Open source agent terminal vs local process dashboard
Official product sites
cmux is a GPL-3.0-or-later terminal and workspace tool from Manaflow. Its native macOS app uses libghostty and includes vertical tabs, split panes, an embedded scriptable browser, agent-attention notifications, SSH/Mosh workspaces, session restore, project-local commands and layouts, a Task Manager, and a CLI/socket API. A separate cmux TUI runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows.
Solo is a desktop workspace for local agents, project commands, queues, and shell sessions, with automatic self-exit and file-watch restart for commands, notifications, resource visibility, and shared configuration through solo.yml.
Choose cmux for terminal-centric local or remote work. Choose Solo for a dedicated project-process dashboard.
Choose cmux when terminal panes and agent sessions should stay together. Choose Solo when local agents and project commands should live in a separate process dashboard.
Solo fits best when agents, services, shell sessions, queues, and shared startup commands need one dashboard and one workflow layer.
cmux fits best when you want tabs, panes, browser context, notifications, and fast switching between many terminal-native agent sessions.
| Feature | Solo | cmux |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Local process dashboard for agents and project commands | Terminal built for running multiple coding agents |
| Terminal emulator | Yes — built-in terminals and managed PTYs | Yes — native Swift/AppKit with libghostty GPU-accelerated rendering |
| Vertical tabs / workspaces | Yes — sidebar with process status | Yes — sidebar showing git branch, directory, ports, and notification status |
| Split panes | — | Yes — horizontal and vertical splits with directional keyboard navigation |
| Embedded browser | — | Yes — scriptable web view with API for clicks, form filling, JS eval, and screenshots |
| Agent notifications | Yes — native desktop notifications, in-app toasts, OSC escape sequences | Yes — blue rings around panes, unread badges in sidebar, desktop alerts when unfocused |
| Automation API | MCP, local HTTP API, and Solo CLI | Unix socket API + CLI tool with workspace, split, input, notification, and browser commands |
| Use any terminal agent | Yes — supported agents get first-party status and session features; other CLIs run as generic processes | Yes — any terminal agent (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Amp, Goose, Aider, etc.) |
| Local process dashboard | Sidebar with CPU/memory stats per process | Task Manager with CPU/memory across terminals, agents, and browser webviews |
| Auto-restart on crash | Automatic self-exit restart for commands, with rate limiting | Manual stop/restart in Task Manager; no automatic crash policy documented |
| File-watch restarts |  | — |
| Shared project command config | solo.yml — version-controlled, team-shareable | .cmux/cmux.json for actions, commands, layouts, directories, and startup commands |
| Session restore | Processes persist while app is running | Restores layout, directories, best-effort scrollback, browser history, and supported agent sessions |
| Ghostty config compatibility | — | Yes — reads existing Ghostty config for themes, fonts, and colors |
| Agent hooks | First-party agent integrations and MCP tools | Install supported hooks with cmux hooks setup |
| Remote workspaces | — | SSH and Mosh workspaces; remote tmux attachment |
| Open source | — | Yes — GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Price | Free (4 projects, 20 processes); Pro plan | Core app free; optional Founders Edition |
| Platform | macOS and Windows | Native app on macOS 14+; TUI on macOS, Linux, and Windows |
Solo is a native desktop app that gives you one dashboard for all the commands a project needs running locally. It is a process management layer, not a terminal replacement.
cmux is a terminal and workspace tool from Manaflow.
Solo includes interactive terminals and managed PTYs, but it is not trying to replace a dedicated terminal app. You can work inside Solo or keep using cmux, Ghostty, iTerm2, or another terminal alongside it.
cmux keeps the workflow terminal-centric.
Solo's notification system is oriented around process and terminal attention.
cmux's notification system is oriented around terminal and agent attention.
cmux and Solo can coexist. They address different parts of the workflow.
Both tools can run alongside each other.
cmux is free and open source. Solo has a free tier plus a paid layer. The real comparison is whether you want terminal-centric multitasking or a separate local environment with more structure.
Solo pricing lens
Solo has a free tier for up to 4 projects and 20 processes, with Pro above that.
cmux pricing lens
cmux is free and open source.
Decision shortcut
If the terminal is the product you want to optimize, cmux is the cleaner fit. If the project environment around those terminals needs supervision, Solo earns the separate app.
Moving between cmux and Solo changes where you organize local work.
cmux is a terminal and workspace tool with local and remote workspaces, agent notifications, project commands, resource views, session restore, and automation. Solo is a project-process workspace with first-party agent status, automatic command restart, notifications, resource visibility, and shared startup configuration. Choose cmux for terminal-centric multitasking, Solo for project-process supervision, or use both.
Solo is a lightweight desktop terminal workspace for local agents, project commands, interactive terminals, and long-running services. It sits beside your editor, keeps your stack visible, and gives Claude Code, Codex, and the rest of your tools one shared local control surface.
Solo is built by Aaron Francis, creator of faster.dev and Database School, and VP of Marketing at Laravel. He built Solo after running Claude Code alongside his own dev stack and getting tired of juggling nine terminal tabs just to keep local agents, services, and project commands visible.
He is also a dad to two sets of twins, which tends to create a strong preference for software that reduces chaos instead of adding more of it. That is why Solo keeps showing up in these comparisons as the local workspace around your tools, not another editor or orchestrator trying to absorb the whole workflow.
Related comparisons
If you are evaluating Solo, cmux, these are the closest next comparisons in the matrix.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-24
The Free plan includes every feature, so you only need Pro after you outgrow four projects.
Team seats
Buy seats under one Stripe subscription, then share a claim link in Slack or email. Each claimant signs in or registers and receives a normal Solo Pro license. Optional auto-grow adds prorated seats automatically when the pool is full, so your team never hits a license wall.
Seats 1–3
$99/seat/yr
Seats 4–10
$89/seat/yr
Seats 11–50
$79/seat/yr
Seats 51+
$69/seat/yr
Brackets apply per seat — a 10-seat team pays $99 each for seats 1–3 and $89 each for seats 4–10.
Free for four projects on macOS and Windows.
Start with a terminal and add the programmable meta-harness when you need to coordinate agents with your local development stack.
“I can't live without it.”
