Rex beta first look: will it replace my terminal?

Summary

The presenter reviews Rex, a new terminal multiplexer in beta, after using it for about 24 hours. They compare it with ZenTerm, their own terminal app, and focus on Rex’s workflow, remote access, customization, and potential to replace their daily driver.

How Rex Is Organized and Works

• Rex uses a client–server design: a Rex server runs shells and processes, while clients connect to it. Sessions remain active if the app is quit and reopened.
• Servers can be accessed across multiple machines through the presenter’s Tailnet setup. From one client, they can view and interact with sessions running on another machine.
• Navigation is organized into hosts → sessions → tabs → panes. The presenter finds sessions useful as project workspaces.
• An alternate activity sidebar can show only items needing attention, such as agent sessions. A command palette provides quick access to actions such as switching or renaming sessions and creating tabs.

Interface and Settings

The presenter praises Rex’s polished, modern interface, including its rounded panes and spacing. They found the layout familiar after using ZenTerm.

Rex also offers graphical settings for appearance, themes, fonts, scrolling, keyboard shortcuts, and other terminal options. It can import Ghostty and iTerm themes.

One setting related to “glass” or pane transparency was unclear to the presenter and may have been buggy. They emphasize that Rex is in beta, but say they encountered few rough edges overall.

Agents, Automation, and Customization

Rex integrates with agents including Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, and Pi. Its MCP/API and CLI let agents and scripts operate on Rex—for example, by creating tabs, splitting panes, running commands, and working with sessions. Agents can also name sessions, which the presenter found useful.

The presenter used Rex’s scripting and API capabilities to recreate workflow features from ZenTerm that Rex does not provide out of the box:

• Persistent floating panes that can be toggled on and off, such as a development server.
• Floating tools for quick tasks such as Git work, without switching to a separate tab or application.

They found these additions quick to build and saw Rex’s flexibility and API as major strengths.

Comparison and Verdict

Rex improves on the presenter’s existing workflow with persistent sessions, remote session management, and navigation they find more intuitive. They describe it as a significant step forward for terminals and say it feels more polished and capable than Warp’s approach.

The main missing feature they identify is ZenTerm’s handling of Git worktrees. ZenTerm can carry selected ignored files or directories into a new worktree as APFS clones, avoiding rebuilds or repeated dependency installation. The presenter would also like Rex to support default layouts per session. They say this is the main workflow gap they could not reproduce through Rex scripting.

Overall, the presenter is highly impressed and suggests ZenTerm may eventually be replaced, while noting that Rex is still in beta and some features—including web sessions and an iOS app—are not yet available.

Main Speaker and Sources

• Main speaker: Drucial, creator of ZenTerm
• Product reviewed: Rex, from Superlogic, associated in the video with Mitchell Hashimoto and the Superlogic team
• Products and tools discussed: ZenTerm, Ghostty, Warp, Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, and Pi