What is the best Claude Code session manager?

It depends on your workflow. For automatic worktrees per task, Claude Squad, CCManager or Agent Deck; for a native terminal with agent notifications, cmux; for a visual app, Nimbalyst or Vibe Kanban; for a tmux board of every Claude session with restore after reboot, hivemux.

Do I need tmux to manage several Claude Code sessions?

No. CCManager runs sessions in its own pseudo-terminals, cmux is its own terminal, and Nimbalyst and Vibe Kanban are GUI apps. Claude Squad, Agent Deck and hivemux use tmux.

Which tools support agents other than Claude Code?

Claude Squad, CCManager, Agent Deck, cmux, Nimbalyst and Vibe Kanban all support other CLIs such as Codex or Gemini CLI. hivemux supports Claude Code only.

Which of these tools create git worktrees automatically?

Claude Squad, CCManager, Agent Deck, Nimbalyst and Vibe Kanban create a worktree per session or task. hivemux and cmux do not manage worktrees according to their documentation.

Is Conductor open source?

No public source repository was found for Conductor (conductor.build), so it is not included in this open-source comparison.

Claude Code session manager tools compared

Once you run more than two or three Claude Code sessions, you need some way to start them, keep them apart and see which one is waiting. Several open-source tools do this, and they make quite different choices. This page compares them as of October 2026, based on each project’s own README and license file. hivemux is our project, so its row is written with the same rules as the others: only what the documentation says.

The tools

hivemux — a tmux sidebar that shows every Claude Code session (running, waiting for you, or done) and lets you jump to the one that needs you. github.com/esteban-eg-kim/hivemux
Claude Squad — “a terminal app that manages multiple Claude Code, Codex, Gemini (and other local agents including Aider) in separate workspaces”. github.com/smtg-ai/claude-squad
CCManager — a CLI for managing multiple AI coding assistant sessions across git worktrees and projects. github.com/kbwo/ccmanager
Agent Deck — a terminal session manager for AI coding agents: “One TUI for Claude, Gemini, OpenCode, Codex, and more.” github.com/asheshgoplani/agent-deck
cmux — “A Ghostty-based macOS terminal with vertical tabs and notifications for AI coding agents”. github.com/manaflow-ai/cmux
Nimbalyst (formerly Crystal) — an open-source visual workspace for building with Codex, Claude Code, OpenCode and other agents. github.com/Nimbalyst/nimbalyst
Vibe Kanban — a kanban board for running Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex, Amp and other agents. github.com/BloopAI/vibe-kanban

Comparison table (as of October 2026)

Tool	Approach	Terminal / tmux	Git worktrees	Status and notifications	Agents	Platform	License
hivemux	Sidebar in every tmux window	tmux required; Ghostty recommended	Not managed (open any folder or worktree with `hm`)	Running / needs input / done / idle from Claude Code hooks; macOS notifications; pickup board in the status line	Claude Code	macOS (Linux untested)	MIT
Claude Squad	TUI (`cs`)	tmux required	Yes, one per session	No state detection or notifications stated	Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Aider, any command	Not stated (release builds for macOS, Linux, Windows)	AGPL-3.0
CCManager	CLI / TUI over its own PTYs	No tmux	Yes: create, merge, delete in the app	Busy / waiting / idle per agent; status-change hooks for your own notifier	Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI, Cursor Agent, Copilot CLI, Cline, OpenCode, Kimi and more	Not stated (mentions a Windows path)	MIT
Agent Deck	TUI, plus a local web UI	tmux	Yes, with finish (merge + cleanup) and setup scripts	Running / waiting / idle / error; waiting sessions in the tmux status bar	Claude Code, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Codex, Copilot, Cursor and more	macOS, Linux, Windows (WSL)	MIT
cmux	Native macOS terminal app	Its own terminal (libghostty); tmux optional	Not mentioned in README	Pane rings, unread badges and macOS notifications from terminal escapes or `cmux notify`	Any terminal agent	macOS	GPL-3.0-or-later (app); server parts BUSL-1.1
Nimbalyst	Electron desktop app, iOS companion	Embedded terminal; no tmux mentioned	Yes, one per agent	Session board; mobile push when an agent is waiting	Claude Code, Codex; others in alpha	macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS	MIT
Vibe Kanban	Local web UI with kanban board	No tmux mentioned	Yes, workspaces are worktrees	Not stated	Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Copilot, Amp, Cursor, OpenCode and more	Not stated (runs with `npx`)	Apache-2.0

“Not stated” means the README does not say; it does not mean the feature is missing.

