Vibeleaderboard
← Back to Tools
Index / app

cmux

github.com/manaflow-ai/cmux
Visit github.com
Category
Developer Tools
Rank
No. 43Tools index
Listed in
#16 Interface with your agents
Pricing
Open Source
Platform
desktop · cli
Type
APP
Builder
manaflow-ai
GitHub
26.9k stars
Latest release
nightly
Date

About

A native macOS terminal built on Ghostty that adds vertical tabs, notification rings, and an integrated browser specifically designed for working with AI coding agents. Features workspace management, SSH support, and scriptable automation for agent workflows.

What it does

cmux turns many concurrent coding-agent sessions into a manageable control surface. It tracks which sessions need attention, keeps project context visible, collects human decisions in Feed, restores supported agent sessions, and lets agents operate nearby web pages through accessibility snapshots and scripted interactions.

Why it's ranked here

The strongest case is composability without surrendering the terminal workflow. Attention signals, splits, browser control, session restoration, SSH workspaces, and a local automation interface address recurring problems in parallel agent work. The narrow macOS target and agent-specific integration gaps keep it from being universal.

What's good

The sidebar exposes branch, pull request, directory, port, and notification context per workspace. Feed centralizes supported permission and planning decisions, while timing out to native prompts instead of freezing work. Session hooks preserve identifiers and sanitize relaunch commands. Browser panes can expose accessibility trees for direct agent interaction.

Tradeoffs

It only targets macOS. Restoring layout, scrollback, and supported agent sessions does not checkpoint arbitrary running processes. Feed behavior varies by agent: Codex hooks provide non-blocking telemetry outside the managed teams mode, while several integrations provide lifecycle restoration but no permission bridge. Project Dock configurations can execute commands and therefore require trust approval.

How to use it well

Use cmux when you run several terminal-based coding agents, need quick attention routing, and want scriptable local primitives rather than a prescribed orchestration workflow. Add project-specific Dock controls for tests, logs, services, or reference pages. Keep tmux or another process-preservation strategy when arbitrary live process continuity matters.

Technical notes+

README.md describes a Swift/AppKit application using libghostty, Sparkle updates, a CLI, and a socket API. docs/cli-contract.md specifies a hand-rolled parser, stable scripting output, JSON presentation, raw v2 RPC, and commands for workspaces, panes, surfaces, browser control, SSH, hooks, and events. docs/events.md defines events.stream over the existing socket, newline-delimited JSON frames, bounded replay, slow-consumer handling, and a rotated JSONL audit log. docs/feed.md documents feed.push, FeedCoordinator, WorkstreamStore, a Bun/OpenTUI client, a 120-second advisory wait, and agent-specific reply methods. docs/dock.md adds terminal and browser surfaces through the normal split system, with project configuration guarded by a trust fingerprint. package.json declares GPL-3.0-or-later and includes React, Solid, ProseMirror, OpenTUI, Bun scripts, Biome, Tailwind CSS, and esbuild.

Observed

License
GPL-3.0-or-later
Primary implementation
Native macOS application built with Swift and AppKit, using libghostty for terminal rendering
Platform support
macOS
Installation
Downloadable DMG or Homebrew cask; the DMG installation auto-updates through Sparkle
Interfaces
Graphical application, command-line interface, local socket API, and reconnectable newline-delimited JSON event stream
Configuration
Reads Ghostty configuration and supports project-specific custom commands and Dock configuration
Web and TUI components
Repository package metadata includes React, Solid, ProseMirror, OpenTUI, Bun scripts, Tailwind CSS, and esbuild

Read from README.md, package.json, docs/dock.md, docs/feed.md, docs/vault.md, docs/events.md, docs/ci-runners.md, docs/agent-hooks.md, docs/cli-contract.md, docs/ghostty-fork.md.

What it can do

  • Manage terminal workspaces

    Terminal sessions and projects → Organized workspace environments

  • Display terminal tabs vertically

    Multiple terminal sessions → Vertical tab interface

  • Send notification alerts for terminal events

    Terminal process completion or status changes → Visual notification rings

  • Connect to remote servers via SSH

    SSH connection parameters → Remote terminal session

  • Browse web content within terminal

    URLs and web requests → Integrated browser display

  • Automate AI agent workflows through scripts

    Script commands and agent parameters → Executed automation sequences

  • Integrate with Claude Code Teams

    Claude API credentials and code projects → AI coding assistance within terminal

Tags

terminalai-codingmacosghosttynotificationsbrowsersshclaude

Tech Stack

Node.js

Comments (0)

No comments yet

Editorially curated, with community endorsements as a secondary signal. Corrections welcome.