Terminus vs. Manus
Manus is a general-purpose AI agent: you give it a task, it plans and executes — research, documents, slides, websites — and hands you the result. It popularized the idea that an agent should do the work, not just talk about it.
Terminus starts one level down: it is an operating system for agents. Instead of one assistant in one conversation, you get a desktop with a real file system where multiple agents run on schedules and triggers, apps operate on the same files you own, and everything an agent produces stays in a workspace that persists after the conversation ends.
Side by side
| Terminus | Manus | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An AI agent operating system: desktop, file system, agents, apps, and a marketplace | A general-purpose AI agent that plans and executes tasks |
| Where your work lives | A persistent home directory you browse, sync, and export | Inside each task's session and its deliverables |
| Agents running on their own | Any number, each with its own address, schedule or trigger, and tool grants | Scheduled tasks within the assistant |
| Choice of model | Bring the model you prefer — Claude, GPT, DeepSeek, or Kimi — through one gateway | The models Manus selects for you |
| Apps | A marketplace of installable apps that run in desktop windows over your files | Generated artifacts and webapps per task |
| Publishing your own | Publish agents, apps, and skills to a public catalog under your own name | Share playbooks and use cases |
Is Terminus an alternative to Manus?
Choose Terminus when
- You want a standing system — agents with schedules, files that persist, apps over your own data — rather than a series of one-off tasks.
- You want to choose (and switch) the underlying model, and see usage metered per request.
- You build things: your agents, apps, and skills get public addresses others can install.
Choose Manus when
- You want a polished, hands-off executor for individual tasks today, with no setup.
- Slides, documents, and research deliverables are the main output you care about.
- You want a mature mobile experience and a large template library.
Questions
- Is Terminus an alternative to Manus?
- For one-off task execution, Manus is more polished today. If what you want is a persistent workspace where multiple agents run around the clock over files you own, that is what Terminus is built as — an operating system rather than an assistant.
- Can Terminus agents run on a schedule like Manus scheduled tasks?
- Yes. Every Terminus agent has an address, a schedule or trigger, and scoped tool grants, and runs on Terminus infrastructure around the clock.
- Is Terminus available today?
- Terminus is in beta with a waitlist. You can sign up at terminus.build/signup, or write to early-access@terminus.build to become a founding user.
Terminus is in beta. Join the waitlist, or write to early-access@terminus.build to become a founding user.