Byobu vs Conmux
Byobu
byobu.orgConmux
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Byobu | Conmux |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Terminal Multiplexers | 8.1 (#6) | 7.6 (#13) |
| Integrations | Byobu integrates with tmux and GNU Screen as backends and can display system indicators including network, Wi-Fi, battery, updates, RAID status, and custom scripts. | Conmux provides a Rust crate and CLI plus a Tauri GUI shell, and its README identifies Conflux as a separate multi-agent workbench built on it. |
| License | Byobu is GPLv3-licensed open-source software hosted on GitHub. | The project is dual-licensed under MIT or Apache 2.0. |
| Session persistence | Users can detach and reattach to sessions while their windows, processes, and history survive. | A daemon supports detaching and reattaching clients while panes survive and the screen is replayed on reconnect. |
| Support | Support is largely volunteer-led; users can report bugs on GitHub Issues and ask questions on StackExchange. | The maker invites bug reports, issues, discussions, and pull requests, and lists an email contact. |
Plans
In their own words
Byobu
Byobu is a free, GPLv3-licensed text-based window manager and terminal multiplexer for Linux, BSD, and macOS. It runs over tmux or GNU Screen and adds function-key controls, status notifications, profiles, and split-pane layouts. Users can create, rename, reorder, split, zoom, and synchronize windows and panes, then save layouts for restoration or define repeatable window sets in configuration files. Detaching and reattaching preserves windows, processes, and history, with up to 10,000 lines of scrollback per window. A two-line status bar can display CPU, memory, disk, network, battery, load, time, and other indicators, each independently toggleable. The interactive F9 menu changes notifications, keybinding sets, profiles, and backend selection. Byobu defaults to tmux when available but supports GNU Screen and switching through byobu-select-backend. The project requires tmux 1.5 or later and/or GNU Screen. Support is largely volunteer-led through GitHub Issues and StackExchange.