tmux AlternativesTop Terminal Emulators and other similar apps like tmux

tmux is described as 'Terminal multiplexer: it enables a number of terminals (or windows), each running a separate program, to be created, accessed, and controlled from a single screen. tmux may be detached from a screen and continue running in the background, then later reattached' and is a very popular terminal emulator in the os & utilities category. There are more than 10 alternatives to tmux for a variety of platforms, including Linux, Mac, Windows, Rust and Homebrew apps. The best tmux alternative is GNU Screen, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like tmux are Herdr, WezTerm, Zellij and RMUX.

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Alternatives
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Alternatives list

  1. GNU Screen icon
     91 likes

    Offers full-screen terminal multiplexing with independent windows, VT100 emulation, scrollback, and copy-paste. Supports ANSI standards, detaching, and persistent background process execution for shells or commands across Unix-like systems.

    15 GNU Screen alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
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  2. Herdr icon
     18 likes

    Handle multiple coding agents in real terminals with instant status tracking, persistent sessions that survive disconnects, SSH/mobile reattachment, keyboard and mouse controls, plugin support, and lightweight operation as a Rust binary for enhanced workflows.

    32 Herdr alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Rust
    • Nix Package Manager
    • Homebrew
    Good alternative?
     
  3. WezTerm icon
     24 likes

    A GPU-accelerated cross-platform terminal emulator and multiplexer written by @wez and implemented in Rust

    129 WezTerm alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  4. Zellij icon
     9 likes

    Zellij is a workspace aimed at developers, ops-oriented people and anyone who loves the terminal. Similar programs are sometimes called "Terminal Multiplexers".

    14 Zellij alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Windows
    Good alternative?
     
  5. RMUX icon
     4 likes

    Universal Rust multiplexer for the agentic era: detachable, scriptable, and inspectable, with a tmux-compatible CLI, daemon-backed SDK, and native Ratatui integration.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Rust
    Good alternative?
     
  6. byobu icon
     24 likes

    Byobu is a GPLv3 open source text-based window manager and terminal multiplexer. It was originally designed to provide elegant enhancements to the otherwise functional, plain, practical GNU Screen , for the Ubuntu server distribution.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
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  7. Wemux icon
     3 likes

    wemux - Multi-User Tmux Made Easy.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  8. Automatically tiles and organizes all terminal sessions in one native macOS window, scaling layouts from fullscreen to grid, grouping sessions by project with color-coding, enabling instant filtering, supporting any CLI tool, and requiring zero configuration.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  9.  1 like

    Twin is a windowing environment with mouse support, window manager, terminal emulator and networked clients, all inside a text display.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  10. dtach icon
     7 likes

    dtach is a tiny program that emulates the detach feature of screen, allowing you to run a program in an environment that is protected from the controlling terminal and attach to it later. dtach does not keep track of the contents of the screen, and thus works best with programs...

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  11. swe-mux icon
     1 like

    Workspace for coding-agent CLIs: per-session status detection, prompt queues, git worktree parallelism, supervisor-owned persistent terminals, deterministic capture of file writes and commands, and a mobile client.

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    Good alternative?
     
  12. Saggar icon
     2 likes

    A native Mac terminal that keeps projects, sessions, and attention organized. Saggar tracks what is working, waiting, finished, and failed, then brings the sessions that need you to the front.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Homebrew
    • Online
    • GB flagUnited Kingdom
    Saggar screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
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