Byobu vs RMUX
Byobu
byobu.org
RMUX
rmux.ioSide by side
| Figure | Byobu | RMUX |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Terminal Multiplexers | 8.1 (#6) | 8.3 (#4) |
| 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. | The project documents a ratatui integration widget and a Claude Code teammate mode that runs Claude inside a local RMUX workspace. |
| License | Byobu is GPLv3-licensed open-source software hosted on GitHub. | RMUX is dual-licensed under MIT or Apache License 2.0. |
| 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. | RMUX is a local terminal multiplexer for persistent, scriptable terminal sessions and terminal automation. |
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.
RMUX
RMUX is a local terminal multiplexer that keeps shells under a daemon on the user’s machine. Version 0.10.0 provides 90 tmux-compatible commands for persistent sessions that can be detached and reattached. Its automation SDKs let programs work with typed session, window, and pane handles, send keyboard and mouse input, wait for output, capture structured snapshots, and receive pane events. Official SDKs are available for Rust, Python, and TypeScript; the Python and TypeScript SDKs require the RMUX binary to be installed first.
Web Share creates browser links to a pane or session while its shell stays local. Links can allow read-write operation or read-only viewing, with separate pairing PINs enabled by default. The browser decrypts terminal updates locally. Sharing can use private Tailscale access, public SSH tunnel presets, or a user-provided ingress URL. RMUX says tunnels can see handshake metadata and encrypted frames, but not keystrokes, PINs, raw tokens, or terminal cells. The Web Share frontend can be self-hosted. RMUX is dual-licensed under MIT or Apache-2.0 and is available through package managers, prebuilt installers, or Cargo.