head to head · open source
tmux vs Kitty
tmux has 49,900 GitHub stars, 2,942 forks, 44 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Kitty has 35,237 stars, 1,553 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped yesterday. tmux leads on adoption by 42% (49,900 vs 35,237 stars). tmux is written in C under ISC; Kitty is written in Python under GPL-3.0. tmux has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Kitty 4%. Kitty was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| tmux | Kitty | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 50K | ★ 35K |
| License | ISC | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 1.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick tmux if
- You weight community size — 50K stars and counting
- You want the ISC license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Kitty if
- You want the Kitty feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Kitty fits your workflow better
About tmux
tmux is an open source terminal multiplexer for developers and system administrators who need to create, manage, and return to multiple terminal sessions from a single screen.
About Kitty
Kitty is a GPU accelerated terminal emulator designed for power users who spend most of their time in the command line. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, leveraging OpenGL for rendering to achieve high performance and responsiveness. Built in Python with performance critical components in C, it replaces slower, legacy terminal emulators by providing a modern, efficient foundation for interactive shell workflows.
read the full Kitty overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is tmux or Kitty more popular?
tmux has 49,900 GitHub stars and Kitty has 35,237. tmux has the larger community by that measure.
Are tmux and Kitty free?
Both are open source. tmux is licensed under ISC and Kitty under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between tmux and Kitty?
tmux is written in C and Kitty in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, tmux or Kitty?
Choose tmux if you want the larger community (49,900 stars) or its ISC licence terms. Choose Kitty if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.