head to head · open source
rowboat vs dmux
rowboat has 18,131 GitHub stars, 1,817 forks, 167 open issues and last shipped yesterday. dmux has 1,815 stars, 138 forks, 39 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. rowboat leads on adoption by 899% (18,131 vs 1,815 stars). rowboat is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; dmux is written in HTML under MIT. rowboat has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, dmux 8%. rowboat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ai, ai-agents), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| rowboat | dmux | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | HTML |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-08-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 138 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick rowboat if
- You weight community size — 18K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick dmux if
- You want the dmux feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches HTML
- You evaluated both and dmux fits your workflow better
About rowboat
Rowboat A desktop AI coworker with a memory of your work and built in surfaces to act on it. 简体中文 · 日本語 · 한국어 · Español · Français · Português Rowboat indexes your work into a living knowledge graph and uses that to get work done on your machine. It includes work surfaces for collaborating with AI: email client, notes, browser, code mode, meeting note taker, and workspaces for different projects. Download latest for Mac/Windows/Linux: Download Demo apps to code · Demo knowledge graph ⭐ If you find Rowboat useful, please star the repo. It helps more people find it. Overview Brain Rowboat indexes email, meetings…
read the full rowboat overview →
About dmux
Parallel agents with tmux and worktrees Manage multiple AI coding agents in isolated git worktrees. Branch, develop, and merge — all in parallel. Documentation · Getting Started · Issues Language: English 日本語 Install Quick Start Press n to create a new pane, type a prompt, pick one or more agents (or none for a plain terminal), and dmux handles the rest — worktree, branch, and agent launch. On first run, dmux can configure a primary inference provider/model and an optional backup. It discovers models from the provider when possible and supports API key providers, custom OpenAI…
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Frequently asked questions
Is rowboat or dmux more popular?
rowboat has 18,131 GitHub stars and dmux has 1,815. rowboat has the larger community by that measure.
Are rowboat and dmux free?
Both are open source. rowboat is licensed under Apache-2.0 and dmux under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rowboat and dmux?
rowboat is written in TypeScript and dmux in HTML. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, rowboat or dmux?
Choose rowboat if you want the larger community (18,131 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose dmux if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.