# How to Move From Conductor to AQ

> Save your Conductor Cloud work before Nov 13 and Nov 20, push your branches, and map .conductor/settings.toml to AQ's setup command, services and secrets.

Published November 4, 2026 · by the AQ team · Canonical: https://aq.dev/guides/migrate-from-conductor-to-aq/

**If you use Conductor Cloud, transfer the workspaces you want to keep to your Mac and export your data before Friday, November 13, 2026, when Cloud goes read-only; Cloud shuts down on Friday, November 20, when Conductor begins deleting Cloud data.** Then push every workspace branch you want to keep. Moving to AQ takes three steps: connect the repository, start work items from the branches you pushed, and copy your Conductor scripts into AQ's setup command, services and secrets.

**AQ lets you keep the one-worktree-per-task way of working you had in Conductor, in a browser on any operating system: each task gets its own git branch and worktree, Claude Code, Codex and other agent CLIs run on your own subscriptions, and the agents keep working after you close your laptop.** If you are still comparing tools, [Conductor alternatives](https://aq.dev/alternatives/conductor/) covers the wider field. This page is the hands-on move.

## What Conductor has announced, as of November 2026

These facts come from Conductor's [announcement](https://www.conductor.build/announcement) and [changelog](https://www.conductor.build/changelog/0.93.0-conductor-is-joining-meta), checked on November 4, 2026:

- **November 4:** new sign-ups and app downloads are closed. Existing users keep using Conductor, and Pro users keep Pro features for free.
- **Friday, November 13:** Conductor Cloud goes read-only. You can still read old chats and export data, but you cannot send new messages. Active subscribers get a refund.
- **Friday, November 20:** Conductor Cloud shuts down and Conductor begins deleting Cloud user data.
- **Early 2027:** local Conductor keeps getting new models and critical bug fixes until then, and then winds down. Conductor's FAQ says it will delete all user data when the app shuts down.

For anything about your account or refund, Conductor's support address is [support@conductor.build](mailto:support@conductor.build).

## Checklist before November 13

1. **Bring cloud workspaces to your Mac.** In Conductor, right-click each cloud workspace you want to keep and choose **Transfer to local**. Conductor says this moves the workspace and its chats.
2. **Export everything.** Go to **Settings > Account > Export data** and keep the archive somewhere outside Conductor.
3. **Push every branch you want to keep.** Conductor workspaces are git worktrees, usually under `~/conductor/workspaces/<repo>/<workspace>` ([Conductor docs](https://www.conductor.build/docs/concepts/git-worktrees)). Commit what you want, then push each one: ```
git -C ~/conductor/workspaces/<repo>/<workspace> push -u origin HEAD
``` To push all of a repository's worktrees at once, run this from the repository's main checkout: ```
git worktree list --porcelain | awk '/^worktree /{print $2}' | while read -r wt; do
  git -C "$wt" push -u origin HEAD || echo "not pushed: $wt"
done
``` A worktree with a detached HEAD or uncommitted changes needs a branch and a commit first, so read the "not pushed" lines.
4. **Save your gitignored files.** Files such as `.env` and `.env.local` are not in git, so pushing does not carry them. Copy the ones you need somewhere safe; you will import them into AQ as secrets.
5. **Copy your script settings.** Keep a copy of `.conductor/settings.toml` (or the older `conductor.json`) and any `.conductor/settings.local.toml` on your machine. If the shared file is committed, it is already in the repository.

Unpushed commits, uncommitted changes and gitignored files do not move to AQ by themselves. Everything else in this guide starts from what is on your git remote.

