Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Astropad VS Emisar.dev

Compare Astropad VS Emisar.dev and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Astropad logo Astropad

Astropad is a free form drawing tool designed from the ground up to take advantages of the features offered by an iPad.

Emisar.dev logo Emisar.dev

One governed MCP server connects any AI agent to a finite action catalog, enforced on-host with pack trust, policy gates, human approvals, and a hash-chained audit trail.
  • Astropad Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-25
  • Emisar.dev Approvals
    Approvals //
    2026-07-21
  • Emisar.dev Audit Log
    Audit Log //
    2026-07-21
  • Emisar.dev Policies
    Policies //
    2026-07-21
  • Emisar.dev Runner fleet
    Runner fleet //
    2026-07-21

Emisar is the last MCP server youโ€™ll need to install: a Zero-Trust gateway connecting Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, and any AI agent to your infrastructure. One server handles production access, debugging, alerts, and internal operations, with new capabilities added as packs. Agents can inspect real production state, debug what they shipped, and help resolve incidents. Safe reads run automatically; policy allows, blocks, or routes risky actions for approval. No SSH keys, VPNs, remote shells, or standing shell access โ€” and every call is recorded.

Emisar.dev

Website
emisar.dev
$ Details
freemium $20.0 / Monthly (per runner)
Startup details
Country
United States
State
CA
Founder(s)
Andrew Dryga
Employees
1 - 9

Astropad features and specs

  • High-Quality Display
    Astropad offers high-quality display mirroring, which gives users sharp and clear visuals when using their iPads as drawing tablets with their Mac.
  • Low Latency
    The app is designed to provide a seamless experience with minimal lag, which is crucial for real-time drawing and design work.
  • Customizable Shortcuts
    Astropad allows users to set up custom shortcuts, which can significantly enhance productivity by providing quick access to frequently used functions.
  • Apple Pencil Support
    With full support for the Apple Pencil, users benefit from pressure sensitivity and precision, making it ideal for professional artists.
  • Wireless Capability
    Astropad can be used wirelessly, providing greater flexibility and comfort as users are not tethered to their devices.

Possible disadvantages of Astropad

  • Mac-Only Compatibility
    Astropad is limited to macOS for the host computer, which restricts its usage for Windows users.
  • Requires Paid Subscription
    For access to all features and optimal performance, users may need to subscribe to Astropad Studio, which involves a recurring cost.
  • Potential Performance Issues
    Depending on the Wi-Fi connection, users may face occasional performance issues such as lag or connectivity problems.
  • Complex Setup for New Users
    Initial setup might be challenging for users who are not tech-savvy, as it requires pairing and sometimes troubleshooting connectivity.
  • Limited to Apple Ecosystem
    The software is predominantly designed for use within the Apple ecosystem, limiting its integration and interoperability with non-Apple devices.

Emisar.dev features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Astropad videos

AstroPad Review - 1 year later

More videos:

  • Review - Apple SIDECAR VS. ASTROPAD - Which is better?
  • Review - Using the iPad Pro as a Cintiq Graphics Tablet | ASTROPAD Review

Emisar.dev videos

No Emisar.dev videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Astropad and Emisar.dev)
Remote Desktop
100 100%
0% 0
AI Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Remote PC Access
100 100%
0% 0
Infrastructure Monitoring

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Astropad and Emisar.dev.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Emisar.dev's answer:

emisar is for SRE, DevOps, platform engineering, infrastructure, and security teams that want AI agents to inspect and operate production systems. It is especially relevant to teams managing multiple Linux hosts, clusters, databases, cloud services, or regulated environments where unrestricted shell access and incomplete audit records are unacceptable.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

Emisar.dev's answer:

The hosted control plane and operator interface use Elixir, Phoenix, LiveView, PostgreSQL, and Tailwind CSS. The host runner and MCP bridge are written in Go. Action packs use YAML and JSON Schema, while production infrastructure is managed with Terraform on Google Cloud. The system communicates through MCP, OAuth 2.1, TLS, and WebSockets.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

Emisar.dev's answer:

  • Blitz.gg - game analytics for billions of matches and a pretty large infrastructure.

