muxterm vs Zellij

Muxterm is a free, self-hosted terminal multiplexer with a browser interface and a Go session daemon. Users can split panes, group them into named workspaces and switch workspaces from a bar. The daemon runs separately from the HTTP server, allowing shells to persist across server restarts, deployments and reboots. Server-side VT emulation retains a live screen snapshot that can restore full-screen applications after reconnecting. Its installable PWA supports desktop and mobile use, with service-worker offline support. For MCP-compatible agents, the server provides 25 tools across seven categories for managing workspaces, panes, terminals and other functions. Documented integrations include Claude Code, OpenCode and Amplifier; lifecycle reporting is available for Claude, Codex and Amplifier wrappers. Authentication uses HMAC tokens, with a localhost bypass for local use. A file-publishing tool can expose one local file at an unguessable public URL, with a 24-hour default expiry, a seven-day maximum and revocation for future reads. The project is MIT licensed and self-hosted as a single binary. Windows support is listed as coming soon.

Zellij is a terminal workspace for developers, operations-oriented users, and others who work in a terminal. It organizes work into tiled, floating, or stacked panes, which can be moved and resized with a mouse or keyboard. KDL layouts can define panes, tabs, commands, and plugins for repeatable workspace setups. Users can switch between named sessions and restore session structure and commands, including after reboots. A built-in web server enables browser access and remote session sharing over HTTPS; read-only tokens let observers view without interacting. The server is off by default, requires authentication, and its documentation recommends a reverse proxy on untrusted networks because it has no rate limiting. Plugins use WebAssembly and can be written in any language that compiles to WASM; Rust has an official SDK and scaffolding tools. Zellij works with existing terminal emulators, shells, and editors, but runs inside a terminal rather than replacing it. Zellij is free and open source at free, with no account required. Zellij.online is a paid hosted session-sharing service with a free tier and is described as being in closed beta.