Sylladex is a free and open-source terminal multiplexer for Unix-like operating systems, written in Rust. It runs several terminal sessions inside one window, lets you switch between them, and keeps them running when you close the window.

The distinguishing idea is that tabs come first. Most multiplexers treat the split pane as the fundamental unit and bolt tabs on top of it. Sylladex inverts that: a tab is the primary thing you create, name, and move between, and a workspace will be a named set of tabs you can switch between as a unit. Splitting a tab into panes is fully supported; it just isn't the center of the design.

The binary is called syl.

Install

Requires a Rust toolchain, 1.95 or newer.

cargo build --release
./target/release/syl

Or with Nix: nix run, or nix build for ./result/bin/syl.

Usage

Run syl to start a session, or to reattach to one already running. The session lives on after you close the terminal, so running syl again picks it up where you left it. syl ls lists sessions, and syl new NAME and syl attach NAME start and attach named ones.

Inside a session, the prefix key ctrl+j opens a menu on the status bar. From there t, p and s open the tab, pane and session menus, which show the keys they take. For example, ctrl+j t n opens a new tab, and ctrl+j s d detaches.

See DOCS.md for every key, command and setting.

Configuration

Sylladex reads $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/sylladex/config.toml, which can rebind every key and recolour the chrome. See DOCS.md.

Prior art

tmux and zellij are the obvious points of comparison and the main inspirations. Sylladex is not a drop-in replacement for either.

The name

Sylladex is a deliberate Homestuck reference. In the comic, a sylladex is an inventory system whose "fetch modus" determines how items are stored and retrieved, sometimes helpfully and sometimes not. Managing a collection of things under a configurable discipline seemed like the right idea to borrow.

License

Licensed under either of Apache License, Version 2.0 or the MIT license, at your option.