Bob's CLI vs Conan: Features, Pricing & Which Is Better (2026)

A side-by-side comparison of Bob's CLI and Conan — features, pricing, and ideal use cases — to help you decide which AI tool fits your workflow.

Bob's CLI

Doist

Free

Command-line interface to query HiBob employee directory and who’s out, with machine-readable outputs and agent-skill integration.

Employee Directory Queries: CLI commands to search and retrieve HiBob employee records (by name, team, location) and current out-of-office status to support integrations and scripts.
Multiple Output Formats: Native support for --json, --ndjson and --full outputs allowing easy parsing by other tools and automation pipelines.
Environment Variable Authentication: Credentials are set via environment variables to enable secure, scriptable usage in local shells, CI, and containers.
Agent Skill Installation: Installs a SKILL.md into configurable agent skill directories (e.g., ~/.claude/, ~/.agents/) so coding agents can automatically use the CLI as a skill.
CI & Release Integration: Provides an npm-centric development workflow (npm ci, npm run build, npm test) and is structured for use in CI pipelines and releases.
Uninstall and Local Setup Helpers: Includes instructions and scripts for local setup and clean uninstallation, useful for ephemeral CI runners and developer machines.
Query HiBob employee directory and who’s out from the terminal
Supports output formats: --json, --ndjson, --full
Installable as agent skills to coding agent directories (e.g., ~/.claude/, ~/.agents/)
Credentials supplied via environment variables for non-interactive/CI use
TypeScript codebase with standard build/test scripts (npm ci, npm run build, npm test)
Repository includes CI workflow and release configuration
Uninstallation flow includes removing agent skills then uninstalling the CLI

Automating pre-deployment checks: query who’s out in relevant teams before scheduling deployments or maintenance windows.
Integrating directory lookups into CI jobs: use json/ndjson outputs in CI scripts to gate builds or route notifications to on-duty team members.
Enabling coding agent access: install the SKILL.md for code assistants so they can answer developer questions about colleague availability or contact details.
Exporting HR snapshots: produce JSON exports for HR analytics or sync tooling that ingest employee contact and out-of-office statuses.
On-call and incident automation: query current team availability and route incident pages or alerts to available engineers programmatically.
Automated scripts that fetch employee directory or out-of-office data for dashboards
CI jobs that need to query Bob directory information as part of deployments or notifications
Coding agents (local AI assistants) that read employee data via installed skills
Ad-hoc terminal queries by HR or engineering teams for availability and directory lookups
Integration into internal tooling pipelines that accept machine-readable (JSON/NDJSON) output

Paid

Conan is a native macOS app that wraps Claude Code in a live HUD, surfacing every prompt, tool call, skill, and token in real time.

Live Timeline: Every command, edit, and tool call streams onto a living timeline as it happens.
Context Window Meter: Watch the context window fill across system, tools, memory, skills, and messages while tokens burn in real time.
Session Pulse: A live throughput pulse that spikes when Claude works and calms when it waits.
Skills & MCP Visibility: See every skill and MCP server in play, surfaced and observable as they fire.
Native macOS App: A native HUD for Apple silicon Macs running macOS 13+, with no subscription required.
Claude Radio: Built-in curated audio stations to score your coding sessions.

Monitoring Claude Code Sessions: Watch every prompt, tool call, and skill execution in real time without scrolling logs.
Token Budget Management: Track context window usage and token burn to avoid context rot and surprise costs.
Debugging Agent Behavior: Observe which skills and MCP servers fire to understand and debug agentic workflows.