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Zellij

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A powerful and customizable terminal workspace for developers and ops.

Terminal ToolsDeveloper ToolsProductivity
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Tracked since2026
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The Bottom Line

Entry price

Free, no paid tier

Biggest pro

Combines power with simplicity for an excellent out-of-the-box experience.

Biggest con

Requires learning new keybindings and concepts for optimal use.

TL;DR - Zellij

  • Manages terminal panes, tabs, and sessions for enhanced productivity.
  • Offers deep customizability, personal automation through layouts, and true multiplayer collaboration.
  • Features a WebAssembly-based plugin system and a web client for browser-based access.
Pricing: Free forever
Best for: Individuals & startups

What is Zellij?

Editorial review
Zellij is a terminal workspace designed for developers, operations-oriented people, and anyone who frequently uses the terminal. Often referred to as a "Terminal Multiplexer," it aims to provide a powerful yet simple experience, offering advanced features without sacrificing ease of use. It caters to both beginners and power users with deep customizability and personal automation capabilities. Key functionalities include flexible pane management with floating and stacked panes, robust session management for context preservation and resurrection, and a unique plugin system built on WebAssembly. Zellij also offers a built-in web client, allowing users to access and share terminal sessions directly from a browser, making it suitable for collaboration and remote access. Its layout system enables automation of workflows and environment setup, enhancing productivity for complex tasks.

Available on: Linux, macOS, Windows

how we evaluateSourcezellij.dev ↗

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Combines power with simplicity for an excellent out-of-the-box experience.
  • Highly customizable with layouts and a plugin system for personal automation.
  • Unique features like session resurrection and a web client enhance productivity and collaboration.
  • Supports both tiled and floating pane arrangements for flexible workspace organization.
  • Allows for sharing sessions, ideal for pair programming or remote debugging.

Cons

  • Requires learning new keybindings and concepts for optimal use.
  • Initial setup and configuration of layouts might have a learning curve.
  • Relies on WebAssembly for plugins, which might limit language choices for some developers.

Key Features

Floating Panes (movable, resizable, pinnable, persistent)Stacked Panes (layer multiple panes, navigate with arrow keys)Layouts & Automation (define workflows, commands, pane templates in KDL files)Session Management (quick switching, creation, background management, context preservation, resurrection)Web Client (access sessions from any browser, built-in authentication, shareable URLs)Plugin System (extend functionality with WebAssembly plugins, first-class Rust support)Command Panes (treat commands as first-class citizens, re-run with Enter, see exit codes)Scrollback Editing (open pane scrollback buffer in $EDITOR)

Pricing

Free

Zellij is completely free to use with no hidden costs.

View pricing

Is Zellij worth the price?

95/100

Zellij's pricing is extremely generous as it offers a fully functional terminal workspace completely free.

This makes it an incredibly accessible tool for individual developers and operations professionals who need powerful terminal multiplexing without any financial commitment. It's best for anyone looking for a free, robust terminal solution.

Hidden Costs & Gotchas

No hidden costs; it's genuinely free.

No premium features to upsell.

No usage limits or restrictions.

How Zellij Compares to Competitors

Compared to commercial terminal multiplexers like iTerm2 (free but macOS only) or Warp (free for individuals, paid for teams starting at $12/user/month), Zellij stands out by being entirely free and open-source across multiple platforms. While Warp offers AI features, Zellij focuses on core terminal workspace functionality without a paid tier, making it a more cost-effective choice for those not needing AI assistance.

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Zellij FAQ

How do Zellij's floating panes differ from its tiled panes in terms of functionality and persistence?

Floating panes in Zellij are first-class citizens that can be toggled on and off, moved, resized, and pinned to stay always-on-top. They are persistent, meaning commands running within them continue in the background even when hidden. Tiled panes can also be converted into floating panes and vice versa.

What capabilities do Zellij layouts offer for automating development workflows and managing configurations?

Zellij layouts, defined in KDL files, allow users to automate workflows by describing entire development environments, including panes, tabs, terminals, commands, and plugins. They support pre-configuring commands, automatically opening files in an editor, defining reusable pane templates, and structuring multiple tabs for different purposes. Layouts can be version-controlled and shared for seamless onboarding.

How does Zellij's session management system, including Session Resurrection, help users maintain context across tasks and reboots?

Zellij's session management provides a quick way to switch between running sessions, create named sessions, and manage them in the background. Session Resurrection is a unique feature that allows users to bring back closed sessions with their full pane structure and commands, even after reboots, preserving complex task contexts.

What are the primary advantages of using Zellij's built-in web client for accessing terminal sessions?

The web client enables access to Zellij sessions from any web browser without requiring a terminal emulator. It includes built-in authentication, allows persistent sessions to be bookmarked via URL, and facilitates seamless switching between terminal and browser. This feature is ideal for pair programming, remote access, and sharing sessions with teammates.

Which programming languages can be used to develop plugins for Zellij, and what kind of access do these plugins have?

Plugins for Zellij can be developed in any language that compiles to WebAssembly, with Rust having first-class support and a dedicated SDK. These plugins have access to Zellij's state and events, can render custom user interfaces, respond to user input, and are distributed as single .wasm files that do not require installation.

How do 'Command Panes' in Zellij enhance the management and execution of commands compared to standard terminal output?

Command panes treat commands as first-class citizens, allowing users to see exit codes, re-run commands with a single key press, and start commands in a suspended state to be run on-demand. They can be included in layouts with the start_suspended option, making them perfect for managing build commands, tests, or development servers that don't need to run immediately.

Source: zellij.dev

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