What is Rex?
Rex is a terminal and terminal multiplexer in one app, the first product from Superlogical, the company Mitchell Hashimoto (creator of Ghostty, co-founder of HashiCorp) started. Sessions live on a Rex server rather than in the window, so you can close the app, reconnect from another device and find every tab and running program where you left it, with native scrolling and selection that tmux does not give you.
It is built with coding agents in mind. rex skill setup installs a skill and a session hook into Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and Pi, so an agent can open tabs, split panes, start a dev server, read another terminal's screen and close what it opened. A new escape code, the Program Status Protocol (OSC 7501), lets a program report that it is working, blocked on you or finished, and Rex shows that in tab headers and the session picker.
Rex is in public beta, which began on 5 October 2026 after a private test with about 50 people. The macOS app, which runs its own local server, is the only client in testing; Linux and FreeBSD can run servers. The source is not published.
Is Rex worth it?
You start a long Claude Code task, close your laptop to catch a train, and the task dies with the lid. The usual fix is tmux over SSH on a spare machine, which works and fights you on scrolling, copying and every keyboard shortcut you already know.
Rex moves the session off your laptop and onto a server, which can be a Mac mini at home or a Linux box, and makes the terminal itself the client. Close the app and the agent keeps working; open Rex on another Mac and you are back in the same tabs. You do not run it inside another terminal, it is the terminal, and Superlogical says it is and will stay free, with no account and no data shared.
The agent features are practical rather than flashy. After rex skill setup, Claude Code knows it is inside Rex and which pane it is in, so you can ask it to run the tests in a split beside it and fix what fails, or start the dev server in another tab and tell you when it is listening. Programs that adopt the new status escape code can flag that they are waiting for your approval, which is exactly what you want from three agents in three tabs.
The catch: this is a beta in every sense. Only the macOS app is in testing, so there is no client for your Windows or Linux desktop yet, and no stable release exists. Remote access is the weak point: a server identifies callers only through Tailscale or SSH for now, a plain HTTP listener needs an --allow-anonymous flag and cannot tell who is connecting, and Superlogical says proper authentication is still planned. Upgrading a shared server ends every session on it. The app also checks for updates daily, and that cannot be turned off, though the privacy page says it sends nothing beyond your IP address and version.
Our take: if your agents already live in tmux on a home server, Rex is the first thing that makes that setup pleasant on a Mac; keep the server inside a Tailscale network and treat it like an SSH login, because that is what it is.
Where it earns its place
A freelance developer with a MacBook and a Mac mini at home
Keep a long Claude Code refactor running while the laptop is closed
Run Rex on both Macs, add the Mac mini as a server and start the agent in a session there. Close the laptop; reopen Rex later and the session is where it was. Free, apart from the agent's own subscription.
A backend engineer at a 20-person startup with a Linux dev box
Run several agents in parallel on the dev box and see which one needs input
Install the Rex server on Linux, reach it through Tailscale, and give each agent its own tab. Blocked-state indicators in tab headers show which agent is waiting, when the agent emits the status code.
A small platform team sharing one on-call machine
Share a live terminal during an incident without screen sharing
The login server mode lets several people connect as their own accounts to the same machine's sessions. Restrict it with Tailscale ACLs; plain HTTP access cannot identify who is connecting.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Join the mailing list for a beta invite, then download the macOS app, which includes a local server. Linux servers install with a script that adds Superlogical's package repository for apt, dnf, zypper, pacman or apk; run rex skill setup to wire in your agents.
- Integrations
- Agent skill and session hook for Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and Pi; a rex CLI with Lua scripting, events and a server API; built-in Tailscale; a community MCP server with docs and changelog for beta members.
- Data and privacy
- No telemetry, analytics or account, per the privacy page; the Mac app checks for updates daily and this cannot be turned off. Servers listen only on Unix sockets by default; remote callers are identified only through Tailscale or SSH, and plain HTTP needs --allow-anonymous.
- Cost at scale
- Free for any number of machines; Superlogical has not announced what it will charge for, beyond saying the clients and servers will not be directly monetised.
- Limits
- Mac-only client in testing; iOS, Linux and Windows clients not yet in the beta. Linux servers need x86-64 or ARM64 and glibc 2.26 or later. No stable channel release yet, and authentication beyond Tailscale or SSH is still planned.
What’s good
- Sessions survive closing the app or the laptop
- Free, no account, self-hosted servers
- Built-in skill and hook for Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and Pi
- Status escape code shows which agent is waiting on you
- No telemetry, per its privacy page
What’s not
- macOS is the only client in testing
- Remote access relies on Tailscale or SSH until authentication ships
- Upgrading a shared server ends its sessions
- Closed source, beta, no stable release
Best for
Mac developers who run coding agents for hours and want them on a home or office server they can reconnect to, without learning tmux.
Rex alternatives
Rex: common questions
- Is Rex worth it?
- Rex makes leaving Claude Code running on another machine as easy as closing your laptop, but it is a Mac-only beta with stopgap security for remote access. We rate it 3.8 out of 5.
- How much does Rex cost?
- Free, with no account required. Superlogical says the Rex clients and servers will not be directly monetised; its commercial plans are not yet announced.
- What are the downsides of Rex?
- macOS is the only client in testing; remote access relies on Tailscale or SSH until authentication ships; upgrading a shared server ends its sessions; closed source, beta, no stable release.
- Who is Rex best for?
- Mac developers who run coding agents for hours and want them on a home or office server they can reconnect to, without learning tmux.
- How much does Rex cost for a team or in production?
- Free for any number of machines; Superlogical has not announced what it will charge for, beyond saying the clients and servers will not be directly monetised.
- Is Rex safe for company data?
- No telemetry, analytics or account, per the privacy page; the Mac app checks for updates daily and this cannot be turned off. Servers listen only on Unix sockets by default; remote callers are identified only through Tailscale or SSH, and plain HTTP needs --allow-anonymous.
- What are the best Rex alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are Warp.
Answers checked Nov 11, 2026.