Best cmux Alternatives (2026)

Picking a cmux alternative starts with one question: do you want more than cmux, or less? If you want more, Agentastic keeps Ghostty-rendered terminals and adds what cmux leaves to you, namely a git worktree for every agent, an editor with language servers, and AI code review, in a native Mac app. If you want less, Ghostty and iTerm2 are fast native terminals and tmux keeps sessions alive on any server. On Windows or Linux, Orca is the closest agent workspace.

cmux has a clear philosophy, and for plenty of people it is still the right terminal; the "When to stay" section says who. Agentastic is ours, which is why each comparison here cites the vendor's own docs, pricing, or repository, as they stood on October 5, 2026.

cmux alternatives at a glance#

Why people look for a cmux alternative#

cmux's README describes it as "a primitive, not a solution": a terminal, a browser, notifications, and a CLI, with the workflow left to you. That's the appeal, and it's also why people look elsewhere:

• No worktree per agent. cmux doesn't create isolated checkouts on its own. Its custom commands docs show a cmux.json action that branches a worktree and starts agents in it, which you maintain yourself.
• Light review tools. cmux now has a diff viewer whose line comments you can hand to an agent, plus a file preview editor and a Markdown viewer. It doesn't run AI review agents or offer language-server features, so many people keep an IDE open for that part of the loop.
• Mac only, for now. There is no Windows or Linux build of the terminal yet.
• Paid cloud and phone access. Cloud VMs start at $50 a month, and the iOS app comes with the paid plans or Founder's Edition.
• You wanted a plain terminal. Some people only want Ghostty or iTerm2 without an agent sidebar.

cmux for Windows and Linux: what exists today#

The cmux terminal is macOS-only as of October 5, 2026. Its homepage FAQ says to check the Download menu and join a waitlist for platforms that aren't released. A Linux page offers nightly x64 builds of cmux Browser, a separate Chromium browser and agent workspace, and cmux's job listings describe a Windows and Linux port in progress. If you need a Windows desktop today, look at Orca below, or at Emdash and Paseo, which are covered in our Paseo alternatives guide.

1. Agentastic: best if you want worktrees and review built in#

Agentastic is a native Swift IDE for macOS. Like cmux, it renders agent terminals with Ghostty and rings the pane whose agent needs you. Unlike cmux, launching an agent creates its git worktree and runs your setup script, and the result can go through an AI reviewer and a GitHub merge without leaving the app.

• Best for: Mac developers running several agents at once who want isolation and review without writing glue scripts.
• Platforms: any Apple Silicon or Intel Mac on macOS 14+, with an iPhone app in public beta through TestFlight for iOS 18 and newer.
• Agent features: 55 built-in agent definitions plus custom ones; notifications with urgency-colored pane rings and Shift-Cmd-U to jump to the next agent needing attention; an agent-drivable browser; a system-wide dev CLI.
• Isolation: a worktree per task by default, with a Docker or Apple container, an SSH host, or a Modal, Fly.io, or Vercel sandbox under your own account when a task needs more distance.
• Price and license: free to use; the source isn't public.

Where it beats cmux: worktrees created for you; an editor with language servers and project search; code review by Claude, Codex, CodeRabbit, or Greptile on top of the diff viewer; GitHub pull requests you can merge in the app; container isolation; and cloud agents and the iPhone app without a paid plan.

Where cmux beats it: it is lighter, it reads your existing Ghostty config (Agentastic's terminal follows its own theme and font settings), it is open source, and cmux claude-teams opens Claude Code teammates as native splits.

2. Ghostty: best plain terminal#

Ghostty is a fast, GPU-accelerated terminal by Mitchell Hashimoto, native on macOS (Swift and AppKit) and Linux (GTK4). It's the engine under cmux, Agentastic's default terminal backend, and Nimbalyst's embedded terminal.

• Best for: people who want speed and native UI and don't need an agent sidebar.
• Platforms: macOS 13 or later and Linux, per its download page. There is no Windows build.
• Agent features: none specific; agents run like any other program.
• Price and license: free; MIT.

