termdeck
Claude Squad, by smtg-ai, is an open source terminal UI written in Go and installed as cs, through Homebrew or an install script. You run it from inside a git repository and press n to start an instance. Each instance gets its own tmux session and its own git worktree on a separate branch, so several agents can work on one codebase without colliding. Claude Code is the default program; -p runs Codex, Gemini, Aider or another terminal agent instead. A preview tab and a diff tab show what each instance is doing, Enter attaches to it, and s commits and pushes its branch. An experimental -y flag auto-accepts prompts, and a background daemon keeps doing so after you quit. It needs tmux and the GitHub CLI, and it is AGPL-3.0 licensed.
Comparison
Termdeck vs Claude Squad: the squad, on every machine, in a browser.
Claude Squad is a terminal app that runs several coding agents side by side on one machine, each in its own tmux session and git worktree. Termdeck is a web UI for every Claude Code, Codex and Grok session on every machine you connect.
Context
What Claude Squad is
Side by side
Claude Squad vs Termdeck, feature by feature
| Feature | Claude Squad | Termdeck |
|---|---|---|
| Where you drive it | A terminal UI on the machine running the agents | Any browser, plus an installable PWA on your phone |
| Agent CLIs | Claude Code by default; Codex, Gemini, Aider and others through -p | Claude Code, Codex and Grok, engine picked per chat |
| Which sessions it shows | Instances you create inside it | Every session in the folders you add, including ones started in a plain terminal |
| Machines | The one you launch cs on | Up to 10 on Pro, one sidebar for all of them |
| Isolation per task | Automatic: a git worktree and branch for every instance | Chat runs in the folder you pick; a chat can move itself into a worktree |
| Parallel view | A list of instances with a preview pane | Terminals page: chats from any machine tiled as panes |
| Answering prompts | Attach to the instance and answer in the CLI | Allow and Deny cards with a risk level and the exact command or path |
| Hands-off mode | Experimental -y auto-accept for Claude Code and Aider | Permission modes per chat: Plan only, Accept edits, Auto, Full access |
| When a run needs you | Not described in its README | Web Push with Allow and Deny on the notification |
| Shipping the work | Commit and push a branch with one key | Rendered diffs, checkpoint restore, and Create PR through the machine's GitHub CLI |
| Windows | Builds published, but tmux is required; the installer points to WSL | Native agent on Windows, macOS and Linux; no tmux |
| Price | Free, AGPL-3.0 | 14-day free trial, then $9.99/mo (1 machine) or $19.99/mo (10) |
Verified 10 October 2026 against Claude Squad v1.0.20: its README, install script and source at github.com/smtg-ai/claude-squad. A notifications row for Claude Squad is marked as not described because its README says nothing about them either way. Tell us if a row is out of date.
Straight answer
Where Claude Squad wins
Claude Squad is free, open source, and runs entirely on your machine with no account and no service in the middle. Its worktree discipline is the real draw: every task gets its own branch automatically, so five agents on one repository never trip over each other, and Termdeck does not do that for you. It also runs any terminal agent you can name with -p, Aider and Gemini included, where Termdeck supports three engines. If you live in a terminal on one Mac or Linux box and want parallel agents on one repo, Claude Squad is the lighter tool.
The delta
Where Termdeck wins
Off the keyboard, still in control
Claude Squad lives in the terminal where you launched it. Termdeck runs in a browser and on your phone, and an approval arrives as a push notification with Allow and Deny on it, so a blocked run waits seconds, not until you are back at the desk.
Every machine, every session
Connect a laptop, a desktop and a build server and their sessions read as one sidebar. Termdeck renders from the transcripts the CLIs already write, so a plain claude you started in a terminal, and last month's history, are there too, not only what you launched through it.
The grid without tmux
The Terminals page tiles chats from any machine as panes, with approvals as clickable buttons and a ! on any window waiting for you. No tmux to install, so a Windows machine works natively instead of through WSL.
Questions
Termdeck vs Claude Squad, answered
What is Claude Squad?
Claude Squad is a free, open source terminal app, installed as the cs command, that runs several coding agents at once. Each agent gets its own tmux session and its own git worktree on a separate branch, so parallel tasks do not touch each other's files. Claude Code is the default; Codex, Gemini, Aider and other terminal agents run through the -p flag.
Is Claude Squad free?
Yes. Claude Squad is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence and has no paid tier; you only pay for the agents it runs. Termdeck is a paid hosted service, $9.99 a month for one machine or $19.99 for up to ten, after a 14-day free trial.
Does Claude Squad work on Windows?
Windows builds of Claude Squad are published, but it needs tmux, and its installer tells Windows users to get tmux through WSL or another method. Termdeck has no tmux dependency: its agent installs natively on Windows, macOS and Linux, and the Terminals page draws the pane grid in the browser.
Can I use Claude Squad from my phone?
Its README describes no web, mobile or remote access; it is a terminal app on the machine you run it on, so reaching it from elsewhere means a terminal session into that machine. Termdeck is a browser app and an installable PWA, and approval notifications carry Allow and Deny buttons, so you can unblock a run from the lock screen.
Does Termdeck give every task its own git worktree like Claude Squad?
No. Claude Squad creates a worktree and branch for every instance automatically. In Termdeck a chat runs in the folder you pick, and a chat can move itself into a worktree; when it does, Termdeck shows the worktree and branch under the prompt and keeps the chat under its base repository.
Keep reading
Related
tmux for AI agents
Claude Squad is built on tmux. What tmux alone gives a coding agent, and what it leaves out.
Termdeck vs Conductor
Another way to run several Claude Code sessions in parallel, compared.
Reviewing changes
Diffs, worktrees, checkpoint restore and pull requests in Termdeck, step by step.