Compare
TermFlow vs tmux
tmux is the ubiquitous, free multiplexer agents already script. TermFlow offers the same panes and persistence through a supported, structured API and MCP contract — plus a native GUI, on Windows too.
Two philosophies.
tmux
The multiplexer agents already use.
Free, everywhere, and battle-tested: detach/reattach sessions, panes, and a scripting surface (send-keys, capture-pane) that a whole ecosystem of AI agents already drives over SSH. If it runs a shell, tmux is one command away.
TermFlow
Panes and persistence, with a real contract.
The same panes and reboot-safe session restore, but driven through a documented HTTP API and a first-party MCP server — structured requests and completion signals instead of send-keys and screen-scraping — wrapped in a native GUI on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Feature by feature.
| Capability | TermFlow | tmux |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Windows · macOS · Linux (native GUI) | Unix · Windows via WSL |
| Panes, splits, layouts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Session persistence | Reboot-safe restore | Detach / reattach |
| Preinstalled / one command away | Install the app | Everywhere ★ |
| Free & open source | Apache-2.0 | ISC |
| Agent control surface | HTTP API + MCP | send-keys + capture-pane |
| Structured output + completion signals | ✓ | — |
| Built-in MCP server | First-party | Community bridge |
| Native GUI (fonts, mouse, GPU) | ✓ | — |
| SSH / remote-native | — | Yes ★ |
Where tmux wins
Let's be honest: tmux is everywhere, it's free, it's rock-solid, and agents already drive it — Claude Code's split-pane agent mode even relies on it (or iTerm2). Over SSH on a headless box, nothing beats it. But driving tmux means send-keys (which doesn't even press Enter for you) and polling capture-pane to guess when a command finished. TermFlow gives agents a supported contract instead: a documented HTTP API and a first-party MCP server with structured output and completion signals — and a native GUI a human can watch, on Windows too, where tmux needs WSL.
Common questions.
Can't agents already drive tmux?
Yes — and many do. The difference is the contract: send-keys and capture-pane are string injection and screen-scraping with no 'command finished' signal. TermFlow exposes structured requests and completion over an HTTP API and MCP, so agents stop guessing.
Does TermFlow replace tmux over SSH?
No — for remote, headless SSH sessions, tmux is still the right tool and we'll say so. TermFlow is the native, API-driven terminal for your own machines, including Windows where tmux needs WSL.
Is it free?
The full terminal, API, and MCP server are free on your machine, Apache-2.0. See pricing.