Where it beats Agentastic: it is a terminal and nothing more, so it starts instantly, stays out of the way, and runs on Linux.

Where Agentastic beats it: the same rendering engine with worktrees per agent, routed alerts, review, and a browser built around it.

cmux vs Ghostty#

cmux is not a fork. It links libghostty for rendering, the way an app embeds WebKit, and reads ~/.config/ghostty/config for themes and fonts. What it adds is the agent layer: a sidebar showing each workspace's branch, PR, and ports, notification rings fed by terminal escape sequences or cmux notify, a scriptable browser pane, and a socket API. If you don't need those, plain Ghostty is the simpler tool.

3. tmux: best for sessions that outlive your laptop#

tmux is the standard terminal multiplexer: windows, panes, and sessions that keep running on a server after you detach. It runs on Linux, macOS, and the BSDs, inside whatever terminal you use.

• Best for: agents on remote machines, and anyone who already lives in a prefix key.
• Platforms: OpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Linux, macOS, and Solaris.
• Agent features: none specific, but every agent CLI runs inside it.
• Price and license: free; ISC.

Where it beats Agentastic: it runs on any server you can SSH into, and sessions survive your laptop closing without any app on the other end.

Where Agentastic beats it: you get worktrees and review in a GUI without giving tmux up. Agentastic also speaks tmux's control mode, so tmux -CC attach inside an Agentastic terminal turns tmux panes into native tabs, locally or on a remote machine. Our post on how tmux -CC works explains the protocol.

cmux vs tmux#

They solve different layers. tmux is a server-side multiplexer driven by keyboard commands; cmux is a Mac GUI with tabs, splits, a browser, and notifications, and no prefix keys or config files to learn. They also combine: cmux's remote tmux beta attaches to a server's tmux sessions over SSH in control mode and shows them as cmux workspaces, tabs, and splits.

4. iTerm2: best classic Mac terminal with agent hooks#

iTerm2 is the long-running Mac terminal that popularized tmux integration: run tmux -CC and tmux windows open as native iTerm2 windows. It now also has an optional Claude Code integration that shows each Claude session as working, waiting, or idle in a Session Status tool and opens a Workgroup with chat, diff, and code-review sessions side by side.

• Best for: Claude Code users who want status tracking in a terminal they already know.
• Platforms: macOS; version 3.7.3 requires macOS 13 or later.
• Agent features: the Claude Code integration, triggers, and the Python API.
• Price and license: free; GPL-2.0.

Where it beats Agentastic: a familiar terminal with decades of settings, and tmux integration that predates everyone else's.

Where Agentastic beats it: status for every agent, not only Claude; worktrees per task; and review and merge in the same window.

5. Superset: closest terminal-first workspace#

Of the GUI workspaces, Superset (the superset.sh app, not the Apache project) feels closest to cmux: agents run as CLIs in terminals, but each task automatically gets its own git worktree. A sidebar shows which agents are working, chimes when one finishes, and badges the dock, and the app adds a file editor, a diff viewer, and a browser pane that agents can drive.

• Best for: cmux users who want worktrees managed for them but still think in terminals.
• Platforms: macOS, with an experimental Linux AppImage and no Windows build, according to its README.
• Agent features: 22 agent presets, status monitoring, and a CLI, SDK, and MCP server.
• Price and license: one seat is free; Pro costs $20 a seat each month, or $15 on a yearly plan, for remote access, automations, and the phone app. Its Elastic License 2.0 makes the code readable but not open source.

Where it beats Agentastic: published source, a Linux build to experiment with, and an SDK for your own automation.

Where Agentastic beats it: a Swift app rather than Electron, more than twice as many agent presets, per-task containers, and SSH and cloud agents with no paid seat.

6. Orca: best for Windows and Linux#

If what you liked about cmux was many agent terminals in one window, and you need it on a PC, Orca is the open-source answer. Stably AI ships it under MIT for Windows and Linux as well as macOS. Each agent runs in its own worktree with WebGL-rendered terminal splits, a Monaco-based editor, a Chromium browser with a design mode, and diffs you annotate for the agent, plus phone companions for iOS and Android and SSH worktrees on remote boxes.

