Stack and pin terminals: Zellij 0.42.0 brings a revised interface
Several command lines can be used in parallel in the Zellij terminal multiplexer. In the update to 0.42.0, applications can be moved to the background.
Floating terminal tile in Zellij 0.42.0
(Image: Aram Drevekenin)
The open source terminal multiplexer Zellij has been released in version 0.42.0. The update includes a revised user interface with customized window management and new plug-in interfaces. With Zellij, several sessions of a terminal emulator can be displayed as tiles in one window. The terminal multiplexer is designed to arrange tiles sensibly by default, but also allows configuration in a YAML file for recurring splits of the window.
Run terminal applications in the background
Similar to program windows in a Tiling Windows Manager, users can open numerous terminal tiles next to each other in Zellij and switch between the individual command lines using the keyboard. With the new window management, users can now expand tiles by the size of the neighboring terminal and stack them on top of each other at the same time. This allows running programs to be moved to the background. If required, users can switch between the stacked terminals or restore the original tile view.
In Zellij, individual terminals can also be lifted out of the tile view and into the foreground. They are freely scalable and float above the other tiles. In version 0.42.0, users can pin the floating tile; it remains in the foreground even when users are using a different terminal. This function is useful for checking the syntax of program code in real time, says developer Aram Drevekenin. Furthermore, individual words can now be marked by double-clicking and entire lines by triple-clicking.
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The update also includes a new specification for themes that goes beyond colors and includes the editing of individual elements of the interface. This should encourage the community to develop new themes. Plugins also receive a new host folder, can recognize mouse movements and handle the new tile functions. All changes to the multiplexer written in Rust can be found in the changelog. Releases of Zellij are currently available for x64 and ARM64 systems with Linux and macOS. The Kitty terminal was also recently updated.
(sfe)
