Install zellij with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository

Commands and aliases

• zellij

Project history

Zellij reached a public beta on April 20, 2021, when Aram Drevekenin described it as a Rust terminal workspace and multiplexer with ambitions to become a general-purpose application development platform. Its early positioning was already distinct from classic screen/tmux culture: it emphasized an out-of-the-box UI, discoverable shortcuts, and a friendlier path for users who had not memorized multiplexer commands.

The project then evolved toward a programmable workspace. In the 2022 Zellij 0.32.0 release, configuration and layouts moved from YAML to KDL, and command panes became a way to preserve, rerun, and compose terminal commands inside layouts. In 2023 the project overhauled its WebAssembly plugin system, framing plugins as terminal applets that can draw UI, react to events, and manage panes, tabs, commands, and editors.

By 2026 the README described Zellij as a terminal workspace with batteries included, with floating and stacked panes, layouts, true multiplayer collaboration, WebAssembly plugins, and a built-in web client. That trajectory matters because Zellij became less a tmux clone and more a terminal-native environment for organizing work.

Adoption history

Zellij adoption followed the path of modern Rust CLI tools: binaries and Cargo installs first, then broad package-manager coverage. The supplied package data lists it across Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, Scoop, winget, Alpine, and openSUSE-family packaging, which puts it in the common install paths for macOS developers, Linux workstation users, and Windows terminal users.

The public repository shows a large contributor and user footprint for a terminal multiplexer, with tens of thousands of GitHub stars and many releases by 2026. The FAQ also presents it as actively maintained full-time by its creator with community and sponsor support, which helps explain why it is treated by package maintainers as an active, fast-moving CLI rather than a frozen niche utility.

How it is used

Typical use starts with running `zellij` to get a managed session with panes and tabs, then leaning on layouts for repeatable workspaces and `config.kdl` for keybindings, themes, and behavior. Users coming from tmux often care about session persistence, pane management, and shortcut conflicts with terminal editors.

For power users, the interesting usage surface is automation: layouts can encode project workspaces, command panes can run repeatable commands, and WebAssembly plugins can provide custom UI or workflow actions inside the terminal. The plugin model is explicitly designed so plugins can be distributed as `.wasm` files and interact with Zellij state and events.

Why package nerds care

Zellij is a useful package-nerd marker for the Rust-era terminal stack: a single CLI whose value depends on assets that packages must install correctly, including layouts, default plugins, shell completions, man pages, and config migration behavior. Packaging it well is not just putting one binary in PATH.

It also represents a shift in terminal tooling expectations. Where older multiplexers often expected users to bring their own configuration, Zellij competes on defaults, discoverability, and bundled workflow pieces, making it a package whose post-install experience is part of its identity.

Timeline

• 2021-04-20: Zellij public beta announced as a Rust terminal workspace and multiplexer.
• 2022-10-25: Zellij 0.32.0 moves configuration from YAML to KDL and adds command panes and a new layout system.
• 2023-06-27: Zellij announces an overhauled WebAssembly plugin system and Rust SDK for plugin authors.
• 2026-05-13: GitHub release listing shows v0.44.3 as the latest release.

Related projects

• tmux and GNU screen are the historical terminal multiplexers users often compare with Zellij.
• zellij-tile is the Rust SDK used for Zellij WebAssembly plugin development.
• KDL is the configuration language Zellij adopted for configuration and layouts.

Sources

• https://github.com/zellij-org/zellij#readme
• https://poor.dev/blog/why-zellij/
• https://zellij.dev/faq/
• https://zellij.dev/news/beta/
• https://zellij.dev/news/config-command-layouts/
• https://zellij.dev/news/new-plugin-system/
• source_facts.package-manager