## Moving to AQ, step by step

1. **Sign in and connect GitHub.** Sign in at [aq.dev](https://aq.dev/signin). On the Free plan AQ creates a personal sandbox machine for you, with nothing to install. Connect GitHub when AQ asks, or from the repository menu on the new work item page.
2. **Connect your agent accounts.** In Settings, Connections, sign in to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or the other CLIs you used in Conductor. Each person uses their own accounts, and AQ does not mark up usage on them.
3. **Connect the repository.** On the new work item page, open the repository menu and pick the repository from your GitHub list. AQ clones it onto your machine.
4. **Pick up a branch you pushed.** Start a new work item, open the details menu and set **Base branch** to the branch you pushed from Conductor. AQ creates the work item's own branch and worktree from that branch's latest commit, so the work continues where you left it.
5. **Add your setup, services and secrets.** Repository settings hold the setup command and the services; Settings, Secrets holds your environment variables. The next section shows how a Conductor file maps across. Repository setup commands and services are set by an organization admin; on the Free plan that is you.
6. **Work.** Type a task into the composer, or open a terminal tab and run Claude Code or Codex yourself. The preview button starts your first service, and the Changes panel shows the diff, takes line comments and opens the pull request.

## Conductor concepts and their AQ equivalents

| Conductor | AQ | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Workspace | Work item | Each work item has its own git worktree and branch. |
| `scripts.setup` | Worktree setup command (repository settings) | Runs once in each new worktree, from its root, after AQ installs dependencies and before the agent starts. Remove the install step if AQ already detects your package manager. |
| `scripts.run` and named actions `scripts.run.<id>` | Services (repository settings) | One row per action: name, command, directory, port. The first service is the Preview button's target, and each service gets its own preview address. AQ also reads a repository's `.claude/launch.json` when no services are set. |
| `options.cwd` | The service's directory | Relative to the repository root. |
| `CONDUCTOR_PORT` (through +9) | The service's port, `PORT`, and preview addresses | Declare a port per service. "May move" lets AQ pick the next free port and pass it as `PORT`; "Exact" keeps the declared port. Use `AQ_SERVICE_URL_<NAME>` and `AQ_PREVIEW_URL` to reach another service instead of `localhost`. |
| `CONDUCTOR_WORKSPACE_PATH` | The current directory | The setup command and terminals start in the worktree. |
| `CONDUCTOR_ROOT_PATH` | No direct equivalent | Scripts that copy files from the main checkout should read secrets instead (next row). |
| `CONDUCTOR_WORKSPACE_NAME` | No equivalent variable | Use the branch name from git if a script needs a name. |
| `.env` copied into each workspace | Secrets | Settings, Secrets, Add secret, Import a .env file. Personal or organization secrets reach terminals, previews, services and agents as environment variables and are kept out of transcripts. |
| `scripts.archive` | No equivalent | AQ has no command that runs when a work item ends. |
| `run_mode` | No setting needed | Every work item runs its services on its own ports and addresses. |
| Workspace started from a Linear issue | Linear intake | Connect your Linear account in Settings, Connections, Integrations, then label an issue `ai-task`: AQ creates a work item and moves the issue to In Progress. |
| Conductor chats | No import | AQ cannot import Conductor chats. Keep your export and paste the context you need into the first message of a new work item. |

## Converting .conductor/settings.toml: a worked example

Here is a typical Conductor file for a web app and an API, in the format Conductor's [scripts reference](https://www.conductor.build/docs/reference/scripts) describes:

```
[scripts]
setup = "pnpm install && cp \"$CONDUCTOR_ROOT_PATH/.env\" .env"
archive = "./script/workspace-archive.sh"
run_mode = "concurrent"

[scripts.run.web]
command = "pnpm dev --port $CONDUCTOR_PORT"

[scripts.run.api]
command = "pnpm start --port $((CONDUCTOR_PORT + 1))"
options = { cwd = "services/api" }
```

And here is the same setup in AQ:

| Conductor line | Where it goes in AQ | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `pnpm install` | Nothing to enter | AQ installs dependencies in each new worktree before the setup command runs. Use the setup command for steps beyond the install, such as `pnpm db:migrate`. |
| `cp "$CONDUCTOR_ROOT_PATH/.env" .env` | Settings, Secrets | Import a .env file with the saved `.env`. Your code reads the same variable names from the environment. |
| `scripts.run.web` | Services, row 1 | Service `web`, command `pnpm dev --port $PORT`, directory empty, port `3000`, May move |
| `scripts.run.api` | Services, row 2 | Service `api`, command `pnpm start --port 3001`, directory `services/api`, port `3001`, Exact |
| `archive`, `run_mode` | Not carried over | Run cleanup by hand when you finish a work item. |

