Zellij

A workspace manager and terminal multiplexer that is designed to be user-friendly with discoverable keybindings.

Configuration Paths

• Config: dotfiles/.config/zellij/config.kdl

Themes

Uses built-in Zellij themes with auto-switching based on terminal color scheme (CSI 2031 / DSR 997):

• Default: gruvbox-dark
• Dark mode: gruvbox-dark
• Light mode: gruvbox-light

Troubleshooting

Run zellij setup --check to verify configuration, theme loading, and directory paths.

Keybindings

Zellij uses modal input. Each mode is entered via a prefix and has its own keymap.

Mode Switching

Mode	Shortcut
Normal	Esc (from other modes)
Locked	Ctrl + G
Pane	Ctrl + P
Tab	Ctrl + T
Resize	Ctrl + N
Move	Ctrl + H
Scroll	Ctrl + S
Session	Ctrl + O
Tmux	Ctrl + B or Ctrl + A

Shared (All Modes Except Locked)

Action	Shortcut
Lock UI	Ctrl + G
Focus left/down/up/right	Alt + H / Alt + J / Alt + K / Alt + L
Focus with arrows	Alt + Arrow Keys
New pane	Alt + N
Toggle floating panes	Alt + F
Previous/next swap layout	Alt + [ / Alt + ]
Resize increase/decrease	Alt + + / Alt + -
Move tab left/right	Alt + I / Alt + O
Toggle pane in group	Alt + P
Toggle group marking	Alt + Shift + P
Quit Zellij	Ctrl + Q

Note: Ctrl + H enters Move mode in Zellij, which conflicts with Helix's Ctrl + H (jump view left). Run Zellij in Locked mode (Ctrl + G) or use Alt + H for focus when editing inside Zellij.

Locked Mode (Ctrl + G)

Action	Shortcut
Switch focus / normal	Space
Rename tab	, or .
New pane (down)	-
New pane (right)	\\ or `
Previous tab	B
About plugin	?
Layout manager	L
Go to tab 1-9	1–9
New tab	C
Plugin manager	I or U
Toggle fullscreen	M or Z
Detach session	D
Close focus	X

Pane Mode (Ctrl + P)

Action	Shortcut
Move focus (HJKL / arrows)	H/J/K/L or arrows
New pane	N
New pane (down)	D
New pane (right)	R
New pane (stacked)	S
Toggle floating	W
Toggle embed/float	E
Toggle fullscreen	F
Toggle pinned	I
Rename pane	C
Switch focus	P
Toggle pane frames	Z
Close focus	X

Tab Mode (Ctrl + T)

Action	Shortcut
New tab	N
Close tab	X
Next/previous tab	L / H or arrows
Toggle tab	Tab
Rename tab	R
Break pane	B
Break pane left/right	[ / ]
Toggle active sync tab	S
Go to tab 1-9	1–9

Resize Mode (Ctrl + N)

Action	Shortcut
Resize (increase/decrease)	+ / - or =
Resize increase (HJKL)	H/J/K/L
Resize decrease (HJKL)	Shift + H/J/K/L
Resize with arrows	Arrow keys

Move Mode (Ctrl + H)

Action	Shortcut
Move pane (HJKL / arrows)	H/J/K/L or arrows
Move pane	N or Tab
Move pane backwards	P

Scroll Mode (Ctrl + S)

Action	Shortcut
Scroll up/down	K / J or arrows
Page scroll up/down	Page Up / Page Down or H / L
Half page up/down	U / D
Scroll to bottom	Ctrl + C
Enter search	S
Edit scrollback	E

Search Mode (from Scroll)

Action	Shortcut
Search down/up	N / P
Toggle case sensitivity	C
Toggle whole word	O
Toggle wrap	W

Session Mode (Ctrl + O)

Action	Shortcut
About plugin	A
Configuration plugin	C
Layout manager	L
Plugin manager	P
Share plugin	S
Session manager	W
Detach	D

Tmux Mode (Ctrl + B / Ctrl + A)

Action	Shortcut
Move focus (HJKL / arrows)	H/J/K/L or arrows
New pane (right)	`
New pane (down)	- or _ or "
Next/previous tab	N / P
Focus next pane	O
Rename tab	,
Enter scroll	[
Send Ctrl + B	Ctrl + B
Session manager	S
New tab	C
Plugin manager	I / U
Toggle fullscreen	M / Z
Detach	D