Coda vs cmux
Two native Mac apps for agents, with different focus
Quick summary
cmux is a free, open-source Mac terminal built on Ghostty’s libghostty, made for running many coding agents. It has split panes, a WebKit browser with Developer Tools, a browser API for agents, custom commands and session restore for about 13 agents.
Coda is also native Swift and also has panes, a browser and agents. The difference is the dev servers: Coda supervises them, restarts them on crash, starts required services first and starts them again on relaunch. cmux restores layout, folders, scrollback and browser URLs, but not running processes.
Choose cmux for a free terminal built for agents. Choose Coda if your projects have servers you want kept running and restored.
Who should choose Coda, and who should choose cmux?
Choose Coda if
- You want dev servers restarted on crash and started in the order they need.
- You want servers started again when the app opens, not only the layout and scrollback.
- You want an MCP server that lets agents start services, read logs and update tasks.
- You want a task board and quick commands per project.
Choose cmux if
- You want a free, open-source terminal.
- You mostly run agents and don’t need server supervision.
- You want cmux’s cloud VMs or iOS app.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Coda | Cmux |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A Mac app for dev servers, CLI agents and browser panes, grouped by project | A native terminal for running coding agents |
| Runs your dev servers | Each service has a command, a folder and a port | Terminals and a task manager |
| Restarts a server when it crashes | Per service, up to 3 attempts, 2 seconds apart | Processes are restarted by hand in the task manager |
| Starts the services a server needs first | Starts each required service and waits until its port accepts connections | Not documented |
| CLI agents from several vendors | Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, OpenCode, Copilot and pi, plus any CLI added with a JSON file | Resume hooks for about 13 agents |
| Agent conversations resume after a restart | Each agent pane resumes its own session at launch | After running cmux hooks setup |
| Servers start again when the app reopens | Services that were running start again, agents resume and browser tabs reopen | Restores layout, folders, scrollback and browser URLs, not live processes |
| Built-in browser with DevTools | WebKit pane with the Chrome DevTools frontend beside the page | WebKit browser with Developer Tools |
| Agents can use the built-in browser | 21 browser tools over MCP, with an approval policy per action | Browser API for agents |
| MCP server that controls the app | More than 50 tools for services, logs, views, tasks and the browser. Off until you turn it on | CLI and socket API; its MCP server is for computer use |
| Shell commands as buttons | Per project, run in their own pane | Custom commands in .cmux/cmux.json |
| Split panes | Views with split panes, layout presets and floating windows | Split panes |
| Task board | Kanban board per workspace that agents can read and update | No task board |
| Git worktrees and diff review | No worktree management or diff view | Diff viewer with review comments |
| Code editor | Plain text editor and file drawer, no syntax highlighting | No editor |
| Configuration as plain files | Plain files in a .coda folder | .cmux/cmux.json |
| Built with | Native Swift | Native Swift, open source (GPL-3.0) |
| No account needed | No account | Not for local use |
| Platforms | macOS 14 and later | macOS |
| Price | Free during the public beta | Free, Pro $50 a month for cloud VMs |
“Not documented” means we found no mention of it in cmux’s documentation.
What does cmux restore after a restart?
cmux’s session restore documentation lists the layout, working folders, scrollback and browser URLs, and says it does not checkpoint live process state. Agents resume through hooks you set up with cmux hooks setup.
Coda starts the services that were running again, resumes each agent’s conversation without extra setup for its built-in agents, and reopens browser tabs.
Where cmux is ahead
cmux is free and open source, uses Ghostty’s terminal engine, and has a diff viewer with review comments, cloud VMs and an iOS app. Coda is paid after the beta and has no diff view.
Frequently asked questions
Is Coda a cmux alternative?
If your work includes dev servers, yes. Both are native Mac apps with panes, a browser and agents. Coda adds server supervision, ordered start, restore of running servers, a task board and an MCP server for the app.
Are both apps native?
Yes. cmux and Coda are both written in Swift. Neither uses Electron.
Try Coda
A native Mac app for your dev servers, CLI agents and browser panes. Requires macOS 14 or later.
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Last reviewed October 5, 2026. Product features and prices change; tell us on the contact page if something here is out of date.