Compare · Deep dive
dev-mux vs cmux
cmux (by Manaflow, YC S24) is a native macOS agent terminal — libghostty rendering, no Electron, attention rings when an agent needs you, an embedded browser agents can drive, and an iOS app that mirrors your Mac. 25k GitHub stars in six months, GPL, and free. The seam with dev-mux is simple: cmux is your Mac; dev-mux is every machine you own, watched by a hub that doesn't sleep when the lid closes.
What cmux actually is
A local-first desktop app embedding libghostty in Swift/AppKit: GPU-accelerated panes, notification rings driven by OSC sequences and CLI hooks, a scriptable Unix socket API, session resume for Claude Code and Codex, and an embedded browser with an accessibility-tree API so agents can verify their own web changes. It can open SSH workspaces and attach to remote tmux sessions, and the iOS app pairs directly with the Mac to mirror terminals and forward notifications. A paid “Founder's Edition” (price unpublished) teases cmux AI, Cloud VMs, and voice mode.
At a glance
As of July 31, 2026. If something here is stale, tell us.
| dev-mux | cmux | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Self-hosted fleet control plane | Native macOS agent terminal |
| Scope | Every machine, repo, and agent — one live map | One Mac (SSH/tmux reach-out per window) |
| Always-on state | Hub polls every box; stale flagged in seconds | The Mac app is the point of awareness |
| Phone surface | iOS app talks to the hub — works with the laptop closed | iOS mirrors the Mac — needs the Mac awake and paired |
| Attention | Hook-level signals + escalation, fleet-wide | Notification rings per pane (OSC + hooks) |
| Machine floor | bash 3.2 + tmux + git on any spoke | macOS for the client |
| License / price | Commercial — Solo $25/mo · Team $100/mo | GPL, free; “Founder's Edition” unpriced |
| Status | Live with design partners | Shipping fast, 25k stars |
Where cmux shines
- Native rendering quality — libghostty in AppKit with no Electron; it feels like a first-party Mac app because it is one.
- Agent ergonomics on the box — attention rings, multi-agent layouts, Claude Code teams integration, and an embedded browser agents can actually drive.
- Scriptability — a real CLI + Unix socket API rather than an opaque GUI.
Where dev-mux is a different layer
- Awareness that survives the lid. cmux's picture of your agents lives in the app; the iOS app mirrors that Mac and needs it awake. dev-mux's hub is a separate always-on machine — the fleet map, attention signals, and push notifications keep working while every laptop you own is asleep.
- Fleet, not reach-out. cmux can SSH to other boxes one window at a time. dev-mux aggregates every box into one freshness-aware view with machine health and usage — the difference between visiting machines and operating a fleet.
- Headless and heterogeneous. Linux servers, Pis, and containers are spokes with a bash 3.2 floor; there's no Mac in the loop unless you want one.
- They can compose. cmux attaches to remote tmux sessions — including sessions on dev-mux spokes. Use cmux as your Mac-side terminal and dev-mux as the plane above it.
Common questions
Is cmux related to Superlogical?
No — cmux is a Manaflow (YC S24) product that embeds the open-source libghostty library. Same rendering library as Superlogical uses, unrelated companies — and cmux is very much agent-specific.
Is cmux free?
Yes — GPL and free, with an unpriced Founder's Edition for early-access perks. dev-mux is paid infrastructure: a dedicated always-on hub from $25/mo.
Can I use cmux with dev-mux?
Yes — cmux attaches to remote tmux sessions, and dev-mux sessions are tmux sessions on your spokes. cmux as the Mac terminal, dev-mux as the fleet layer.
cmux is a beautiful window onto your Mac. dev-mux is the plane above every machine.
Get early accessWritten 2026-07-31 against cmux's public site, repo, and README. cmux is a trademark of its owners; no affiliation or endorsement implied. Corrections welcome.