qmux
A powerful, native interface for coding agents.
Launch Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, or Grok in native Ghostty terminals, organize them with vertical tabs and groups, and read their transcripts in a native sidebar.
Queue up work that runs automatically as agents go idle. Create tasks that wait on other terminals, so you can plan your work in parallel, and let agents implement in sequence. Never deal with a merge conflict or worktree error again.
macOS 13+ supported, Linux soon.
Features
- Agent panes — agents run as real terminal processes, with a native layer on top: transcript rendering, status tracking, a follow-up composer, and a multiplexed turn queue. Just type
codexorclaudein a shell pane to get started. - Vertical tabs — The sidebar shows every terminal and agent, grouped by the project that you’re working on. Drag to reorder. Collapse groups you’re not using with one click.
- Native transcript — qmux tails the agent’s transcript and renders it as a rich timeline: Markdown, tables, code blocks, Mermaid and Graphviz, tool calls (optionally collapsed). Search your transcript with native ⌘F while you keep working.
- Turn queue — Queue up follow-ups while an agent works; edit, reorder, and drag queued work between panes. Wait on other terminals or agents to finish their work.
- Session forking — fork a running session to a new tab with
qmux fork. All four agents fork natively. The fork inherits the transcript and continues in the same folder, or in a new--worktree. - Prompt library & ⌘K palette — save prompts as Markdown files, globally or per project, with
{placeholder}fill-in. Insert them from the pane header or the ⌘K command palette, which also covers tab navigation and pane actions. - Git worktrees — launch each agent into its own worktree, with dirty-state checks and a keep-or-delete prompt on close.
- Terminal, done properly — every pane is a real Ghostty terminal, rendered natively with Metal. Vertical splits (
⌘D), find in scrollback, copy-on-select, paste confirmation, ⌘-click links, and 485 bundled color themes. - Browser overlayexperimental — preview a local file or a
localhostdev server in a resizable panel over the terminal. Markdown files render as styled HTML. - Generated tab titles — tabs name themselves from your first message, via Apple Foundation Models on-device by default (OpenRouter optional, or off).
- Extensible — Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, and Grok ship built in. New agents are one Rust trait + UI adapter away.
FAQ
What is qmux?
A macOS desktop app, terminal multiplexer, and agent control plane in one window. Agents run in real terminals, and qmux gives you a native UI on top: a transcript sidebar, a follow-up composer, status tracking, and different ways to queue and sequence work.
How is it different from tmux?
tmux runs in your terminal and multiplexes terminals; qmux is a terminal and multiplexes agents. It adds a native GUI, transcript rendering, agent status tracking, and follow-up queueing, which a terminal-only multiplexer can’t see into.
How is it different from cmux?
Both are agent-friendly terminals with vertical tabs. qmux is built around the agent transcript: a native sidebar timeline, a follow-up composer, a turn queue, and session forking, rather than terminal programmability.
How is it different from Conductor and other parallel-agent apps?
Those hide the terminal behind a dashboard. In qmux the agent’s real TUI is always there, and the native layer augments it. You can drop to the raw terminal at any moment.
Which agents does it support?
Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, and Grok all ship with full adapters: lifecycle hooks, native transcripts, session resumes, and native forks. Agents are integrated through a pluggable adapter layer, so new ones can be added. Contributions are welcome.
Do I have to launch agents from qmux?
No. Run claude or codex in any shell pane and qmux routes it through the same machinery — status, transcript, and queue included.
How does qmux know what an agent is doing?
We install wrapper commands for claude, codex, and other agents, that add hooks at launch. They report session start, prompts, tool use, permission requests, and idle state over a token-gated Unix socket. Hooks are only added when launching agents through our application, not globally.
What platforms does it run on?
macOS 13 (Ventura) or later today. The DMG is a universal binary and runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Linux support is planned.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. The application is entirely local and sends no telemetry. Tab title generation uses Apple Foundation Models on your local device by default. Release builds check the GitHub releases page for updates on startup.
What happens if it crashes?
Recoverable panes and agents respawn on restart, along with groups, queued turns, and unsent drafts. State lives in .qmux/state.json in your workspace.
How much does it cost?
Nothing. The application is free and open source under the MIT License.