Managing hundreds of AI agents from your terminal.
English: MAY-to, Spanish: undefined
粤语: 咩圖, 한국어: 메이토, 日本語: メイト
Quick Start • Features • Why Mato? • Development • Resources
Mato is a terminal multiplexer and workspace that brings visual intelligence to the CLI.
It turns your terminal into an "Office" with Desks and Tabs, where you can monitor parallel tasks, manage complex agent swarms, and keep long-lived background sessions organized — all without keyboard conflicts.
# Quick Install (Linux/macOS)
curl -fsSL http://mato.sh/install.sh | bash# Homebrew (Linux/macOS)
brew tap mr-kelly/tap
brew install mato# Manual Installation
tar xzf mato-*.tar.gz
sudo mv mato /usr/local/bin/Copy this prompt into Claude Code / Codex / Warp / Cursor / Antigravity / OpenClaw / GitHub Copilot (VS Code) / Gemini CLI / Windsurf:
Install Mato on this machine and verify it works.
1) Run: curl -fsSL http://mato.sh/install.sh | bash
2) If it fails, fallback to Homebrew:
- brew tap mr-kelly/tap
- brew install mato
3) Verify with:
- mato --version
- start mato once, then exit
4) If all install paths fail, continue with GitHub release binary, then source build.
matoSelect a template (we recommend Full-Stack for your first run) and start coding.
Esc: Enter Jump Mode (Teleport anywhere)n: New Desk/Tab (Context-aware)r: Rename instantlyEnter: Dive back into the terminal
Traditional terminal multiplexers (tmux/screen) are "blind." You never know what's happening in another tab until you switch to it. Mato changes that.
| Pain | Mato Solution |
|---|---|
| 🕵️ Lost in Tabs | See active agents instantly with live activity signals across desks/tabs. |
| 🎯 Arrow-Key Grind | Jump to what you need in one move, instead of stepping tab-by-tab. |
| ⌨️ Shortcut Hell | Only Esc is special, so your shell/editor shortcuts keep working as usual. |
| 🔌 Session Loss | Agents keep running in the background; reconnect and continue where you left off. |
1) Offices -> Desks -> Tabs UI Organize complex work into a clear hierarchy: one Office, multiple Desks, and Tabs inside each Desk for parallel tasks. |
2) Jump Mode (Core Navigation) Press |
3) Background Runtime Persistence Your agents keep running even if the terminal closes or SSH drops. Reopen |
4) Spinner Activity (AI is working) See where work is happening right now: active tabs and desks show live spinners when an agent or process prints output. |
5) Mouse Support in a TUI Click desks and tabs directly when you want speed, while keeping a terminal-native workflow. |
6) Multi-Client Sync Attach from multiple terminals/SSH sessions and keep everyone on the same live workspace state. |
7) Prebuilt Templates Start in seconds with ready-made templates (Mato Creator Office, Full-Stack, Solo Dev) and multilingual onboarding (English, 中文, 日本語, 한국어). |
8) Customizable Themes Pick the theme style you like, while Office/Desk/Tab state stays persistent across reconnects and restarts. |
Mato follows the "Rule of One": you don't need to memorize shortcuts. Esc is the only state-switch key, and everything else stays with your shell.
By default, Mato does not intercept your normal Ctrl-* and Alt-* shell/editor shortcuts.
| Key | Action | Context |
|---|---|---|
Esc |
Switch State (Jump / Back) | Global |
n |
Create New | Sidebar/Topbar |
x |
Close / Terminate | Sidebar/Topbar |
r |
Rename | Sidebar/Topbar |
o |
Office Selector | Sidebar |
q |
Soft Quit | Sidebar |
If you want to improve a feature, fix a bug, or change behavior you are not satisfied with, paste the prompt below into your coding agent and let it implement the change for you.
Recommended CLI coding agents:
- Claude Code
- Codex CLI
- Gemini CLI
- GitHub Copilot CLI
- Cursor CLI
- Kiro CLI
- Kimi CLI
- OpenCode
- OpenClaw
- Amp
- Goose
- aider
- pi-mono coding-agent
Testing commands and coverage notes are documented in docs/TESTING.md.
- Clone and create a branch:
git clone https://github.com/mr-kelly/mato.git
cd mato
git switch -c feat/your-change- Make changes and validate:
cargo build
cargo test- Commit with Conventional Commits, push, and open a PR to
mr-kelly/mato.
GitHub project: https://github.com/mr-kelly/mato
I want to contribute a change to Mato:
[Describe your bug report or feature request in detail]
Please do the following:
1) Clone the repository and create a feature branch from latest develop (use the project’s current contribution flow).
2) Read AGENTS.md and CHANGELOG-related docs first, then reproduce the issue (or clarify expected behavior for the feature).
3) Implement a minimal, production-safe fix.
4) Run checks and tests:
- cargo build
- cargo test
5) Update docs affected by this change, following AGENTS.md documentation standards (including changelog/release-notes conventions where applicable).
6) Create commit(s) using Conventional Commits format (e.g., fix:, feat:, docs:, refactor:).
7) Push the branch and open a Pull Request to the original Mato repository.
8) In the PR description, clearly explain:
- root cause summary
- files changed
- test/check results
- what changed and why
- changelog/docs updates completed
9) Do NOT create a GitHub Issue for this task.
Tip: the better your [Describe ...] section (expected behavior, actual behavior, logs, screenshots), the better and faster the result.
You say tomato, I say Mato.
- English: MAY-to
- 粤语: 咩圖
- 普通话: 番茄终端
- 日本語: メイト
- 한국어: 메이토
- Spanish:
...maybe don't translate this one.
Join the Mato community and stop hunting for active terminals.
Star this project • Join Discord Community • Contact Author on X • Report a Bug / Request a Feature • Follow Roadmap
Made with 🏖️ for developers who value clarity.
