Summary

A comparison of three terminal/process management tools: cmux (new, agent-optimized macOS terminal), tmux (battle-tested multiplexer), and Solo (macOS process dashboard). The article argues they solve different problems and are complementary rather than competing.

比較三款終端/程序管理工具:cmux(新型、針對 AI agent 優化的 macOS 終端)、tmux(經典終端多工)和 Solo(macOS 程序儀表板)。三者定位不同,互補而非競爭。

Key Points

  • cmux: macOS-only, GPU-accelerated (libghostty), agent-first — notification rings per pane, embedded scriptable browser, Claude Code hooks integration, socket API. Free/open-source (AGPL-3.0). Launched Feb 2026.
  • tmux: runs everywhere Unix runs, remote persistence (detach/reattach is the killer feature), plugin ecosystem (TPM), YAML session managers. Battle-tested since 2007. Free/ISC.
  • Solo: macOS process dashboard for background services — auto-restart, shared project config (solo.yml), MCP server + Raycast API. Free for 4 projects; $99/yr Pro.
  • Recommended split: tmux on remote servers, cmux for local multi-agent work, Solo for background service lifecycle.
  • cmux has native Claude Code hooks support (~/.cmux/hooks/) — directly relevant for AI coding workflows.

Insights

The cmux notification rings per pane are a genuinely useful addition for multi-agent workflows — knowing which agent pane needs attention without polling is a real UX improvement. The embedded browser is novel: being able to render previews and fill forms without leaving the terminal is useful for web-scraping agents. The Solo process dashboard fills a gap neither terminal tool covers: supervised process management with crash recovery, which is important for long-running background agents. This article is written by Solo’s marketing site, so the “Solo complements both” framing is promotional, but the underlying tool distinctions are accurate.

Connections

Raw Excerpt

cmux is purpose-built for agent multitasking. tmux can run any CLI agent in a pane, but it was not designed with agents in mind. Solo treats agents as managed processes alongside your other commands.