VS Code alternative for running Claude Code and Codex sessions

VS Code has grown far past autocomplete. Its Agents window manages sessions across projects with Copilot, Claude and Codex as harnesses, sessions can work in their own worktree, and cloud sessions and automations are in preview. If you live in VS Code, it's a capable home for agents.

omux isn't an editor. It's a native window for the sessions themselves: the real Claude Code and Codex terminals, under projects in a sidebar, with status read from the agents' own signals and Allow and Deny one click away. This page is for people who run their agents in the terminal and want a better place to run many of them.

Download omux for macOS About VS Code

At a glanceomuxVS Code

Native macOS app✓✕

Claude Code and Codex in real terminals✓✓

Status without switching✓~

Allow/Deny buttons✓✕

Split panes✓✓

Code editor and extensions✕✓

Cloud sessions and automations✕✓

Windows and Linux✕✓

Free and open source✓✓

5 MBnative Swift app, no Electron
0accounts, credits or telemetry
6sessions side by side per project
MITfree and open source

omux with eight projects in the sidebar, a session running five subagents, a session waiting on Allow or Deny, two Codex sessions, and the Changes tab showing the diff — omux: projects and sessions on the left, the agent in the middle, its diff on the right. The session that needs you shows Allow and Deny.

Where the agent lives

VS Code

VS Code (Electron)

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Agents window: Copilot, Claude and Codex harnesses

↓

GitHub account, Copilot plan or API key

omux

One native macOS window, about 5 MB

↓

Claude CodeClaude CodeCodexCodexshell

↓

The real Claude Code and Codex, on your own plans

working needs you done

Side by side

	omux	VS Code
What it is	A session manager for Claude Code and Codex	A code editor with agents built in
Runs on	macOS	macOS, Windows, Linux and the web
Agents	Claude Code and Codex, each in its own terminal	Copilot, Claude and Codex harnesses in the Agents window; the integrated terminal runs anything
Account	✕ only your Claude or Codex login	GitHub account; a Copilot plan, a provider account or your own API key
Agent status	✓ working, needs you, done, plus what it's doing, in the sidebar	✓ a session list in the Agents window
Answer a permission prompt	Allow and Deny from the sidebar and header, without switching	Confirm in the chat or terminal
Subagents	Listed under the session with transcripts	Depends on the harness
Conversations after a restart	Each session resumes its exact conversation	Session history for Copilot sessions; terminal agents resume by hand
Worktrees and pull requests	One worktree per session, PR status, merge and clean up	✓ a session can edit in a worktree; pull requests through GitHub
Cloud and scheduled agents	✕	✓ cloud sessions and automations, in preview
Split panes	✓ a canvas per project, up to six sessions	✓ editor groups and terminal splits
Editing code	✕ open files in your editor from the Files panel	Its whole purpose
Extensions	✕	Tens of thousands
Size and feel	About 5 MB, native Swift	Electron, a few hundred MB
Price and license	Free, MIT	Free, MIT for the open-source core; Copilot plans are paid

See omux in 37 seconds

From scattered terminals to one window: projects, status, Allow and Deny, subagents, panes and pull requests.

Pick VS Code if

You edit in VS Code anyway and want agents next to your files, tests and debugger.
You want Copilot, cloud sessions, automations, or agents on Windows and Linux.
You lean on extensions for the rest of your workflow.

Pick omux if

You run Claude Code and Codex as terminals and want to see which of eight sessions needs you without hunting through tabs.
You'd rather click Allow in a sidebar than find the right chat or terminal.
You want something small and native that stays out of the way of your editor.

What omux does for every session

Projects with sessions under them, in a sidebar
Shows whether each agent is working, needs you or is done
Allow or Deny an agent's permission request without switching to it
Lists a session's subagents and opens their transcripts
Resumes each Claude Code and Codex conversation after a relaunch
Git worktree per session, with pull request status and merge
Files, Changes (diff with review notes) and Browser panels
Claude and Codex plan usage limits in the sidebar
Split panes: up to six sessions side by side per project, layouts saved
An omux command line: list, status, send, new, close and wait on sessions
macOS notifications with sound

Questions

Can I use omux with VS Code?

Yes. omux runs the agents; VS Code edits the files. The Files panel in omux opens any file in your default editor, and the Changes panel shows the diff without leaving the agent.

Does omux replace Copilot?

No. omux has no agent of its own and no completions. It hosts the Claude Code and Codex sessions you already have.

Why not run Claude Code in the VS Code terminal?

That works well for one or two sessions. omux is for when you have many: it shows each one's status from the agent's own signals, lists subagents, puts Allow and Deny in the sidebar, and brings every conversation back after a relaunch.

Also compared: Terminal alternative, tmux alternative, cmux alternative, Warp alternative, herdr alternative, T3 Code alternative, Cursor alternative, Antigravity alternative, Devin alternative. Facts about VS Code come from its public documentation as of 2026-11-02; if something is out of date, open an issue.