panex

A terminal UI for running multiple processes in parallel. Like Turborepo's TUI, without the monorepo.

Features

• Split-pane TUI - See all your processes at once
• Full PTY support - QR codes, colors, interactive prompts work
• Scroll pinning - Freeze output to inspect, toggle with g
• Zero config - Just pass commands as arguments
• Cross-platform - macOS, Linux, Windows
• Native binary - Fast startup, no runtime dependencies
• Wrapped lines - Optional line wrapping per pane (:w label suffix)
• Interactive mode - Focus a pane for full interactivity (with Mouse support)
• Mouse forwarding - Mouse clicks/drags/scrolls forwarded to child TUI apps in focus mode
• Nestable - Run panex inside panex, or any TUI app, with correct rendering

Installation

# Run directly with npx or bunx
npx panex "npm run api" "npm run web"
bunx panex "bun run api" "bun run web"

# Or install globally
npm install -g panex

Usage

Quick Start

# Run multiple commands
panex "npm run api" "npm run web" "npm run mobile"

# With custom names
panex -n api,web,mobile "npm run api" "npm run web" "npm run mobile"

# Full key passthrough for TUI apps (append ! to name)
# Esc and Shift-Tab forwarded to process, click left panel to exit
panex "tui" "npm run dev" -n "tui!,server"

# Enable line wrapping (append :w to name)
panex "npm run build" -n "build:w"

# Combine suffixes (either order works)
panex "helix" "npm run build" -n "helix!:w,build:w"

# Custom shutdown timeout (default: 500ms)
panex -t 1000 "npm run dev"  # 1 second graceful shutdown

# Disable auto-copy on mouse select (require y/Enter/Ctrl-C to copy)
panex --no-auto-copy "npm run api" "npm run web"

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
↑/↓	Navigate process list
Enter/Tab	Focus process (interactive mode)
Esc	Exit focus mode
Shift-Tab	Exit focus mode (unless disabled)
r	Restart selected process
x	Kill selected process
A	Restart all processes
w	Toggle line wrapping
g	Toggle pin (freeze/follow output)
t	Jump to top
b	Jump to bottom
PgUp/PgDn	Scroll output
?	Show help
v	Visual select (char-wise)
V	Visual select (line-wise)
y/Enter	Copy selection to clipboard
q	Quit panex

Mouse

Browse mode:

Click	Action
Left panel	Exit focus, select item
Right panel	Enter focus mode
Drag	Select text (auto-copy)
Alt/⌥+Drag	Box (rectangular) select
Status bar	Exit focus mode
Scroll wheel	Scroll output

Focus mode: All mouse events (click, drag, scroll) on the output panel are forwarded to the child process as SGR escape sequences. Text selection is only available in Browse mode — exit focus first (click left panel, status bar, or press Esc).

Why panex?

Feature	panex	concurrently	mprocs	turbo
Split-pane TUI	✅	❌	✅	✅
PTY support (QR codes)	✅	❌	✅	✅
Zero config	✅	✅	❌	❌
npm install	✅	✅	❌	✅
No monorepo required	✅	✅	✅	❌

panex vs tmux

tmux is a vastly more powerful and mature tool. panex solves a narrower problem with less friction.

tmux is a terminal multiplexer — it manages persistent shell sessions with arbitrary layouts, remote detach/reattach, scripting, plugins, and deep customization. It's industry-standard for remote work, server administration, and complex terminal workflows. Decades of development, massive community, battle-tested everywhere.

panex is a process runner — it runs N commands in parallel with a built-in UI for monitoring and managing them. No config files, no session concepts, no learning curve.

Where tmux wins

Capability	tmux	panex
Session persistence	Detach/reattach across disconnections, reboots (with tmux-resurrect)	Sessions die when you quit
Remote work (SSH)	Start on server, detach, reconnect later — processes survive	Local only
Window/pane layouts	Unlimited windows, arbitrary splits, zoom, resize, rearrange	Fixed split: process list + output
Scripting & automation	tmuxinator, teamocil, tmuxp — define complex workspaces in YAML	CLI args only
Plugin ecosystem	TPM with dozens of plugins (resurrect, yank, powerline, etc.)	No plugins
Customization	Hundreds of options in .tmux.conf — keys, status bar, hooks, themes	CLI flags only
Copy mode	Vi/emacs navigation, search with /, jump through history	Basic visual select (v/V)
Shared sessions	Multiple users attach to the same session (pair programming)	Single-user only
Maturity	Decades old, massive community, endless documentation	New, small user base

Where panex wins

Capability	panex	tmux
Zero config	panex "cmd1" "cmd2" — done	Need tmuxinator/scripts for multi-process startup
Process lifecycle	r restart, x kill, A restart all — from the UI	Process dies? Navigate to pane, retype command
Process status	Built-in list showing running/exited/crashed with exit codes	No process awareness — just shell panes
Learning curve	? shows help, mouse works, usable immediately	Steep — prefix keys, no on-screen hints, needs cheat sheets
Layout	Automatic — all processes shown immediately	Manual splits, or write a config/script
npm install	npx panex "cmd1" "cmd2"	Not applicable — system package

When to use which

Use tmux if you need: remote work, session persistence, complex layouts, shared sessions, deep customization, or long-running server processes.

Use panex if you need: run a handful of dev commands in parallel (API + frontend + worker), see their status, restart them easily, and not think about configuration. It's the difference between a Swiss Army knife and a purpose-built tool.

They're not mutually exclusive — you can run panex inside a tmux session.

Development

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/king8fisher/panex
cd panex

# Build (requires Rust)
cargo build --release -p panex

# Run locally
./panex-rs/target/release/panex "echo hello" "sleep 2 && echo world"

# Or with mise
mise run build
mise run dev

Releasing

# Create and push a release tag (triggers CI build + npm publish)
mise run release 1.0.0

Tech Stack

• Rust
• ratatui (TUI framework)
• portable-pty (PTY support)
• clap (CLI parsing)

License

MIT Anton Veretennikov (king8fisher)