wmux · comparison
wmux vs Orca
Orca is one of the strongest projects in this category — an open-source agent development environment with desktop and native mobile apps, support for a long list of CLI agents, and rapid releases. If you are evaluating it, you should also know exactly where wmux differs, including the places Orca is ahead.
The short version: Orca is an IDE-like environment around parallel agents; wmux is a workspace multiplexer — a terminal-native window where agents are real PTY panes owned by a daemon, coordinating over channels, behind approval gates, with a built-in browser they can drive.
| wmux | Orca | |
|---|---|---|
| Open source | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows & macOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Parallel agents in git worktrees | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wide roster of supported CLI agents | partial | ✓ |
| Native iOS / Android companion apps * | partial | ✓ |
| Remote / SSH workspaces | ✕ | ✓ |
| Per-hunk adoption of task diffs * | ✓ | partial |
| Agent-to-agent channels & task delegation | ✓ | partial |
| Execute-approval gate on cross-agent actions | ✓ | partial |
| Keep processes on app quit; recover saved work after reboot * | ✓ | partial |
| Built-in browser agents can drive (CDP) | ✓ | partial |
| Terminal-native (real PTY panes, tmux-style prefix) | ✓ | partial |
* Native iOS / Android companion apps: wmux has an iPhone companion on the App Store, paired with a Mac running wmux. It does not currently provide a native Android companion.
* Per-hunk adoption of task diffs: Orca compares and annotates diffs; wmux additionally lets you tick individual hunks across tasks and land the selection as one atomic git apply.
* Keep processes on app quit; recover saved work after reboot: wmux's daemon owns every PTY. Reboot stops processes; saved panes can be restored, and Claude Code can resume an exact conversation when its session ID is known.
Where Orca is ahead
- Mobile platform breadth: wmux's native companion is currently for iPhone and pairs with a Mac running wmux.
- Breadth of supported agents and remote SSH/VPS workspaces.
- Release velocity and a large, fast-growing community.
Where wmux is ahead
- A separate daemon keeps terminal processes running when the app closes. Processes stop during an OS reboot; saved workspace state can be restored, and Claude Code conversations can be resumed when their session IDs are known.
- Safety rails for multi-agent work: a per-pane execute-approval gate, server-verified sender identity in channels, and critical-command warnings.
- Slack-style channels agents actually use — durable rooms with @-mentions and per-agent inboxes, plus A2A task delegation between panes.
- The harvest workflow: per-hunk selection across N task diffs, landed as one atomic git apply, with one-click PRs.
- MCP tools for terminals, panes, browsers, channels, agent messaging, and worktree fan-out register with supported agents.
Both projects are open source and moving fast, so treat any comparison — including this one — as a snapshot (last checked August 2026). Corrections are welcome as issues or PRs.