Side by side
dvtm vs muxel
Both stand on terminal multiplexers. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted
dvtm provides terminal-based tiling, window shortcuts, tags, and copy mode at no cost. Users needing detach and reattach support must use the separate abduco tool.
Visit dvtm
Free plan LinuxMacWindows
Muxel brings agent sessions, shell panes, Git worktrees, and task scheduling into a local desktop workspace. Windows users should note that tmux session persistence is Unix-only and disabled there.
Visit muxelThe facts
| dvtm | muxel | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Linux, Self-hosted | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Not published | Free or on request |
| Plans published | None | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | brain-dump.org | muxel.sh |
| On terminal multiplexers | #11 of 29 | #7 of 29 |
dvtm: what it does well
- Includes vertical stack, bottom stack, grid, and fullscreen layouts.
- Keyboard shortcuts control window management.
- Tags let users filter which windows appear.
- Copy mode can pass scrollback to an external editor.
- Free under the MIT/X11 license.
What to know first
- Does not include session management.
- Custom key bindings require recompiling the source.
- The project lists version 0.15, released in 2016.
muxel: what it does well
- Runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
- Supports configurable agent and shell presets.
- Includes Git worktrees and pull request actions.
- Can schedule saved prompts.
- Free and open source under GPL-3.0.
What to know first
- tmux session persistence is disabled on Windows.
- Configured agents and services follow their own data policies.
- A separate commercial license is available.