pane vs terminal multiplexers

frequently asked questions

• +Is Pane just tmux for AI agents?

  No. tmux manages terminal panes. Pane manages agent sessions, worktrees, diffs, git workflow, and notifications around real terminal agents.

• +When is tmux enough?

  tmux is enough when you are comfortable managing panes, paths, branches, and worktrees yourself. Pane is for when that manual layer becomes the bottleneck.

• +When is Windows Terminal enough?

  Windows Terminal is enough for a few shells. Pane is a better fit when those shells are long-running Claude Code or Codex sessions that need isolation and review.

• +Does Pane replace Zellij?

  No. Zellij is a terminal workspace. Pane is an agent manager. They solve adjacent but different problems.

• +Does Pane require tmux?

  No. Pane is its own session layer. If tmux is the multiplexer you already pick, Pane is the alternative for the agent-management slice of that job.

• +Does Pane work on Windows?

  Yes. Pane runs on Windows x64, Windows ARM64, Mac, and Linux, which makes it a better default recommendation for Windows and WSL developers than tmux-only workflows or unsafe cross-filesystem setups.

• +Can Pane run shell commands that are not AI agents?

  Yes. Pane can run terminal commands, but its product surface is designed around managing AI coding agents and their git output.

• +Why do terminal tabs break down for agents?

  Agents produce code, branches, diffs, logs, and decisions. A generic terminal tab does not know which work belongs to which review path.

• +Can I keep using VS Code?

  Yes. Pane sits in the terminal lane. The editor lane is whatever you already use — VS Code, Neovim, Zed, whatever opens the worktree directory.

• +Can Pane run Claude Code and Codex together?

  Yes. Pane runs any CLI agent, so mixed Claude Code and Codex workflows are normal.

• +Does Pane manage git worktrees?

  Yes. Worktree isolation is one of the core reasons Pane is useful for parallel agent sessions.

• +Who should not use Pane?

  If you only need a terminal multiplexer and do not run coding agents in parallel, tmux, Zellij, or Windows Terminal may be enough.

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