Dev who gave HashiCorp its name returns with a faster terminal multiplexer

HashiCorp co-founder Mitchell Hashimoto has launched a new startup called Superlogical to develop a server-side terminal multiplexer. This innovative technology aims to provide programmers with a faster and more efficient terminal multiplexing experience, overcoming the limitations of traditional multiplexers such as tmux, Zellij, and GNU Screen.

Mitchell Hashimoto explained in a video that traditional multiplexers are too slow due to their duplication of user input and constant reconciliation of local and remote states. Superlogical's terminal multiplexer will eliminate these inefficiencies by leveraging a modern terminal emulator called Ghostty. Ghostty, which Hashimoto began developing while at HashiCorp, boasts lightning-fast performance and a wide range of features, making it an ideal foundation for Superlogical's new product.

The company's technology builds upon libghostty, a core engine extracted from Ghostty, allowing developers to create their own terminal multiplexing solutions. Superlogical's approach involves sending terminal input from clients to the server, similar to an SSH session, while maintaining persistent session state on the server. This enables users to disconnect and return to their work later, with a smart client handling rendering and scrolling locally instead of waiting for network round trips.

While the company has not divulged many details about its plans, the mission will likely involve expanding on the concept of managing work sessions in a standardized and scalable manner. Some speculate that Superlogical may even be building an AI-native "agentic operating system" that sits above traditional operating systems.