• Best for: anyone who wanted cmux on Windows or Linux and is happy with a fuller IDE.
• Platforms: desktop builds for all three operating systems; the phone app is on the App Store and as an Android APK.
• Agent features: about 40 preconfigured agents, notifications, and an orca CLI.
• Price and license: free; MIT.

Where it beats Agentastic: it runs on a Windows or Linux desktop, supports Android, and can be forked.

Where Agentastic beats it: Swift and Ghostty instead of Electron and WebGL, container and cloud isolation that isn't behind an Experimental toggle, and reviewers such as CodeRabbit and Greptile. Also note that Orca launches agents with their permission-bypass flags unless you turn that off under Settings → Agents.

7. Claude Squad: best for worktrees without leaving the keyboard#

Claude Squad is a small terminal app, installed as cs, that pairs every session with a tmux session and a git worktree. It defaults to Claude Code and runs Codex, Gemini, Aider, or any command you save as a profile, with a preview pane and a diff tab.

• Best for: people who like cmux's terminal-first feel but want worktrees without leaving the keyboard.
• Platforms: anywhere tmux runs; it needs tmux and the GitHub CLI.
• Price and license: free; AGPL-3.0.

Where it beats Agentastic: you can install it on a Linux server and drive it entirely over SSH.

Where Agentastic beats it: an editor, a browser, pane rings, and review agents, none of which fit in a text UI. See Claude Squad alternatives.

8. Conductor: best if you'd rather chat than watch terminals#

Conductor runs Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and OpenCode in parallel on a Mac, one worktree-backed workspace per task, behind a chat interface. It handles review, pull requests, and archiving, and can start a workspace from a GitHub or Linear issue.

• Best for: people who found cmux too low-level and want the app to own the workflow.
• Platforms: Mac only, with an iPhone app for Pro subscribers.
• Price and license: local use is free; Pro at $50 a month adds hosted cloud workspaces, multiplayer, a beta API, and the phone app. Melty Labs doesn't publish the source.

Where it beats Agentastic: sandboxes Conductor runs for you, and teammates who can join a workspace live.

Where Agentastic beats it: each agent's real TUI, 55 agent definitions to Conductor's four, and containers and SSH hosts for isolation; Conductor's FAQ notes that its local agents run unsandboxed. Conductor vs cmux compares those two directly.

When to stay with cmux#

Keep cmux if:

• You want a terminal first and an agent tool second, and you like composing your own workflow from a CLI and socket API.
• Your Ghostty config, keybindings, and themes should carry over untouched.
• You run Claude Code teams and want teammates as native splits.
• You want GPL-licensed source you can read and patch.
• Paid cloud VMs and the iOS app fit your budget, or you don't need them.
• You value session restore that brings back windows, scrollback, and agent sessions after a restart.

How to choose#

1. Decide how much product you want. Only a terminal: Ghostty or iTerm2. Sessions that live on a server: tmux. Worktrees managed for you: Agentastic, Superset, Orca, or Claude Squad.
2. Check your OS. Windows or Linux desktops point to Orca. Ghostty and tmux also run on Linux.
3. Decide where review happens. cmux's diff viewer covers line comments for an agent. For AI review agents and an editor with language servers beside the terminals, choose Agentastic; Orca brings a Monaco editor to every OS. With Ghostty or tmux, keep an IDE alongside.
4. Count your agents. Claude only: iTerm2's integration or Claude Code Desktop may be enough. Several CLIs: a tool that tracks every agent's status.

For terminal-only picks, see the best terminal for Claude Code roundup.

How to switch from cmux to Agentastic#

Both apps run the same agent CLIs in ordinary git repositories, so the move is about hooks, scripts, and habits. cmux can stay installed as your everyday terminal.

1. Install the app. Homebrew users can run brew install agentasticai/tap/dev; everyone else takes the DMG from the download page. It requires macOS 14.

2. Set up the terminal. Agentastic uses Ghostty by default but doesn't read your Ghostty config. Pick a font under Settings → Terminal → Font and a theme under Settings → Theme; the terminal follows the theme's colors.

