Tenex

Terminal multiplexer for AI coding agents

Tenex lets you run multiple AI coding agents in parallel, each in an isolated git worktree with its own branch. Spawn agent swarms for research, planning, or code review—then synthesize their findings back together.

Features

• Parallel agents — Run multiple AI coding agents simultaneously (Claude CLI by default; also supports Codex or a custom command)
• Git isolation — Each root agent works in its own worktree and branch; child agents share the root's worktree
• Swarm workflows — Spawn planning or review swarms with one keystroke
• Synthesis — Aggregate outputs from descendant agents into a parent (captures last ~5000 lines from each, writes to markdown, then sends to parent)
• Live preview — Watch agent output in real-time with ANSI color support; auto-follows bottom unless you scroll
• Diff view — See uncommitted changes (staged + unstaged + untracked) vs HEAD in the selected agent's worktree
• Git operations — Push, rebase, merge, rename branches, and open PRs from the TUI
• Command palette — Run slash commands like /agents and /help
• Persistent state — Agents survive restarts; auto-reconnects to existing worktrees on startup
• Auto-update — Checks crates.io for updates on startup and prompts to install

Requirements

• tmux — Required for session management (recent version recommended)
• git — Required for worktree isolation
• gh — GitHub CLI, required for opening pull requests (Ctrl+o)
• An agent CLI — claude (default) or codex (or configure a custom command)
• Rust 1.91+ — For building from source
• cargo — Required for auto-update functionality

Installation

# Or build from source
git clone https://github.com/Mockapapella/tenex
cd tenex
cargo install --path .

Quick Start

# Navigate to any git repository
cd your-project

# Launch Tenex
tenex

# Press 'a' to create your first agent
# Press '?' for help

Keybindings

Agents

Terminals

Git

Navigation

Configuration

The default agent command is claude --allow-dangerously-skip-permissions. Press / to open the command palette, run /agents, and choose the default program for new agents (claude, codex, or custom — which will prompt for a command and save it to settings.json).

Data Storage

Environment Variables

CLI Commands

tenex              # Launch the TUI
tenex reset        # Clear all agents and state
tenex reset --force # Force reset without confirmation
tenex --help       # Show help
tenex --version    # Show version

Workflows

Spawn Swarm

Press S to create a new root agent with N child agents. You'll be prompted for:

1. Number of children
2. Task prompt (sent to all children)

Planning Swarm

Press P for a planning-focused swarm. Children receive a planning preamble prompt and are titled "Planner N". Use s to synthesize their findings when done.

Review Swarm

Press R to spawn code reviewers:

1. Pick number of reviewers
2. Select base branch (searchable list with ↑/↓ navigation)

Reviewers get a strict review preamble with the chosen base branch. They're titled "Reviewer N".

Synthesis

Press s to synthesize. This:

1. Captures the last ~5000 lines from each descendant's tmux pane
2. Writes combined output to .tenex/<uuid>.md in the parent's worktree
3. Kills and removes all descendants
4. Sends the parent a command to read the synthesized file

Broadcasting

Press B to send a message to all leaf agents (agents with no children). Terminals are excluded. Useful for giving the same instructions to all workers in a swarm.

Merge Conflicts

When rebase or merge encounters conflicts, Tenex opens a terminal window titled "Merge Conflict" or "Rebase Conflict" in the worktree, runs git status, and leaves resolution to you.

Keyboard Compatibility

On first launch, Tenex checks if your terminal supports the Kitty keyboard protocol (to distinguish Ctrl+m from Enter). If not supported, you'll be prompted to remap the merge key to Ctrl+n. This choice is saved to settings.json.

License

Apache-2.0