Tmux and git worktrees as an AI agent isolation layer

What it does

dmux is a terminal orchestrator that spins up tmux panes for AI coding tasks. Each pane gets its own git worktree and branch, so multiple agents can hack on the same repository simultaneously without interfering. When an agent finishes, you merge the branch back or open a GitHub PR from a keyboard menu. It supports a wide roster of agent CLIs—Claude Code, Codex, Cursor CLI, Gemini CLI, and others—and can launch several at once against the same prompt.

The interesting bit

The isolation primitive is git worktrees, not containers or virtual folders; every pane is a full working copy of the repo, so agents read and write independently without file-lock drama. The whole lifecycle—branching, AI-generated commit messages, merging, and cleanup—happens inside a tmux session you navigate with single keystrokes. It turns your terminal into an air-traffic control tower for autonomous coders.

Key highlights

• Supports a dozen agent CLIs including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor CLI, Gemini CLI, and Copilot CLI
• Launches multiple agents per prompt with shared branch naming and agent-specific suffixes
• Built-in file browser to inspect worktrees, search files, and preview diffs without leaving the session
• macOS notifications when background panes need attention, plus pane hide/isolate controls
• Lifecycle hooks for custom scripts on worktree create, pre-merge, and post-merge

Caveats

• Requires tmux 3.0+, Node.js 18+, Git 2.20+, and at least one supported agent CLI installed separately
• AI-generated branch names and commit messages require an optional OpenRouter API key
• Native notifications are limited to macOS

Verdict

Worth a look if you already use terminal-based agent CLIs and want to parallelize tasks without Docker complexity. Skip it if you live in a GUI IDE or rarely touch tmux.