Comparison

Cmux Remote vs Helmrig Shell

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Cmux Remote

Control your cmux terminal sessions remotely from your mobile device. Interact with running processes, manage workspaces, and send commands securely over your private network. Ideal for developers who need to monitor or control their development machines while away from their desk.

Highlights
  • Live cmux surface mirroring
  • Keyboard accessory controls
  • Mouse passthrough support
  • Local notifications
  • Workspace and surface switching
  • Pinch-to-zoom font sizing
Features
Read full description

Cmux Remote is a private remote-control client for the cmux terminal multiplexer running on your own computer. Connect over your Tailscale network — your traffic never touches a third-party relay. WHAT IT IS Cmux (https://cmux.com) is a modern terminal multiplexer with native splits, workspaces, and rich integrations for AI agents like Claude Code, Codex, omx, and Cursor. Cmux Remote mirrors the cmux surface you choose, lets you type into it, send keys, manage workspaces, upload photos and documents, preview images, and receive notifications — all from this mobile app. WHO IT IS FOR - Developers who run long-lived agents such as Claude Code, Codex, and omx and want to check or control them away from their desk - People who access their own development machine remotely and want a focused terminal experience - Anyone already using Tailscale and looking for a private way to reach their terminal HOW IT WORKS 1. Install the open-source cmux-relay binary on the computer that runs cmux. 2. Make sure that computer is connected to Tailscale. 3. Open this app, enter the computer’s Tailscale hostname, and tap Connect. 4. Your cmux workspaces appear. Select a surface and start working. The relay communicates directly with cmux through its local Unix socket. This app communicates with the relay over a WireGuard-encrypted Tailscale tunnel. Nothing leaves your private network. FEATURES - Performance-tuned live mirroring of cmux terminal surfaces with Korean/CJK width support, an opaque-black viewport, and ANSI truecolor - Long-press drag selection with adjustable handles and one-tap copy - Keyboard accessory controls for Esc, Enter, Tab, arrows, Ctrl-C, other Ctrl combinations, /new, and Space - Keyboard-safe command layout with automatic dismissal after sending and an inline scroll-to-bottom control - Paste text and securely upload photos or documents to Downloads/cmux-remote - Browse recent uploads and terminal-visible files with image thumbnails and a full-screen zoom viewer - Local notifications and a native Inbox for cmux events and AI-agent needs-input prompts - Create, rename, and close workspaces and switch between multiple surfaces - Connected computer battery status when provided by the relay - Pinch-to-zoom terminal font sizing - Demo Mode with populated sample data so you can try the app before setting up a relay PRIVACY No analytics. No advertising. No third-party tracking SDKs. The bearer token issued by your relay is stored only in secure credential storage on your device. Source code and privacy details: https://github.com/NewTurn2017/cmux-remote REQUIREMENTS - A personal computer running cmux 0.64 or later and cmux-relay - Both devices signed in to the same Tailscale tailnet - iOS 17 or later Cmux Remote is open source under the MIT license. Issues and pull requests are welcome.

About

Helmrig Shell

Features
Read full description

The terminal from your desk, now on iPhone and iPad. Helmrig Shell is a native terminal — btop, tmux, vim, true color, ligatures, full escape-sequence support, rendered natively. Not a web view, not a cut-down mobile shell. A real desktop terminal that feels like the one you already use. Your sessions run on your own Mac or server. The iPad or iPhone is just the window — so they never drop. Lock the screen, lose signal, switch to another app, come back hours later: every tab, every running process, your full scrollback, exactly where you left it. No reconnect dance, no lost output. Drop a file onto the terminal and it uploads to your machine, with the full path dropped straight into your command line. Hand a screenshot to a CLI tool, attach a file to a running command — it just works, as if the file were already there. Built on libghostty for the rendering you'd expect from a desktop terminal. Hardware keyboard shortcuts, split panes, tabs that name themselves after what's running. Designed for iPad first, not ported from somewhere else. Works anywhere over an end-to-end encrypted connection — at your desk, on the couch, or across the world. Not limited to your local network. Helmrig Shell requires a subscription to use. A free trial is available, after which continued access requires Helmrig Shell Pro at $8.99/month. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. WHAT IT IS A window into your own machine. Your shell, your tools, your environment — running where they always have, now reachable from your iPad. WHAT IT NEEDS A Mac or Linux machine you control, running the Helmrig server. Setup takes one command. PRIVACY No third-party SDKs. No analytics. No crash reporting. Helmrig Shell servers never see terminal output. Full policy at helmrig.app/shell-privacy.html CONTACT hi@helmrig.app Support Link: https://helmrig.app/support Privacy Policy: https://helmrig.app/shell-privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://helmrig.app/shell-terms.html

Screenshots

Cmux Remote4 screens
Helmrig Shell4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Cmux Remote at 17.0 against Helmrig Shell's 26.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cmux Remote ships an update every 11 days, Helmrig Shell every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Cmux Remote versus Helmrig Shell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCmux RemoteHelmrig Shell
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 11 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB39 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerjaehyun jangNikita Kislitsin

In-app purchases

None

Cmux Remote

No in-app purchases

None

Helmrig Shell

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cmux Remote free?
Cmux Remote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Helmrig Shell free?
Helmrig Shell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Cmux Remote or Helmrig Shell have ads?
Neither Cmux Remote nor Helmrig Shell shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cmux Remote or Helmrig Shell?
Cmux Remote ships an update every 11 days, and Helmrig Shell every 2 weeks. Most recently, Cmux Remote was updated on October 31, 2026 and Helmrig Shell on October 28, 2026.

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