What's the story behind your product?

Emisar.dev's answer:

Founder Andrii Dryga spent a decade working as a CTO, full-stack engineer, SRE, and DevOps engineer. He experienced the cost of running the wrong command on the wrong cluster, while also seeing AI solve operational problems in seconds. emisar grew from the need to preserve both truths: AI agents are useful, and production access must remain bounded. Its answer is to give agents a reviewed catalog of operations instead of a blank terminal.

What makes your product unique?

Emisar.dev's answer:

emisar lets AI agents work on real infrastructure without giving them a shell. Agents choose from a finite catalog of typed, versioned actions. Policy decides what runs, what requires approval, and what is denied, while an outbound-only runner verifies the action again on the host. New capabilities arrive as packs behind the same MCP integration, and every request is recorded in both a searchable audit trail and a tamper-evident host journal. [

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Emisar.dev's answer:

Choose emisar when you want an agent to keep investigating and handling routine operations without handing it SSH credentials or supervising every call. Compared with raw shell access, copy-paste workflows, or one-off MCP servers, emisar provides reviewed action contracts, host-level enforcement, risk-based policy, scoped access, approvals, pack integrity checks, and a durable audit trail. It is built specifically for governed infrastructure access rather than generic automation.

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Astropad and Emisar.dev

Astropad Reviews

Top 10 Duet Display Alternatives (Free and Paid) Reviewed | 2022
AstroPad Standard is an alternative to Luna Display. The main difference between the two is that with AstroPad Standard you do not have to use a dongle. That said, AstroPad Standard only works as a multipurpose mirror of your Mac on your iPad and does not include the other 2 modes.
Source: mediapeanut.com
8 Best SpaceDesk Alternatives for Duet Display (2022)
It is a lightweight tool that helps you multitask using more than one monitor. The main USP of Astropad is the straightforward user interface that makes it perfect for non-technical users. However, despite its sleek design, the software is powerful enough to do all your tasks.
Source: techdator.net

Emisar.dev Reviews

We have no reviews of Emisar.dev yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Astropad seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 7 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Astropad mentions (7)

  • Conflicted between Ipad Pro and Wacom Tablet for Cartoon Animations
    I would like to use the adobe suite to create my animations, starting in Illustrator and then moving to adobe animate and then adobe after effects if needed (I have used after effects for 10 years now). I would prefer to hand draw my characters in illustrator, then make their entire body into a vector (facial expressions, joint bends and more) in illustrator, then take it to adobe animate for character rigging. I... Source: almost 3 years ago
  • How to sculpt comfortably from my couch: looking for lightweight/desktop-less setups recommendations
    My team used https://astropad.com/ to set up animators to work in adobe programs directly. Source: about 3 years ago
  • blender on ipad
    But if you really want to try using your iPad with Blender the app to get is Astropad. Source: about 3 years ago
  • How to make extended display on illustrator from IPAD to MACBOOK?
    I've done this with Astropad. You might also be able to do this with Continuity if your Mac and iPads are new enough, my iPad is too old. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Pixel Dog Spring Wallpaper
    Made by myself with Aseprite and Astropad. Part of my project Wallace.dog. Source: about 4 years ago
View more

Emisar.dev mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Emisar.dev yet. Tracking of Emisar.dev recommendations started around Jul 2026.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Astropad and Emisar.dev, you can also consider the following products

Duet Display - With Duet Display, you can transform your iPhone or iPad into a second display to expand the screen space of your PC or Mac system.

spacedesk - spacedesk expands the Windows desktop computer screen to other computers over the local area...

iDisplay - iDisplay is an app that turns a mobile device into a secondary desktop monitor. The app currently supports iOS, Android, Windows and MacOS, and it lets users connect a desktop computer to a mobile device over WiFi. Read more about iDisplay.

Superbrush - Superbrush clones the screen of your Windows computer on your Android tablet and relays pen input back to your PC.

Air Display - Air Display allows extra screens to extend the display size of a Mac desktop. The company behind the product is Avatron Software, which was founded in 2008. Read more about Air Display.

Duet Pro - Turn your iPad Pro Into a high performance drawing tablet