Open by design
Inspect, script, override, and extend behavior without forking the whole app.
Native macOS terminal workspace
A terminal workspace you can actually own.
OpenMUX is a fast, native, flexible, and hackable terminal workspace for developers. Terminal-first, scriptable by default, and built to stay open to your workflow.
Why OpenMUX exists
The terminal should be a workspace, not a locked box.
Modern developer terminals are drifting toward vendor-specific workflows, browser-like sidecars, and large opinionated bundles. OpenMUX takes the opposite bet: a small, composable native workspace that exposes the seams instead of hiding them.
Terminal first
The terminal is the product. AI, plugins, and automations connect through the same open surface.
Native precision
Windows, focus, keyboard input, accessibility, and notifications should feel at home on macOS.
Sensible defaults
Tabs, panes, sessions, themes, and useful keybindings should work before you configure anything.
Workspace primitives
Built for people who live in terminals.
OpenMUX focuses on durable primitives: workspaces, tabs, split panes, pane-local tab stacks, hooks, events, and a CLI control plane.
Tabs, panes, and workspaces
Project-level workspace tabs, split-right and split-down layouts, and pane-local tab stacks for real working sessions.
Persistent shell sessions
Panes own interactive sessions with direct keyboard input, paste, resize, and command injection support.
Local control plane
The omux CLI and JSON-RPC surface let scripts and tools control the running app without UI scraping.
Hooks and events
Lifecycle, session, command, input, and UI events are designed to become clean automation payloads.
Theme ownership
Token-based OpenMUX themes compile to terminal-engine config instead of exposing engine internals as product UX.
International-first input
ISO layouts, right Option, AltGr, dead keys, compose input, and IME behavior are treated as core quality.
Architecture direction
A narrow core with stable seams.
OpenMUX keeps terminal rendering behind a narrow bridge and builds the workspace layer in OpenMUX-native concepts: sessions, panes, tabs, hooks, plugins, events, and commands.
That makes the app understandable to humans, reliable under automation, and friendly to AI-assisted workflows without privileging any one agent or vendor.
omux cli
$
omux config doctor
config ok · ~/.omux/config.toml
$
omux theme list
monokai-soda · catppuccin · dracula · nord · gruvbox · one-dark
$
omux theme nord
theme switched · reload sent to running app
$
omux events
terminal.progressReported
workspace.tab.created
pane.commandFinished
Positioning
Not another bloated AI terminal.
OpenMUX is not an AI-first terminal, a web app in a desktop shell, or a monolithic workspace trying to own every workflow. It is a programmable terminal workspace where AI is one powerful kind of plugin.
Instead of
one blessed workflow
OpenMUX gives you
composable primitives
Instead of
opaque integrations
OpenMUX gives you
hooks, events, and JSON-RPC
Instead of
web shell compromises
OpenMUX gives you
native macOS behavior
Current status
Early, usable foundations are landing.
OpenMUX is in beta. The foundation is in place: native shell, CLI/control plane, hooks, tabs, split panes, pane-local tab stacks, Ghostty bridge, themes, CI, and release automation.
- Done Native app shell, workspace tabs, split panes, pane-local tabs
-
Done
omuxCLI, JSON-RPC control plane, external hook seams - Done Vendored Ghostty runtime path with fallback terminal host
- Next Runtime transcript quality, layout restore, pane polish, richer automation
- Later Expanded plugin model and a more complete release distribution story
Build your terminal workspace, not someone else's.
Follow OpenMUX on GitHub, read the manifesto, or try the current release flow as the project moves from foundation into polish.