June 8th, 2026 × #tmux#AIAgents#Terminal#DevTools
tmux + Terminal Maxxing with Ben Vinegar
Ben Vinegar shows how he runs coding agents over SSH with tmux, ditches the IDE, and builds terminal tools like Hunk and Term Draw. Plus Modem, the AI product manager that reads the internet's complaints so you don't have to.
#1011
Scott and Wes sit down with Ben Vinegar, former Syntax GM and founder of Modem.dev, to geek out over terminal-maxxing, from SSH-based development and tmux workflows to AI-powered coding agents. Ben also demos two of his open source tools: Hunk, a slick terminal code reviewer with 4k+ GitHub stars, and TermDraw, a terminal-based diagramming tool that posts directly to your agent.
Show Notes
- 00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
- 00:49 Introduction to Modem and AI Project Management
- 01:40 Exploring Terminal Usage and Productivity
- 04:26 Setting Up Remote Development Environments
- 08:38 The Power of TMUX in Development
- 11:20 What makes TMUX splitting different?
- 12:46 Integrating AI with Terminal Workflows
- 14:56 The Future of Terminal Applications
- 17:31 Balancing GUIs and Terminal Interfaces
- 24:39 Navigating Development Tools and Environments
- 26:44 The Balance of Security and Convenience in Coding
- 30:27 Cautionary Tales: The Risks of YOLO Mode
- 33:53 Innovative Tools for Enhanced Coding Experience
- 34:09 Hunk: Terminal code review.
- 41:39 TermDraw: A New Way to Visualize Code and Ideas
- 46:22 The Dynamics of Open Source Contributions
- 48:31 Visualizing Code: Tools and Techniques
- 50:54 Podcasting and Editing Processes
- 56:23 Introducing Modem: A Product Intelligence Platform
- 01:01:39 Connecting Feedback to Product Development
- 01:03:15 Sick Picks
Sick Picks
Shameless Plugs
- Ben: https://modem.dev/
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