Terminal workflows
Both multiplexers use Ctrl-f as the prefix and Vim-style pane navigation. Both are selected by the default terminal set; familiar keys do not imply identical copy behavior.
Kitty tab names
Section titled “Kitty tab names”Ordinary tabs keep their application titles. Local Zellij tabs show the session name; SSH sessions started with zj show hostname/session. Explicit Kitty tab and window names still win. On the remote host, use the configured zj launcher rather than calling zellij attach directly so it can announce and clear the host context.
Run make kitty locally and reload Kitty configuration after updating. The title hook requires Kitty 0.43 or newer. The remote host also needs the updated dotfiles launcher; reconnect existing SSH/Zellij clients to pick it up.
Copying is a deliberate difference
Section titled “Copying is a deliberate difference”| Task | tmux | Zellij |
|---|---|---|
| Select arbitrary text | Inline Vim-style copy mode | Open scrollback in Neovim with Ctrl-f e |
| Select a region | tmux copy-mode selection | Neovim v, V, or Ctrl-v, then y |
| Paste the multiplexer copy | Ctrl-f p pastes the tmux buffer | Ctrl-f p pastes the session’s last Neovim yank |
| Paste the system clipboard | Terminal paste shortcut | Terminal paste shortcut |
In Zellij, :q! leaves the scrollback editor and returns to the original terminal. Ctrl-f p pastes text yanked in that editor. Mouse selection and native command-copy actions do not replace that saved text.
Clipboard copying depends on your terminal’s settings, including over SSH. Use the copy and paste guide for selection, buffer lifetime, and the distinction between session text and the system clipboard.
Start and return to work
Section titled “Start and return to work”For a configured Zellij installation:
zellij attach --create mainCtrl-f d detaches while keeping the session running. In a new shell, zj main is the short form. See the Zellij guide to get started and choose a custom feature.
For tmux, tmux-sessions list shows saved snapshots and tmux-sessions restore opens the restore picker. Restoration asks for confirmation. See the session guide for persistence and agent status.