[qsort]

The object-level discussion is interesting, but I disagree with the premise to such an extent it feels like a moot point. It feels like the article doesn't play out the line to its logical conclusion.

Why would agents want GUIs made for humans? It's already the case that, like everyone who's good at computers, agents want a terminal and good APIs, not some ad-ridden crap.

If anything, AI is a reason why it will never be the year of the linux desktop but also it doesn't matter anymore, because if the higher-order bit of productivity is defined by AI, then my tmux+vim is as good as your Visual Studio.

[godelski]

  > tmux+vim is as good as your Visual Studio.

You probably don't need tmux. The utility is really when you're remoting into machines and want to keep your session (or are too lazy to use nohup or disown)

Your terminal should split panes for and do tabs. Ghostty is my preferred but use whatever. And fwiw, even if your terminal sucks vim can do this all for you too (:term), so you don't even need to leave vim.

  > vim is better than your Visual Studio.

FTFY ;)

Side note: just because you can live in the terminal on Linux doesn't mean GUIs can't exist or are even second class citizens. The real beauty is being able to have both. You can have a platform that is usable for most people while not fucking over power users. Wild concept, I know

[mmh0000]

<strongly offended noises>

Everybody needs tmux, especially locally.

My terminal splits panes (which I don't use), but what if I want to open two terminals that share the same set of splits? Can't. But tmux can!

What if I want to SSH back into my desktop (because I'm on a laptop or whatever) and grab something from my desktop terminal? Can't. But tmux can!

Vim splits and the vim terminal are poorly implemented. Technically, yes, they work. But you'll run into a lot of issues. I know, because a few years ago I went down the same path: Why do I need tmux, when I have vim!? ... I quickly learned why I needed tmux.

I agree with your side note: plasma+kitty+tmux and a few support scripts:

(please don't criticize my scripts; these were never meant to be shared, and it's a disaster, but it works for me)

I have this script (https://doc.xn0.org/tmuxedkitty-newwindow.sh) bound to WIN+T; it opens kitty, and either creates a new tmux session if there isn't one or attaches to the existing session and creates a new pane.

Then, I have my insane (I understand I am insane, but it works for me!) tmux config file: https://doc.xn0.org/.tmux.conf

Then, I have my insane zshrc that auto-titles my tmux windows: https://doc.xn0.org/.zshrc

Using titles from: https://doc.xn0.org/tmux-window-titles

I have put way too much thought and time into this...

[godelski]

  > but what if I want to open two terminals that share the same set of splits?

You want clones? I'll admit most terminals can't do this (some can), but I'm struggling to see the use case. What's the advantage of having 2 windows displaying the same information?

  > What if I want to SSH back into my desktop

Agreed! That was the explicitly stated usecase where I said tmux was for[0]

  > Vim splits and the vim terminal are poorly implemented.

Completely fair and I avoid for exactly those reasons. But they're still handy in a pinch and they're good to know about

BUT tmux is also poorly implemented. Start trying to use sixel (or kitty graphics) in your fzf previews, yazi, or whatever you're displaying things with. This is a big pain point.

  > please don't criticize my scripts

Do you want friendly comments? All code sucks so I'll not going to call you dumb or anything. But do upload somewhere so I don't have to download 0x0.st is perfect for this usecase.

  > Using titles

Your terminal doesn't do titles? What terminal are you using?

[0] I'll also admit Claude code is another use case. But that is because it is so poorly written not because the terminals suck. I absolutely believe Dario when he says Claude does most of the coding... it shows...

[maxeda]

Just because tmux doesn't work for you doesn't mean it can't be useful for someone else. I for one really appreciate having the same interface and keybinds across several devices and I've never felt a need to look elsewhere.

[godelski]

  > having the same interface and keybinds across several devices 

I'm a bit lost. I use my dotfiles for this.

If it is a machine I control: I control the terminal so there's no issues.

If it's a machine I'm sshd into: that's my explicitly stated tmux case right there.

If it's a machine I don't control: well I can't do anything anyways, so conversation is moot. This situation is exceptionally rare though (where I can't even do local installs)

I agree that you should use what works for you, but I'm curious what you're getting that isn't already offered by your system