alternatives

wmux alternatives

TL;DR

This page covers wmux at wmux.app, by GitHub user openwong2kim. It's not the Windows-only wmux at wmux.org by amirlehmam. wmux.app is a free, MIT app where Claude Code, Codex and any other CLI agent run in real terminals. It runs natively on Windows, with no WSL needed, and on Apple Silicon Macs.

Its tricks are good ones. A background service (a daemon) keeps sessions alive. One prompt can fan out to up to 8 worktrees, and you keep only the diff chunks you like. Bots take jobs in plain words and ask before merging anything.

People look elsewhere because there's no Intel Mac build, Linux is experimental, and Codex sign-in through a WSL shell hangs in an open bug. Pane runs real agent terminals on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, Linux, Windows and inside WSL.

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the alternatives

All four run agents in real terminals and build for Intel Macs. Chip colors: green runs natively, amber has a catch, red doesn't run.

  1. 1.Pane

    Best for WSL repos beside Windows ones, plus Intel Macs and Linux.

    Each agent's CLI runs in a real terminal, in a worktree of its own. Windows builds are native for x64 and ARM64, WSL repos open in the same window, and macOS 12+ builds cover Intel and Apple Silicon. Linux gets an AppImage and a .deb. Free, AGPL-3.0.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

  2. 2.Orca

    Best for WSL repos, Intel Macs and phone apps in one big app.

    In our October 2026 test on Windows, Orca ran Claude Code inside a WSL repo, with its worktree on the Linux side. It builds for Intel and Apple Silicon Macs and Linux x64 and arm64, and has iOS and Android apps. MIT. About 1 GB installed.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

  3. 3.Emdash

    Best for Linux packages and Intel Mac builds, if you don't need WSL.

    Emdash ships Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, Windows x64, and Linux AppImage, .deb and .rpm for x64 and ARM64. About 35 agents run in real terminals, and tasks can start from 12 issue trackers. Apache-2.0. No WSL mode.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

  4. 4.Herdr

    Best for agents in real terminal panes, inside the terminal you already use.

    A free, Apache-2.0 multiplexer (one terminal split into many panes) with a sidebar showing which agent is working, blocked or idle. Builds for Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, Linux and Windows. For WSL repos you run its Linux build inside WSL, which worked in our October test. No diff or commit tools.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

which one should you pick?

stay with wmux if

  • → you're on native Windows or an Apple Silicon Mac
  • → you like fanning one prompt out to several worktrees and keeping the best hunks
  • → you want bots that run Claude Code workers and ask before anything public
  • → you want a free iPhone app to answer agents

pick pane if

  • → you're on an Intel Mac or work on Linux every day
  • → you run Codex in WSL, or want WSL repos next to your Windows ones
  • → you want one app that treats Windows, macOS and Linux as stable targets

pane vs wmux at a glance

yespartly, or with a catchno

pane10 yes · 0 partly · 0 nowmux7 yes · 3 partly · 0 no
basics
what it isa desktop appa desktop app, plus an iPhone app
platforms
Windowsyes, native (x64 and ARM64)yes, native through ConPTY
repos inside WSLyes, in the same appas a pane shell; Codex sign-in bug open
macOSyes, Intel and Apple SiliconApple Silicon only, macOS 13+
Linuxyes (AppImage, .deb)experimental (AppImage, .deb, .rpm)
agents
agentsany CLIany CLI
how agents runthe agent's own terminalthe agent's own terminal
everyday work
worktree per taskyesyes, up to 8 per prompt
multi-agent workflowSessions orchestratorbots and agent-to-agent messages
safety and setup
licenseAGPL-3.0MIT code; bot art all rights reserved
account needednono

basics

what it is

pane

a desktop app

wmux

a desktop app, plus an iPhone app

platforms

Windows

pane

yes, native (x64 and ARM64)

wmux

yes, native through ConPTY

repos inside WSL

pane

yes, in the same app

wmux

as a pane shell; Codex sign-in bug open

macOS

pane

yes, Intel and Apple Silicon

wmux

Apple Silicon only, macOS 13+

Linux

pane

yes (AppImage, .deb)

wmux

experimental (AppImage, .deb, .rpm)

agents

agents

pane

any CLI

wmux

any CLI

how agents run

pane

the agent's own terminal

wmux

the agent's own terminal

everyday work

worktree per task

pane

yes

wmux

yes, up to 8 per prompt

multi-agent workflow

pane

Sessions orchestrator

wmux

bots and agent-to-agent messages

safety and setup

license

pane

AGPL-3.0

wmux

MIT code; bot art all rights reserved

account needed

pane

no

wmux

no

wmux facts checked on November 5, 2026 (v4.14.0), from its README and releases.

why people look for a wmux alternative

No Intel Mac build, experimental Linux, and a Codex sign-in bug in WSL.

wmux's README says "Intel builds aren't produced right now". Its Mac releases are Apple Silicon only, for macOS 13 and up, and macOS 12 stops getting updates from 4.14. The Linux AppImage, .deb and .rpm are labeled experimental.

On Windows, wmux runs through ConPTY, Windows' built-in terminal layer, so you don't need WSL. You can still pick WSL as a pane's shell, but an open bug (#2127) says Codex sign-in there hangs at "waiting for login". The docs don't say whether fan-out worktrees work for repos stored inside WSL.

moving from wmux to pane

Each wmux task becomes a pane. Bots map to Sessions; hunk picking has no match.

Each wmux task becomes a pane (one task: its own terminal, worktree and branch). Pane doesn't fan one prompt out across worktrees or pick hunks between them; you review each pane's diff in the Changes panel, then commit, push and merge. wmux's bots map loosely to Sessions, Pane's orchestrator, which starts and steers agents in other panes. The Fleet view's states map to Pane's status dots and notifications.

Your agents carry over: Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode start with a click, and Kiro CLI or any other CLI runs as a custom command. A WSL repo opens in the same window as your Windows repos.

our verdict

wmux is one of the few agent terminals built natively for Windows without WSL, and its fan-out and hunk picking are clever. If you're on an Intel Mac, rely on Linux or run Codex in WSL, pick Pane. Orca bundles WSL support and phone apps, Emdash covers many agents on Linux and Intel Macs, and Herdr keeps the terminal-first feel.

how we checked

Desk research on November 5, 2026. We read wmux's homepage, README and FAQ, WSL docs, release assets and issue tracker, plus the repo and releases of the other wmux at wmux.org. We didn't install either.

Orca, Emdash and Herdr facts come from our October 3 and 4, 2026 research. In October 2026 we also tested Orca's Windows build hands-on with a WSL repo, and ran Herdr's Linux build inside WSL2.

What we ran
  • → Desk research on November 5, 2026: wmux's homepage, README, docs, releases and issue tracker, plus the other wmux project's repo. Nothing was installed for this page.
Who wrote this
We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We checked every claim about wmux against its own site, docs, releases and issues on the dates above.
Corrections
If anything here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll fix it and update the date at the top. Open an issue on GitHub
Sources

frequently asked questions

See also: alternatives · terminal multiplexers
or
Download*
Windows SmartScreen warningDirect downloads can show a SmartScreen warning while Pane is unsigned. Pane is fully open source, so you can audit the code and build from source yourself.1. Click More info2. Click Run anyway3. Continue the installerThe PowerShell install downloads the official release directly and avoids most browser download friction.npm global install
Paste that in PowerShell.Linux

By Parsa Khazaeepoul, co-founder of Pane. .