools -- they appear in the picker, are auto-detected, and work with all OWT commands.

See Custom Tool Registration for the full option reference.

AI Tool Picker (Alt+c)

From any worktree session, press Alt+c to open the AI tool picker popup. This shows all tools detected in your PATH:

• Claude Code, Pi, OpenCode, Droid (natively supported)
• Codex, Gemini CLI, Aider, Amp, Kilo Code (detected from PATH)

Select a tool to switch the AI running in the current worktree.

Mixed Tool Workflows

Different worktrees can use different tools:

# Complex reasoning: Claude
owt new "Design authentication architecture" --ai-tool claude

# API development: OpenCode
owt new "Build payment endpoints" --ai-tool opencode

# Automated refactoring: Droid
owt new "Clean up legacy code" --ai-tool droid

# Quick TUI session: Pi
owt new "Add a caching layer" --ai-tool pi

# Monitor all in the Control Plane
owt

Installation Links

Tool	Installation
Claude Code	npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
Pi	npm install -g @earendil-works/pi-coding-agent
OpenCode	github.com/opencode-ai/opencode
Droid	github.com/factory-ai/droid

Troubleshooting

Tool Not Found

Error: AI tool 'opencode' not found

Install the tool or check your PATH.

Wrong Tool Started

Use the AI tool picker (Alt+c) to switch tools, or:

1. Kill the current tool (Ctrl+C in the tmux pane)
2. Start the correct tool manually

Tool Crashes

Patch in to the worktree session from the Control Plane (owt, then press a to attach) to see error messages and restart the tool.

See Also

• AI Tool Support
• .worktreerc Reference
• The Control Plane