Oh my tmux! vs Zellij
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A ready-made, pretty tmux configuration file you drop in and customize.
Open source · MIT
A terminal workspace that splits your terminal into panes, tabs and sessions, with layouts and plugins.
The short answer
Choose Oh my tmux! if you need…
- Developers who already use tmux and want a better-looking, feature-rich starting config
- People new to tmux who want a sensible default setup without writing their own
- Users who work over SSH or Mosh and want hostname and username shown in the status line
- Vim users who want vi-style key bindings in tmux
Choose Zellij if you need…
- Developers who work across several terminal panes or projects at once
- Ops-oriented people who keep long-running shell sessions open
- Users who want a terminal setup they can save as a reusable layout
- People who want a terminal multiplexer with a ready-made default experience
Side-by-side
| Oh my tmux! | Zellij | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Dev tool | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 25.5k | 35.9k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Clone and build from source | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | Shell | Rust |
| Last code update | 16 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
Oh my tmux!
Oh my tmux! is a configuration for tmux, a terminal tool that lets you split one terminal window into multiple panes and keep sessions running in the background. It gives tmux a polished look with a Powerline-inspired status bar, and adds conveniences such as a secondary C-a prefix, mouse mode toggling, and maximizing a pane to its own window. Customizations go in a separate .local file so the main config can be left alone.
Zellij
Zellij is a terminal multiplexer: a program that runs inside your terminal and lets you open several panes, tabs and sessions at once, and keep them running in the background. It aims to be easy to use out of the box while still offering layouts, floating and stacked panes, and a plugin system that accepts plugins compiled to WebAssembly. The README also says it includes a built-in web client so you can use it from a browser.
Best for
Oh my tmux!
- Developers who already use tmux and want a better-looking, feature-rich starting config
- People new to tmux who want a sensible default setup without writing their own
- Users who work over SSH or Mosh and want hostname and username shown in the status line
- Vim users who want vi-style key bindings in tmux
Zellij
- Developers who work across several terminal panes or projects at once
- Ops-oriented people who keep long-running shell sessions open
- Users who want a terminal setup they can save as a reusable layout
- People who want a terminal multiplexer with a ready-made default experience
Strengths
Oh my tmux!
- Installs as plain tmux config files with a documented manual and automatic option
- Customizations are kept in a separate .local file, making updates easier to manage
- Large community following with 25k+ stars and an MIT license
Zellij
- The README emphasizes a usable default experience without much setup
- Supports layouts, floating and stacked panes, and multiplayer collaboration
- Plugins can be written in any language that compiles to WebAssembly, per the README
Not ideal for
Oh my tmux!
- People who do not use tmux or the terminal, since it only configures tmux
- Windows users without WSL or Cygwin, because native Windows is not supported by the README
- Users who want a minimal config with no visual theme, since the default look is a large part of the project
Zellij
- People who are happy with their existing tmux setup and do not need new features, since switching costs time to relearn keybindings
- Anyone needing a graphical terminal emulator itself, since Zellij runs inside an existing terminal
- Users on systems outside the prebuilt binaries who cannot compile Rust, since the README's main install routes assume a package or binary
Trade-offs
Oh my tmux!
- Requires tmux 2.6 or newer plus awk, perl, grep, and sed on the system
- The README warns that editing the main config file leaves you on your own, so customization must follow its structure
- Some Unicode and emoji characters can display incorrectly depending on terminal and font setup
Zellij
- The README warns that the main branch is pre-release and may be unstable, so most users should stick with releases
- Many features (layouts, plugins, configuration) have a learning curve that the README points to external docs for
- Details of the web client and multiplayer features are only summarized in the README and linked docs
Getting started
Oh my tmux!
Automatic installation
curl -fsSL "https://github.com/gpakosz/.tmux/raw/refs/heads/master/install.sh#$(date +%s)" | bashManual installation in ~
cd && git clone --single-branch https://github.com/gpakosz/.tmux.git && ln -s -f .tmux/.tmux.conf && cp .tmux/.tmux.conf.local .Zellij
Install with cargo (compiles from source)
cargo install --locked zellijFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Oh my tmux! and Zellij?
Oh my tmux!: A ready-made, pretty tmux configuration file you drop in and customize. Zellij: A terminal workspace that splits your terminal into panes, tabs and sessions, with layouts and plugins. Oh my tmux! suits developers who already use tmux and want a better-looking, feature-rich starting config, while Zellij suits developers who work across several terminal panes or projects at once.
Are Oh my tmux! and Zellij free?
Oh my tmux!: Free and open source. Zellij: Free and open source.
Is Oh my tmux! or Zellij more popular?
Zellij has more GitHub stars (35.9k) than Oh my tmux! (25.5k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Oh my tmux! and Zellij?
Other options people compare them with include tmuxinator, chezmoi, dotfiles, fzf, ccstatusline.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.