Command Line Configuration Options

In addition to the configuration file, zellij can also be configured through the command line when running it. These options will override options in the configuration file.

Migration Note: The --disable-mouse-mode and --no-pane-frames flags have been removed. Use --mouse-mode false (equivalent of --disable-mouse-mode) and --pane-frames false (equivalent of --no-pane-frames) instead.

Every option that can be set in the configuration file also has a corresponding flag here, using the same name in kebab-case (eg. the nested_session_handling option is --nested-session-handling).

Note: since 0.45.0 (which uses clap 4 for argument parsing), repeating the same flag no longer produces an error - the last occurrence overrides the previous ones. Help output is also styled and colored.

USAGE:
    zellij options [OPTIONS]

OPTIONS:
        --attach-to-session <ATTACH_TO_SESSION>
            Whether to attach to a session specified in "session-name" if it exists [possible
            values: true, false]

        --copy-clipboard <COPY_CLIPBOARD>
            OSC52 destination clipboard [possible values: system, primary]

        --copy-command <COPY_COMMAND>
            Switch to using a user supplied command for clipboard instead of OSC52

        --copy-on-select <COPY_ON_SELECT>
            Automatically copy when selecting text (true or false) [possible values: true, false]

        --dangerously-enable-paste-buffer-read <DANGEROUSLY_ENABLE_PASTE_BUFFER_READ>
            Allow programs running in panes to read the clipboard through OSC 52 (true or false)
            [possible values: true, false]

        --default-layout <DEFAULT_LAYOUT>
            Set the default layout

        --default-mode <DEFAULT_MODE>
            Set the default mode

        --default-shell <DEFAULT_SHELL>
            Set the default shell

        --disable-mouse-mode
            Disable handling of mouse events (REMOVED - use --mouse-mode false instead)

        --host-notification-protocol <HOST_NOTIFICATION_PROTOCOL>
            The protocol used to forward pane notifications to the host terminal [possible values:
            auto, osc9, osc99, bell, off]

        --layout-dir <LAYOUT_DIR>
            Set the layout_dir, defaults to subdirectory of config dir

        --mirror-session <MIRROR_SESSION>
            Mirror session when multiple users are connected (true or false) [possible values: true,
            false]

        --mouse-hover-tips <MOUSE_HOVER_TIPS>
            Show contextual help tips when hovering with the mouse (true or false) [possible values:
            true, false]

        --mouse-mode <MOUSE_MODE>
            Set the handling of mouse events (true or false) Can be temporarily bypassed by the
            [SHIFT] key [possible values: true, false]

        --mouse-scroll-resize <MOUSE_SCROLL_RESIZE>
            Resize the focused pane with Ctrl + ScrollWheel (true or false) [possible values: true,
            false]

        --nested-session-handling <NESTED_SESSION_HANDLING>
            How to handle a nested Zellij session running inside a pane [possible values: ask,
            fullscreen, descend, never]

        --no-pane-frames
            Disable display of pane frames (REMOVED - use --pane-frames false instead)

        --on-force-close <ON_FORCE_CLOSE>
            Set behaviour on force close (quit or detach)

        --osc133-command-selection <OSC133_COMMAND_SELECTION>
            Select the whole command and its output when triple-clicking inside OSC 133 marked
            output (true or false) [possible values: true, false]

        --pane-frames <PANE_FRAMES>
            Set display of the pane frames (true or false) [possible values: true, false]

        --pane-frame-style <PANE_FRAME_STYLE>
            Set the style of the pane frames [possible values: full, titles, none]

        --scroll-buffer-size <SCROLL_BUFFER_SIZE>
            The number of lines to keep in the scrollback buffer of each pane

        --scrollback-editor <SCROLLBACK_EDITOR>
            Explicit full path to open the scrollback editor (default is $EDITOR or $VISUAL)

        --session-name <SESSION_NAME>
            The name of the session to create when starting Zellij

        --simplified-ui <SIMPLIFIED_UI>
            Allow plugins to use a more simplified layout that is compatible with more fonts (true
            or false) [possible values: true, false]

        --stacked-pane-list <STACKED_PANE_LIST>
            Render stacked panes as a list of titles with the expanded pane at the bottom (true or
            false) [possible values: true, false]

        --support-kitty-graphics-protocol <SUPPORT_KITTY_GRAPHICS_PROTOCOL>
            Support the kitty graphics (image) protocol, if the terminal supports it (true or false)
            [possible values: true, false]

        --theme <THEME>
            Set the default theme

        --theme-dark <THEME_DARK>
            Set the theme to use when the host terminal is in dark mode

        --theme-dir <THEME_DIR>
            Set the theme_dir, defaults to subdirectory of config dir

        --theme-light <THEME_LIGHT>
            Set the theme to use when the host terminal is in light mode

        --word-separators <WORD_SEPARATORS>
            The characters (in addition to whitespace) that terminate a word when double-clicking