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DockTerm is a terminal for Claude Code. It is not an IDE, and not tmux.

Every pane is a real terminal running your own shell, and you run the normal claude in it. It is not an IDE (no completion, no debugger, no extension store), not an AI (it never calls one), and not a multiplexer that keeps sessions alive when you detach.

The short version

Your shell, your claude. The prompt comes to you.

Updated 17 October 2026

Not an IDENot tmuxA real terminal

Three different categories

Each row states what that category does by its own published description, not a ranking, and not a claim that any one of them is worse.

Terminal emulators, multiplexers and DockTerm, what each does and does not do
Category	What it does	What it does not do
Terminal emulatoriTerm2, WezTerm, Alacritty, Kitty	Renders a shell in a window: fonts, color, tabs, panes and scrollback.	Know much about the agent inside it beyond the notifications the agent sends.
Multiplexertmux, Zellij, GNU Screen	Splits one terminal into panes and keeps sessions alive when you detach.	Surface anything outside the terminal window you are looking at.
DockTermby Moon Labs, free and MIT	A terminal built for Claude Code: real shells in tabs, splits and grids, a project per pane, diffs and Git, and Claude’s prompts brought to you.	Keep shells running after you quit, the way a tmux detach does, or act as an IDE or an AI.

How the pieces fit

Keep the tools you like. Add the signal you’re missing.

DockTerm is a companion layer: it notices the moment your agent stops being autonomous.

Keep

Your shell

DockTerm starts your own shell with your own config. Keep iTerm2 or WezTerm for work outside Claude Code if you like.

Keep

Your sessions

Use tmux or Zellij when you need a session that survives a detach or lives on a remote server.

Add

The missing signal

DockTerm reads Claude Code’s state from the terminal and brings its permission prompt to you when it needs you.

Proof of life

One prompt, surfaced at the right moment.

This is the difference between a background process and a desktop companion.

munu floating Claude Code’s permission prompt over a fullscreen video — The category in one frame: a prompt surfaced over a fullscreen app.

What DockTerm is for

DockTerm is a terminal workspace for Claude Code. Its job is to keep your Claude sessions in one window, a project per pane, and to bring a waiting question to you, even when a fullscreen window is in the way.

When Claude Code hits a permission prompt, munu, DockTerm's notch mascot, shows it to you. On a Mac it drops from the notch, even over a fullscreen video on another desktop; on Windows and Linux it is a small pill. You answer in one click, and it never answers for you.

Read more about what DockTerm does and how it works.

Common questions

Is DockTerm a terminal emulator?

Yes. Every pane in DockTerm is a real terminal running your own shell, and you run the normal claude command in it. It is built around Claude Code: a project per pane, diffs, Git, live subagents, and munu, which brings Claude’s prompts to you. You can still keep iTerm2 or WezTerm for other work.

Is DockTerm a terminal multiplexer like tmux?

No. Both split a window into panes, but tmux keeps sessions alive when you detach, and DockTerm does not. DockTerm adds Claude Code things instead: diffs, Git, live subagents and munu.

What does DockTerm actually do?

It gives Claude Code a terminal workspace: a project per pane, a diff view, Git commit and live subagents. When Claude Code hits a permission prompt, munu shows it to you, on a Mac from the notch and even over a fullscreen app. You answer in one click.

Do you need DockTerm if you already use tmux?

Not if tmux already covers what you need. DockTerm helps when you want diffs, Git, live subagents and Claude’s prompts brought to you without building that setup yourself.

Download DockTerm

Free · open source · macOS, Windows, Linux