What each tool does better

Claude Squad is the long-standing tmux option for isolating each task. Every session gets its own worktree and branch, and from the TUI you can review the diff, commit and push, or check out and pause a session. It can run any agent command, and has an experimental auto-accept mode for background tasks. Install with brew install claude-squad.

CCManager does not need tmux at all, which makes it the lightest to adopt. It detects busy, waiting and idle per agent, manages worktrees from inside the app (including .worktreeinclude and post-creation hooks), restores sessions after a restart, copies Claude Code session data between worktrees, and can keep agents in a devcontainer while the manager stays on the host. It supports the widest list of agent CLIs here. Install with npm install -g ccmanager.

Agent Deck has the most complete worktree workflow of the group (create, finish with merge and cleanup, orphan cleanup, setup and teardown scripts) and the most extras: forking a session with its history, attaching MCP servers or skills per session, a cost dashboard, search across conversations, a web UI and container sandboxes.

cmux is a complete terminal rather than an add-on. It is built on libghostty, reads your Ghostty config, and puts branch, PR, ports and the latest notification text in a vertical sidebar. Its notifications work with any agent that sends standard terminal notification escapes or calls cmux notify from a hook. Install with brew tap manaflow-ai/cmux && brew install --cask cmux.

Nimbalyst is for people who prefer a visual app: a session board, red/green diff review, built-in editors for Markdown, Mermaid and Excalidraw, and an iOS app that shows which agents need you. It runs on macOS, Windows and Linux.

Vibe Kanban turns tasks into kanban issues, each run by an agent in its own workspace with a terminal and dev server, and lets you leave review comments on diffs that go back to the agent, preview the app in a built-in browser and open PRs. Note that its company announced a shutdown in April 2026; the README says the project continues as community-maintained open source.

Where hivemux fits

hivemux does not try to manage worktrees, branches or multiple agent types. It focuses on one question across many Claude Code sessions: which one needs me now?

hivemux sidebar showing Claude Code sessions grouped by project with running, needs input, done and idle states

A board of every session. A card per Claude in every tmux session, grouped by project, with state and elapsed time. It reads state written by Claude Code hooks rather than parsing screen output.
Jumping. Option+1 … 9 jumps to a card; Option+0 jumps to the one that has waited longest.
Notifications and a pickup board. A macOS notification when a task needs input or finishes (except the one on screen), and numbered amber and green badges in the tmux status line.
Restore after reboot. tmux-resurrect and continuum bring back the layout, and hivemux runs claude --resume <id> in each pane.
Another Mac and your phone. hivemux connect attaches to another Mac’s sessions over ssh or mosh, forwarding its dev server ports; setup can turn on Claude Code’s Remote Control for every session.
The bee office. An optional window where every session is a bee that works at a desk and runs to the boss room when it needs you.

hivemux bee office window where each Claude Code session is a bee at a desk

Its limits, stated plainly: Claude Code only, macOS only (Linux untested), and it requires tmux. If you want worktrees created for you, combine it with git worktree or pick a tool from the list above.

brew install esteban-eg-kim/tap/hivemux
hivemux setup

Not included

Conductor (conductor.build) is a Mac app that runs Claude Code and other agents in isolated workspaces, but no public source repository was found, so it is left out of this open-source comparison. Claude Code also has its own features for parallel work, which apply whichever manager you choose; see How to run multiple Claude Code sessions at once.

Projects change quickly. Check each repository for the current state before you choose, and if a row here is out of date, open an issue on the hivemux repository.