Zellij

• Zellij is a terminal multiplexer written in Rust, designed to be more approachable than tmux while offering a modern plugin and layout system
  • Created by Person/Aram Drevekenin; first stable release in 2021

  • Platform

    • macOS and Linux

  • Language

    • Rust

  • Image Protocol

    • Experimental native support for Kitty/Graphics/Protocol
    • No passthrough configuration needed (unlike tmux)
    • Relevant for tools like yazi that display inline images

  • Nix

    • Available in nixpkgs as pkgs.zellij
    • home-manager module: programs.zellij
      • nix

        programs.zellij = {
          enable = true;
          enableZshIntegration = true;
          settings = {
            theme = "catppuccin-mocha";
            default_layout = "compact";
          };
        };

    • theme uses a Catppuccin flavor; see Catppuccin for palette details and other apps.

  • Notable Features

    • Layout system using KDL config files — define named layouts for projects
    • WebAssembly plugin system — plugins run sandboxed in WASM
    • Floating panes
    • More discoverable UX than tmux — keybindings shown in a persistent status bar
    • Sessions persist after disconnect (like tmux)