Compare · Agent-era terminals
Zentty vs cmux
Two Ghostty-based terminals built for working with agents.
Overview
cmux is the closest neighbor to Zentty. Both are Ghostty-based Mac terminals that notify you when coding agents need attention. The difference is direction: cmux reaches into broader workspace features, while Zentty stays focused on worklanes and normalized agent state.
What each tool is
Zentty is a native macOS terminal, written in Swift and AppKit and built on libghostty. It runs your agents in real shells across worklanes and surfaces the moment an agent needs you: running, idle, needs input, needs approval, done. No telemetry. No editor, file tree, git diff UI, or cloud runtime. It stays a terminal.
cmux is a Ghostty-based macOS terminal for working with AI coding agents. It offers vertical tabs, notification rings, browser panes, and file previews.
Who each tool is best for
Zentty is best for Mac developers who run CLI agents like Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, or OpenCode in parallel and want to stay in flow while those agents work in other panes and worklanes.
cmux is best for developers who want agent notifications in a Ghostty-based terminal and also want workspace features bundled into the same app.
Capability comparison
| Dimension | Zentty | cmux |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Native Mac terminal with worklanes and agent attention | Ghostty-based terminal with agent notifications |
| Layout model | Worklanes: durable columns of panes | Vertical tabs |
| Agent status model | Normalized lifecycle states | Notification rings |
| Workspace features | None — stays a terminal | Browser panes and file previews |
| Agent attention | Running / idle / needs input / needs approval / done | Varies by tool |
| Built-in editor | No — keep your editor | Varies by tool |
| Cloud runtime | No — local only | Varies by tool |
How to choose
- You want durable worklanes for each context.
- You want one agent status model across every agent.
- You want a terminal that stays a terminal.
- You want browser panes and file previews inside the terminal.
- You prefer vertical tabs.
- You want to follow that project's broader workspace direction.
Common questions
They overlap, but the product direction differs. Zentty leans into worklanes, normalized state, and restraint.
Zentty maps different agent signals into one readable set of states, so the sidebar reads consistently.
Keep comparing
Sources
Last reviewed: 2026-05-23
Run your agents in real panes, and see which one needs you.
Free Native macOS No telemetry