cmux alternatives, and when to keep using cmux

The right cmux alternative depends on which part of cmux you want to replace. If you only want a fast native terminal, Ghostty is the engine cmux renders with. If you need sessions that run on Linux servers and survive a disconnect, tmux or the cross-platform cmux TUI does that. If you want each agent task in its own Git worktree and branch, reviewed and merged from one place, a task-based app such as Paradev fits better, and if you want several projects with their agents, editor, browser and task board laid out on one canvas, Armadai is built for that. If what you want is a free, scriptable terminal on a Mac, cmux already is one.

What cmux gives you, so you know what you are replacing

cmux is a native macOS terminal built on libghostty, the rendering library behind Ghostty. Each workspace is an entry in a vertical sidebar that shows its Git branch, working directory, listening ports and latest notification. A ring lights up around a pane when the agent in it needs attention, and you can split a browser beside a terminal. A CLI and a Unix socket API can create workspaces, send input, read the screen and drive the browser, so you can script your own workflow on top.

The Mac app is free. Its source, along with the CLI, TUI and iOS app, is under GPL-3.0-or-later, while cmux's server code is under the Business Source License. The iOS app and Cloud VMs come with the paid plans, such as Pro at $50 a month. cmux needs macOS 14.0 or later and runs on Apple Silicon and Intel. Because it is a terminal, any agent that runs on a command line works in it, and after a relaunch it restores your layout and resumes supported agents such as Claude Code and Codex once its hooks are set up.

What cmux does not impose is a task model. Its own comparison with Conductor says cmux can replace the terminal supervision layer, that Conductor still fits teams that want a packaged worktree and review flow, and that with cmux you and your agents compose those workflows yourselves. So the alternatives below are sorted by what you want instead: less than cmux does, cmux off the Mac, a built-in task workflow, or a different layout for many projects.

The alternatives side by side

Ghostty, if you want a fast terminal and nothing more

cmux describes itself as not a fork of Ghostty but a different app built on Ghostty's rendering engine, and cmux reads your Ghostty config for themes, fonts and terminal keybindings. If what you value in cmux is the rendering speed and native feel, and the vertical tabs and agent notifications are more than you need, Ghostty gives you the same engine as a standalone terminal. It is a native app on macOS, with a universal build for Apple Silicon and Intel that needs macOS 13 or later, and on Linux, and it is MIT licensed.

You give up the layer cmux adds on top: the workspace sidebar with branch and port details, the attention rings, the browser pane and the socket API. If you run one or two agents and watch them yourself, that is little loss. With more, you can still get an alert when an agent finishes by wiring Claude Code hooks to desktop notifications, which our notifications guide walks through.

tmux, or the cmux TUI, if your agents live on a server

The cmux Mac app is a desktop app. If your agents run on a Linux box you reach over SSH, or you want to close your laptop and reattach later, a terminal multiplexer is the tool. tmux runs on macOS, Linux and the BSDs, keeps sessions running in the background after you detach, and is free under a permissive licence.

cmux has two answers of its own here, so check them before you leave. The Mac app can open workspaces over SSH, and attaching to remote tmux sessions is in beta. And the separate cmux TUI is a multiplexer in the same spirit as tmux, with builds for macOS, Linux and Windows, headless sessions you attach to later, and the same style of control socket. If you like cmux but need it on a Linux or Windows machine, the TUI is the closest alternative.

A worktree-per-task app, if you want the workflow built in

In cmux, you or your agents decide how branches and worktrees are set up. Some people want the opposite: an app where starting a task creates an isolated checkout, the agent works there, and you review a diff and open a pull request at the end. That is the model cmux describes Conductor as offering when it compares the two.

Conductor is winding down after joining Meta, so it is no longer the obvious pick for this. Paradev (formerly Superset) and its alternatives covers the apps that still work this way, and Conductor vs Superset vs cmux sets cmux against Conductor and Paradev under its old name.

Armadai, if you work across several projects at once

cmux organises work as a list: workspaces in a sidebar, each with its panes and tabs. In June 2026 it added a canvas layout for the panes inside a workspace, described at the time as experimental and in progress. Armadai starts from the canvas. Each project folder becomes a workspace, several workspaces sit on one infinite canvas, and each holds tiles for Claude Code, Codex, terminals, a code editor, a browser, notes and a task board. You zoom out to see every project and zoom in to work on one, or switch to Tab View for one workspace per tab.

Beyond the layout, Armadai differs in how you direct agents:

• Approvals across projects. cmux shows agent permission requests in its feed with Allow Once and Deny buttons. Armadai's sidebar lists every session across all projects as working, idle or needing approval, and you can hover a waiting one, read the request and answer it there. See agent attention.
• A master agent. A Claude Code, Codex, Grok or Cursor session that can open workspaces, launch agents, message them and read their replies from one conversation. cmux shows the subagents an agent spawns, such as Claude Code teams, as panes, and leaves anything broader to its socket API. See the master agent.
• Task hand-off. From a task board you choose Run with Claude or Run with Codex. That run gets its own Git worktree and comes back as a draft pull request for you to review.
• Agents working together. Coordinate lets Claude Code and Codex exchange plans and reviews in one project, with a message budget you set.

Where cmux is ahead, plainly:

• Price. The cmux Mac app costs nothing. Armadai costs $20 a month or $120 a year after a 7-day free trial that needs no card, and Armadai has no free plan.
• Source and platforms. cmux is GPL-licensed and its TUI runs on Linux and Windows. Armadai is not open source and does not run on Windows or Linux.
• Remote machines and cloud. cmux opens SSH workspaces and offers Cloud VMs on its paid plans. Armadai's homepage describes neither.
• Surviving a restart. cmux restores your layout after a full computer restart and resumes supported agents whose sessions its hooks captured. Armadai can keep terminals and CLI agents running when you quit the app, using its background session helper, but those sessions do not survive logging out or shutting down your Mac.
• Agent range and scripting. Anything that runs in a terminal runs in cmux, and everything is scriptable over its socket. Armadai is built around Claude Code, Codex, Grok and Cursor, with plain terminal tiles for anything else.

Plans and what they include are under pricing.

Which to choose

• Stay with cmux if you want a free, open source terminal, you like scripting your own workflow, and a sidebar of workspaces suits how you think.
• Pick Ghostty if you run few agents and only want the fast terminal underneath cmux.
• Pick tmux or the cmux TUI if your agents run on Linux servers or you need to detach and reattach, and the cmux TUI if you need Windows.
• Pick a worktree-per-task app if you want each task isolated and reviewed as a pull request without building that yourself.
• Pick Armadai if you keep several projects open at once and want each one's agents, editor, browser, notes and tasks laid out together, with approvals and a lead agent across all of them, and you are on a Mac.