Quil vs tmux.
The de-facto Unix terminal multiplexer. Server-side sessions, scriptable plugins, steep learning curve, shipped by default on most distros alongside screen.
Ubiquity, stability, and the largest plugin ecosystem of any multiplexer.
Ubiquity, stability, and the largest plugin ecosystem of any multiplexer. If you need a standard tool on a standard Unix host, tmux is still the answer.
Reboot survival. AI continuity. Typed panes.
Zero persistence across host reboots. You can bolt on tmux-resurrect or tmux-continuum, but even those only restore layout and working directories — not AI session state, not running processes, not scrollback.
tmux is great for what it does — a stable, battle-tested server multiplexer built in 2007 — but it was never designed to survive a host reboot, understand AI coding sessions, or treat different panes as different types of work. Quil is for the problem tmux doesn't solve.
Feature by feature.
| capability | quil | tmux |
|---|---|---|
| Session persistence while the multiplexer server is running | ✓ | ✓ |
| Survives a full host reboot | ✓ | ✕ |
| └── Quil's defining capability. Everyone else loses the session on reboot. | ||
| AI session auto-resume (Claude Code, Cursor) | ✓ | ✕ |
| Typed panes (Terminal / AI / SSH / Webhook) | ✓ | ✕ |
| Plugin system | ✓ | ~ |
| └── Quil uses declarative TOML. Zellij uses WASM. WezTerm uses Lua. tmux uses shell scripts. | ||
| Mouse support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ghost buffers (last 500 lines instant on reconnect) | ✓ | ✕ |
| MCP server for AI agents | ✓ | ✕ |
| Notification center + idle analysis | ✓ | ✕ |
| Pane notes editor (Alt+E) | ✓ | ✕ |
| Windows native (no WSL) | ✓ | ✕ |
| Declarative keybindings (config file) | ✓ | ✓ |
Coming from tmux?
Coming from tmux? Quil uses familiar keybindings (Ctrl+T new tab, Alt+H / Alt+V to split). Everything's remappable in ~/.quil/config.toml so you can reuse your tmux muscle memory verbatim.
▸ Can I run Quil and tmux side by side?
Yes. They don't share sockets or state, so you can experiment with Quil without touching your tmux setup. Some users run Quil for AI-heavy projects and tmux for traditional admin sessions.
▸ Does Quil read my tmux sessions?
Not currently — Quil maintains its own workspace state under ~/.quil/. A tmux import helper is on the future roadmap.
▸ Is Quil a tmux replacement?
It depends on what you use tmux for. If you need reboot persistence + AI session continuity, yes. If you need a headless multiplexer for classical server administration, tmux remains the right tool.
Try them both. Pick a side.
Quil installs side-by-side with tmux. Nothing to uninstall first.