openmux vs wtmux
openmux
github.comwtmux
shmuelie.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | openmux | wtmux |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Terminal Multiplexers | 8.2 (#5) | 6.5 (#28) |
| Configuration | Configuration changes for layout, theme, and keybindings hot-reload while openmux is running. | wtmux reads `~/.wtmux.conf` or falls back to `~/.tmux.conf`, supporting a subset of tmux configuration syntax. |
| Intended users | The README presents openmux as a terminal multiplexer and compares its behavior and architecture with tmux and Zellij. | The maker recommends wtmux for people who want a native Windows terminal multiplexer without WSL, Native AOT performance, or COM-based plugin extensibility. |
| License | The repository identifies the software as MIT licensed. | The comparison page lists wtmux's license as MIT. |
| Security | The repository page shows zero security advisories. | The control named pipe is scoped to the current user's SID, access is restricted to that user and SYSTEM, and the client checks the pipe endpoint's owner. |
| Terminal features | It includes mouse tracking, scrollback support, pane zoom, and Kitty graphics protocol support. | It supports VT and ANSI sequences, Unicode, mouse input, application terminal modes, hyperlinks, and clipboard integration. |
Plans
In their own words
openmux
openmux is a terminal multiplexer for Linux and macOS, with vertical, horizontal, and stacked pane layouts and nine workspaces. Each workspace can keep its own pane arrangement. Vim-style hjkl navigation and a Ctrl+b prefix provide two ways to control panes. Sessions preserve workspace layouts and pane working directories; users can detach while a background shim keeps running, then reattach from another client. The project also offers an aggregate PTY browser for filtering and previewing terminals by process, directory, or Git branch. Terminal features include mouse tracking, scrollback, pane zoom, and Kitty graphics support for image rendering, pixel sizing, and SSH-aware offloading. Its CLI handles session and pane operations such as creating sessions, splitting panes, sending text, capturing output, and listing sessions as JSON. Configuration changes for layout, theme, and keybindings hot-reload while openmux is running. The MIT-licensed project is listed at free. Installation options include a curl script, npm, Bun, source build, or prebuilt binaries for macOS Apple Silicon and Linux x64 or arm64.