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Zellij

A terminal workspace that splits your terminal into panes, tabs and sessions, with layouts and plugins.

GitHub Download v0.45.1
Stars
35.9k
Forks
1.5k
Licence
MIT
Language
Rust
Last update
4 days ago
Type
App

What it is

Zellij is a terminal multiplexer: a program that runs inside your terminal and lets you open several panes, tabs and sessions at once, and keep them running in the background. It aims to be easy to use out of the box while still offering layouts, floating and stacked panes, and a plugin system that accepts plugins compiled to WebAssembly. The README also says it includes a built-in web client so you can use it from a browser.

  • Split one terminal window into several panes for editor, server logs and a shell
  • Save a working arrangement of panes and tabs as a layout file and reopen it later
  • Keep a session running in the background and reattach to it after disconnecting
  • Open a session in a browser through the built-in web client

Great for

  • Developers who work across several terminal panes or projects at once
  • Ops-oriented people who keep long-running shell sessions open
  • Users who want a terminal setup they can save as a reusable layout
  • People who want a terminal multiplexer with a ready-made default experience

Not ideal for

  • People who are happy with their existing tmux setup and do not need new features, since switching costs time to relearn keybindings
  • Anyone needing a graphical terminal emulator itself, since Zellij runs inside an existing terminal
  • Users on systems outside the prebuilt binaries who cannot compile Rust, since the README's main install routes assume a package or binary
Step-by-step guide: how to use ZellijInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs
Oh my tmux! vs Zellij

How to get it

  1. 1

    Install with a package manager

    You'll need: Rust toolchain (only if installing with cargo)

    Install with cargo (compiles from source)

    cargo install --locked zellij
  2. 2

    Run it

    • Install Zellij using a package for your OS, a release binary, or cargo.
    • Run `zellij` in your terminal to start a session.
    • Open the Screencasts & Tutorials page on zellij.dev to learn the basic keybindings.
    • Read the Configuration and Layouts documentation to customize your setup.
  3. 3

    Get the most out of it

    • Save frequently used pane arrangements as layouts (see the Layouts documentation linked in the README).
    • Customize behaviour through the configuration file described in the Configuration documentation.
    • Try the built-in web client if you want to use Zellij from a browser (see the tutorial linked in the README).
    • Explore the plugin system if you want to extend Zellij with WebAssembly plugins.

Downloads

Source code (.zip)main branch · straight from GitHubRelease v0.45.18 files incl. zellij-no-web-aarch64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gzOfficial website & docszellij.dev

Strengths

  • The README emphasizes a usable default experience without much setup
  • Supports layouts, floating and stacked panes, and multiplayer collaboration
  • Plugins can be written in any language that compiles to WebAssembly, per the README

Trade-offs

  • The README warns that the main branch is pre-release and may be unstable, so most users should stick with releases
  • Many features (layouts, plugins, configuration) have a learning curve that the README points to external docs for
  • Details of the web client and multiplayer features are only summarized in the README and linked docs

How it compares

ProjectStarsTypeLevelUpdatedBest for
zellij (this)35.9kAppbeginner4 days agoDevelopers who work across several terminal panes or projects at once
.tmux25.5kDev toolbeginner15 days agoDevelopers who already use tmux and want a better-looking, feature-rich starting config
micro29.8kAppbeginner4 days agoPeople who work mostly in a terminal and want an easy editor
gitui22.6kAppbeginner1 months agoDevelopers who already work in a terminal and want a visual view of git changes
edit14.7kAppbeginner6 days agoPeople who want a simple editor for quick text or code edits in a terminal
slides11.7kAppbeginner4 months agoDevelopers who already live in the terminal and want to present technical material

Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.