p2pmux is a free peer-to-peer terminal multiplexer for sharing a terminal session across people and machines. Each pane runs a real shell on the machine of the person who opened it, so the pane uses that host’s tools and environment. A session can have up to 8 members, 9 tabs, and 8 panes per tab, with shared layouts and nested splits. Terminal streams are end-to-end encrypted between peers; an iroh relay can be used when NAT requires it. If the coordinating laptop closes, panes on other machines keep running, though layout changes and new joins pause until a survivor takes over. The Ctrl+O inbox lists detected coding agents and can open a pane for terminal input. Anyone with a join code or ticket can see every pane and control terminals. Processes and credential files remain on their pane host and are not uploaded to peers. p2pmux is MIT-licensed and supports macOS and Linux command-line terminals, but not Windows. Linux builds need glibc 2.35 or newer; musl systems must build from source.
Who it is for
It suits people who want to share terminal sessions across macOS or Linux machines, including teams working with coding agents. Users who need Windows support or pane-level privacy from other session members should note its limits.
What is good
- Free and released under the MIT license.
- Shared sessions allow up to 8 members.
- Each pane uses its host machine’s tools and environment.
- Terminal streaming is end-to-end encrypted peer-to-peer.
- Credential files stay on the pane host.
What to know first
- Windows is unsupported.
- Linux requires glibc 2.35 or newer, or a source build on musl.
- Anyone with a join code or ticket can control terminals.
- A coordinator closing pauses layout changes and new joins.
Verdict
p2pmux combines shared terminal layouts with shells running on their owners’ machines. Its platform support is limited to macOS and Linux, and session access gives members interactive terminal control.
p2pmux plans and pricing
All plansCompared on terminal multiplexers
- Free plan
- Yes
- Persistence scope
- local
- Session synchronization
- Yes
- Collaboration features
- Yes
- Custom pane layouts
- Yes
- Access platforms
- macOS and Linux command-line terminals