The API is Exact because the web app depends on it. The web app then reaches it at `$AQ_SERVICE_URL_API` rather than `localhost:3001`, so the same code works in the preview your teammates open. If your app reads `.env` from disk with a library such as dotenv, it still works: values already in the environment take effect without the file.

**Test status:** we checked each mapping against AQ's current settings on November 4, 2026, and confirmed both service rows above pass AQ's own validation. We have not run a full migration of a real Conductor repository for this guide, so start one non-critical work item and press Preview before you move a whole team.

## What you keep after the move

- **Agents keep running when you close your laptop.** Sessions live on a machine, not on your computer, and you can open them again from any device, including a phone.
- **Any operating system.** AQ runs in a browser, so the same workflow works on macOS, Windows and Linux.
- **Your own subscriptions.** Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and the other agent CLIs run signed in with each person's own accounts, and AQ does not mark up that usage.
- **Teammates in the same work item.** On the AQ Pro plan, a teammate opens the same live terminal, editor and preview, steers the agent once the owner approves a control request, and reviews the diff before merge.
- **Machines you choose.** Free gives one person a sandbox that sleeps when idle. Pro adds a dedicated always-on machine AQ manages, or VMs connected from your own cloud account. Plan details are on the [pricing page](https://aq.dev/pricing/).

## What AQ does not do

- **No import of Conductor chats or workspaces.** AQ starts from your git remote. Your export stays the record of past chats.
- **No Mac app.** AQ is a web app, and nothing in it reproduces Conductor's native macOS interface.
- **No archive script.** Conductor's `archive` step has no AQ counterpart.
- **No workspace name or root-path variables.** Scripts that depend on `CONDUCTOR_WORKSPACE_NAME` or `CONDUCTOR_ROOT_PATH` need a small rewrite.

## Frequently asked questions

### What happens to my Conductor Cloud data?

As of November 4, 2026, Conductor says Cloud goes read-only on Friday, November 13 (you can still read chats and export data) and shuts down on Friday, November 20, when it begins deleting Cloud user data. Before then, right-click each cloud workspace and choose Transfer to local, and export your data from Settings > Account > Export data. Source: [Conductor's announcement](https://www.conductor.build/announcement).

### Can I keep using Conductor locally?

For now. Conductor says local Conductor gets new models and critical bug fixes until early 2027 and then winds down, and new sign-ups and downloads closed on November 4, 2026. You can run local Conductor and AQ side by side while you move, as long as both work from the same git remote.

### Do my Conductor setup scripts work in AQ?

Most of them, with small edits. Put the setup command in the repository's Worktree setup command; AQ already installs dependencies, so you can usually drop the install step. Turn each run action into a service row with a port, replace `$CONDUCTOR_PORT` with `$PORT` or a fixed port, and import your `.env` into Secrets instead of copying it from `$CONDUCTOR_ROOT_PATH`. AQ has no archive script.

### Can I bring my Claude Code or Codex subscription?

Yes. Connect Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and the other agent CLIs in Settings, Connections with your own accounts. They run as the real CLIs on your AQ machine, and AQ does not mark up usage on your own subscriptions. AQ's built-in agent can use those same subscriptions or AQ models with prices shown before you pick one.

### Can I import my Conductor chats into AQ?

No. AQ has no importer for Conductor chats or workspaces. Keep Conductor's data export as the record, and paste the context you need into the first message of a new work item.

---

About AQ: AQ is the multiplayer coding harness where teams build and run bots with every AI coding agent, like Claude Code and Codex: shared live terminals, review and merge, app previews and standing jobs, in your own cloud. Start at [aq.dev](https://aq.dev/).