Everything people ask before installing.
If your question isn't here, email us — we answer, and the good ones end up on this page.
Basics
Does mtmux replace tmux?
No. It attaches to the tmux server you already run, the same way tmux attach does. Remove mtmux and every session keeps running, untouched.
Do I need to install an app?
No — the client is a PWA. Add to Home Screen if you want native push and fullscreen keyboard handling. iOS Safari 16.4+, Chrome, Firefox and Edge all work.
Which platforms run the daemon?
macOS 13+, Linux (glibc or musl), and WSL2. It needs tmux 3.3a or newer and about 9 MB of RSS with a dozen panes attached.
Does it work on a tablet?
Tablet mode keeps real splits with drag-resizable gutters, and a Bluetooth keyboard passes chords through unmodified — including your prefix key.
What about screen or zellij?
tmux is first-class. Zellij is in beta behind --mux zellij; any bare pty can be served with mtmux run -- $SHELL. GNU screen isn't supported.
Using it on a phone
Can I really type in vim on a phone?
For edits, yes. The modifier row keeps esc, ctrl, alt, tab and arrows reachable, modifiers latch so chords are two taps, and you can bind macros for anything you repeat. Writing a new module on a phone is still a bad idea.
My layout is unreadable on a small screen.
Turn on reflow: panes restack vertically and the focused one goes full width, without resizing the tmux window your desktop is attached to.
Does it survive the subway?
Output is buffered server-side and replayed in order when you come back. You lose scroll position, not content, and the last screen of each pane is cached offline.
How much data does it use?
Diff-based cell updates: a typical hour of watching an agent is a few hundred kilobytes. A pane spewing full-screen redraws is the expensive case.
Agents & notifications
How does it know an agent is stuck?
Three combined signals: pattern matches on the last screen (approval prompts, y/n questions), process tree state, and an output-silence timer you set per agent. Run mtmux watch --pane work:1 --explain to see what it sees.
Can I answer a prompt from the notification?
Yes, for keystroke answers: the push carries actions like y, n or a custom key list, and mtmux sends them to that pane. Anything longer opens the session.
Which agents have presets?
Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI and aider ship with done/blocked signatures. Everything else works through mtmux run, mtmux notify or a tmux hook.
Will it wake me at 3am?
Only if you ask. Quiet hours, per-level routing and a dedupe window are all in agents.toml; blocked events can be the only ones that ring.
Do notifications leave my machine?
Push bodies pass through the push provider, so keep secrets out of them — include_tail = 0 sends the event with no output at all. Anything you route to Slack, Slack can read.
Security & ops
Can the relay read my session?
No. Keys are agreed between daemon and device; the relay forwards sealed frames and sees ciphertext, sizes and timing. Details in the threat model.
Do I have to open a port?
No. The daemon dials out over one WebSocket. Nothing listens, so there is nothing to scan or reverse-proxy.
What if I lose my phone?
mtmux devices revoke <name> drops the socket mid-frame and forgets the key. No password reset, no session left behind.
Can I limit which sessions are reachable?
Yes: mtmux up --allow work,api exposes only those sessions, so a paired phone can't reach the rest of the box.
Can I run it fully self-hosted?
Yes. One container for the relay, or skip it with --lan for a purely local install with a pinned self-signed cert.
Money
Is it free?
Free forever on one machine with two devices, agent notifications included. Pro is $8/month when you have more boxes than hands.
Is it open source?
The client and the protocol spec are MIT. The daemon is source-available; the relay image ships with Pro and Team.