Make Tmux the OS(matduggan.com)
222 points by weaksauce 11 days ago | 131 comments
tl;dr: The author argues desktop OSes still rely on 1980s window management hacks and proposes a tmux-inspired alternative: an infinite scrollable canvas with task-based window grouping, detachable browser tabs as first-class windows, deterministic layouts across monitor changes, and a local LLM to help organize tasks via a Quake-style overlay. After attempting a prototype, they concede serious flaws—the privacy features require invasive telemetry, idle-based privacy backfires because reading looks idle, and the append-only infinite canvas just becomes an unmanageable mess without garbage collection.
HN Discussion:
  • ↓Existing tiling window managers like i3, hyprland, or yabai already solve these problems
  • ↓The post is barely about tmux and conflates unrelated desktop UX ideas
  • ~Wayland compositor/WM separation (River) is the better foundation for such experiments
  • ↓This is a rediscovery of emacs/screen lineage rather than a novel idea
  • ↑The core problem of task-based workflows spanning siloed apps is real and worth solving