Byobu vs Plux
Byobu
byobu.orgPlux
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Byobu | Plux |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Terminal Multiplexers | 8.1 (#6) | 7.2 (#21) |
| Configuration | An interactive F9 menu lets users toggle status notifications, change keybinding sets, select profiles, and switch backends. | Configuration supports settings including the default shell, key prefix, scrollback limits, mouse input, refresh rate, and clipboard command. |
| License | Byobu is GPLv3-licensed open-source software hosted on GitHub. | The repository provides the software under the MIT License, which grants permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute it free of charge. |
| Pane management | Users can create, rename, reorder, split, zoom, and synchronize windows and panes. | Plux supports vertical and horizontal splits, pane focus, zoom, ratio adjustment, and pane closing. |
| Purpose | Byobu is a text-based window manager and terminal multiplexer that wraps tmux or GNU Screen with keybindings, status notifications, profile management, and split-pane layouts. | Plux is a small Unix-first terminal multiplexer written in Rust that keeps shell processes and terminal state in a background daemon. |
| Support | Support is largely volunteer-led; users can report bugs on GitHub Issues and ask questions on StackExchange. | The README asks issue reporters to include a reproduction command, TERM, terminal size, shell, OS, and PLUX_DEBUG output. |
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.