Managing Windows

Opening a New Window

Press Cmd + N to open a new window. The new window automatically clones the connection profile and working directory from your currently focused window, so you're ready to work on the same server right away.

You can also open a new window from the toolbar menu or the Command Palette.

On iPhone, where multi-window isn't part of the platform model, Cmd + N (with a hardware keyboard) or the new-pane action in the toolbar opens a new pane within the current scene instead. See Split Panes.

Window Arrangement

Apple Vision Pro

vmux automatically places new windows around your existing layout:

2nd window — to the right
3rd window — to the left
4th window — above
5th window — below
6th–9th windows — fill the remaining corners
10+ windows — stack above the last window

Each window is independent with its own SSH session, so you can connect to different servers or run different tasks side by side.

Mac

New windows open under the standard macOS window manager. They cascade by default and can be tiled with the green-button menu, dragged to Spaces, or arranged with third-party tile managers. Each window holds its own SSH session.

iPhone

iPhone uses a single scene with multiple panes inside. Use Split Panes to keep more than one session visible at once. The Sessions list lets you jump between detached sessions.

Switching Between Windows

Pane / window cycling

Use keyboard shortcuts to quickly move between open windows or panes:

Shortcut	Action
Cmd + ]	Next window / pane
Cmd + [	Previous window / pane

Cycle order matches creation order.

Command Palette

Open the Command Palette and select a specific window or pane by name to jump directly to it.

Hosts and Sessions

The Hosts surface gives you saved hosts, pinned commands, recent commands, and SSH key tools. On Vision Pro it opens as its own window; on Mac and iPhone it's a sidebar / sheet inside the active scene.

The Sessions list shows all active and detached sessions in one flat list, sorted by recent activity. Tap a session to switch to it (or reopen it if detached).

Each window has a collapsible toolbar in the top-right corner. Tap Menu to expand it and access quick actions like opening Hosts, Sessions, the keyboard, the Command Palette, or Settings. The toolbar auto-collapses after a moment so it stays out of your way.

You can toggle the toolbar on or off through the Command Palette ("Toggle Toolbar").

System UI (Vision Pro)

By default, vmux hides the visionOS system window controls (the close button, grab bar, and resize handles) for a cleaner look. You can toggle them back on through the Command Palette ("Toggle System UI").

When system UI is visible, the standard visionOS window controls appear so you can reposition or resize the window with your hands.

On Mac and iPhone the system chrome is always visible — the OS provides the standard close / minimize / fullscreen / size affordances and vmux does not override them.

Closing vs Terminating

Use Close Window (Keep Session Running) to detach only the UI. The underlying session stays running so reopen is an immediate reattach from the Sessions list.

To fully end a session, use the stop icon in the Sessions list.