3. Replace notification hooks. Agentastic installs provider hooks for agents it launches, so Claude Code needs no edits to ~/.claude/settings.json. In your own scripts, swap cmux notify for dev notify:

   bashCopy

   dev notify --title "Need approval" --body "Two columns will change in this migration."

4. Retire the worktree command. Instead of a cmux.json action that branches a worktree, open Agent Home, select one or more agents with instance counts, and send. Each instance gets its own worktree. Move npm install and .env copying into .agentastic/setup.sh, as shown in setup scripts.

5. Move remote work. Replace cmux ssh user@host with File → Add Remote (Cmd+Shift+E). For tmux sessions on that host, run tmux -CC attach in an Agentastic terminal and they open as native tabs.

6. Port socket-API scripts. Choose Agentastic → Command Line Integration to put the system-wide dev command on your PATH. dev agents, dev tail, and dev send cover listing, reading, and messaging agents, and dev browser snapshot, click, and fill drive the built-in browser. See the dev CLI reference.

7. Pair your phone. Install the TestFlight build of the iPhone app, enable connections under Settings → Mobile App, and scan the code the Mac shows.

Sources#

Sources for every product claim, as checked on October 5, 2026:

• cmux: homepage, pricing, custom commands, remote tmux, iOS app, Linux, GitHub, license
• Ghostty: homepage, download, about
• tmux: GitHub
• iTerm2: homepage, downloads, tmux integration, Claude Code integration
• Superset: pricing, agents, GitHub
• Orca: homepage, supported agents, GitHub
• Claude Squad: GitHub
• Conductor: pricing, install, FAQ

Continue the research:

• Agentastic vs cmux: the feature table for these two
• Terminal docs, including Ghostty and tmux control mode
• AI coding agent orchestration tools: where cmux and the GUI workspaces fit together

Frequently asked questions#

What is the cmux terminal?#

cmux is a free, GPL-licensed macOS terminal from Manaflow, written in Swift and AppKit on top of libghostty. It adds vertical tabs that show each workspace's branch, pull request, and listening ports, blue rings around panes whose agent needs you, a scriptable browser pane, a diff viewer, and a CLI and socket API.

cmux vs tmux: what's the difference?#

tmux is a terminal multiplexer that runs inside any terminal on Linux, macOS, and the BSDs, and keeps sessions alive on a server after you detach. cmux is a graphical Mac app with tabs, splits, notifications, and a browser. cmux can mirror remote tmux sessions in a beta feature, so many people use tmux on the server and a GUI on the Mac.

cmux vs Ghostty: is cmux a fork of Ghostty?#

No. cmux uses libghostty to render its terminals and reads your Ghostty config for fonts and colors, but it is a separate app. Ghostty is a general-purpose terminal for macOS and Linux; cmux adds agent-focused features such as notification rings, a metadata sidebar, an in-app browser, and a socket API.

Is there cmux for Windows?#

Not as of October 5, 2026. The cmux terminal ships for macOS; cmux's site offers a nightly Linux build of a separate Chromium-based workspace called cmux Browser, plus a waitlist for platforms that haven't shipped. On Windows today, Orca, Emdash, and Paseo are the closest agent workspaces.

Does cmux have an iOS app?#

Yes, in beta. It ships on TestFlight as cmux BETA and pairs with a Mac running cmux so you can attach to its terminals from an iPhone or iPad. Access comes with cmux's paid plans and Founder's Edition. Agentastic's iPhone app is also a TestFlight beta, and it is free.

Is cmux free and open source?#

Yes. The macOS app, CLI, and iOS app are licensed GPL-3.0-or-later and free to use. A few server components use the Business Source License, and cloud VMs start with the Pro plan at $50 a month.

What is the best cmux alternative?#

For a Mac developer who wants a worktree per agent, an editor, and code review built in, Agentastic, which also renders its terminals with Ghostty. For a plain fast terminal, Ghostty. For persistent server sessions, tmux. For Windows or Linux, Orca.