Open Design Kanban Mode Open Source: Orchestrating Hermes Agent, Cursor, DevinAI in One Interface for Parallel Multi-Prototype Design

What Happened

Open Design — previously the open-source alternative to Claude Design — officially released Kanban Mode in early May, with core updates including:

Unified Multi-Agent Orchestration: Manage Hermes Agent, Cursor, DevinAI and other AI development tools simultaneously in one interface
Real-Time Status Preview: Visually monitor each Agent’s running progress, output, and status
Parallel Prototype Design: Run multiple design tasks simultaneously without interference
19 Built-in Skills: Covering UI design, code generation, documentation writing and other scenarios
Multi-Tool Compatibility: Supporting Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI and other AI tools

This update triggered strong response in the Chinese developer community, with “this update really pulls AI development experience to a new height” becoming a frequent evaluation.

Why It Matters

From Single-Tool Calling to Multi-Agent Collaboration

AI development tools have evolved rapidly over the past year, but have always faced one pain point: each tool is an island.

Previous workflow:
Claude Code → Terminal window A
Cursor → VS Code window
DevinAI → Browser tab C
Hermes Agent → Terminal window D

Problem: Switching back and forth, states not shared, cannot run in parallel

Open Design Kanban Mode unifies all of this into one interface:

Open Design Kanban:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  TODO → In Progress → Completed                      │
│                                                     │
│  [Card] Frontend  [Card] API Dev    [Card] Docs      │
│   ├─ Cursor        ├─ DevinAI       ├─ Hermes Agent  │
│   ├─ Running 78%   ├─ Running 45%   ├─ Completed ✓   │
│   └─ Live preview  └─ Live preview  └─ View output   │
│                                                     │
│  [+ Add task]  [🔄 Refresh]  [⚙️ Tool config]        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Technical Architecture Analysis

Open Design’s 19 built-in skills are uniformly packaged as callable “skill modules” through CLI interfaces:

Skill Category	Example Skills	Applicable Tools
UI Design	Component generation, color schemes, layout optimization	Claude Code, Cursor
Code Generation	API scaffolding, CRUD templates, test cases	DevinAI, Hermes Agent
Documentation	API docs, README, architecture descriptions	All tools
Code Review	Security checks, performance analysis, dependency audit	Claude Code, Cursor
Deployment	Docker configuration, CI/CD pipelines	Hermes Agent

This “skills as modules” architecture makes Open Design an orchestration layer for AI tools, not a replacement layer — it doesn’t replace any existing tool, but makes them work together.

Competitor Comparison

Project	Positioning	Multi-Agent Orchestration	Visualization	Open Source
Open Design	AI design tool orchestration layer	✅ Kanban mode	✅ Real-time preview	✅
Ruflo	Claude Agent orchestration platform	✅ Neural system integration	Partial	✅
Beads	Multi-Agent task tracking	✅ Task dependency graph	Partial	✅
The Agency	147 professional AI Agents	Virtual company mode	❌	✅
Sim	AI Agent one-person company	✅ Workflow orchestration	✅	✅

Open Design’s unique advantage: It doesn’t build an Agent framework from scratch, but provides an orchestration layer on top of existing AI tools. This means users can continue using their familiar tools, just gaining a unified management interface.

How to Use It

Scenario 1: Product Design Sprint

Kanban column setup:
┌────────┬────────────┬──────────┬──────────┐
│ TODO   │ Designing   │ Developing│ Completed│
├────────┼────────────┼──────────┼──────────┤
│        │ Homepage    │ Login pg  │ Nav comp │
│        │ (Claude)   │ (Cursor) │ (Devin)  │
│ Profile│ Color scheme│ API       │ Docs     │
│        │ (Claude)   │ (Hermes) │ (Claude) │
└────────┴────────────┴──────────┴──────────┘

Scenario 2: Full-Stack Project Parallel Development

Frontend Agent (Cursor): Responsible for UI components and page building
Backend Agent (DevinAI): Responsible for API and database logic
Documentation Agent (Hermes Agent): Synchronously writes technical docs
Three Agents run in parallel on the Kanban board, progress visible at a glance

Scenario 3: Design Prototype Iteration

Create multiple prototype tasks on the Kanban board
Assign different AI tools to each task
Real-time preview of each prototype’s output
Compare and select the optimal solution

Landscape Assessment

The open-sourcing of Open Design Kanban Mode signals a trend: In 2026, the competition in AI development tools is shifting from “individual tool capability” to “tool ecosystem orchestration capability”.

Whoever can make multiple AI tools work together will gain a decisive advantage in developer experience. Open Design’s open-source approach is expected to quickly establish ecosystem standards.

Action Recommendations:

Developers using multiple AI tools: Open Design Kanban Mode is worth trying
Team Leads: Can serve as a unified management platform for multi-agent collaboration
Open-source contributors: The 19 skills have large expansion space, welcome new skill contributions