Zellij improvements: zjstatus redesign, autolock, container integration by tyvsmith · Pull Request #11 · tyvsmith/dotfiles

tyvsmith · 2026-03-01T21:54:30Z

Summary

Major overhaul of the zellij terminal multiplexer configuration to bring it closer to the existing tmux setup quality and aesthetics.

zjstatus Status Bar Redesign

Top bar: Catppuccin Mocha pill-styled tabs (left) with right-side pills for swap layout, hostname, session name, and mode indicator
Bottom bar: Split keybinding hints — Ctrl shortcuts (mode-aware) on the left, Alt shortcuts (static) on the right
Dotted border lines (┈) between status bars and content area using zjstatus border feature
Transparent backgrounds with powerline glyphs matching the merikan/.dotfiles catppuccin template

Custom Theme

catppuccin-mocha-subtle theme using the new component-based theme spec
Subtle pane borders: frame_unselected (surface0), frame_selected (surface2), frame_highlight (surface1)
ANSI terminal colors unaffected — only UI chrome borders are dimmed

Autolock Improvements

Proper plugin alias setup with current config parameters
Ctrl+g toggles both lock mode AND autolock on/off simultaneously
Fixes the immediate unlock/relock loop when manually toggling in nvim

Container Integration

Distrobox container picker for both tmux and zellij (Ctrl+o e)
Multi-action fzf UI: enter, attach, shell, stop, delete
Shared POSIX container-fzf script, tmux split/status scripts, zellij floating layout

Other

Future changes watchlist doc for tracking upstream features (auto tab rename, image protocol, clickable session)
Fish abbreviation for zj → zellij
tmux statusbar auto-hide and mouse bindings

Replace default dual status bars with zjstatus single-line powerline bar matching tmux Catppuccin Mocha theme (mauve active tabs, transparent bg, dotted border, git branch, session name). Add plugins: zjframes (smart pane frame hiding), zellij-autolock (auto-lock in vim/neovim/helix), zsm (zoxide session switcher on Ctrl+o z). Add Ctrl+b g for lazygit floating pane (mirrors tmux Prefix g). Add 'zj' fish abbreviation for zellij. Remove ~250 lines of commented-out default options.

Two-bar layout matching merikan/catppuccin zjstatus template: - Top bar: round pill session/mode/tabs with E0B6/E0B4 glyphs, two-tone tabs (colored index + surface1 name), git branch + datetime - Bottom bar: mode-specific keybinding hints (Ctrl + Alt shortcuts) - Solid surface0 bar background, no hide_frame_for_single_pane (was causing blink loop with dual zjstatus instances)

- Set pane_frames false: no borders on single pane, simple separators between multiple panes (no full box borders) - Transparent bar background: format_space empty, bg=default for all bar elements so pills float on terminal background

Bottom bar: Ctrl shortcuts left-aligned (mode-aware), Alt shortcuts right-aligned (static). Top bar gets a dotted ┈ border in surface0 color as a subtle separator from content panes.

New component-based theme overrides frame_unselected (surface0), frame_selected (surface2), and frame_highlight (surface1) for subtle pane separators without affecting ANSI terminal colors.

…lish - Custom catppuccin-mocha-subtle theme with dim pane borders (frame_unselected, frame_selected, frame_highlight using surface0/1/2) - Right-side pills: swap layout, hostname, CPU load, datetime, session, mode - Tabs moved to left side with full width - Autolock plugin: Ctrl+g toggles both lock mode and auto-detection - Bottom hints bar gets dotted border separator above it - Removed git branch widget (zjstatus can't follow focused pane cwd) - Removed fish zjstatus git hook (caused pane freeze) - Session pill uses merikan reference icon, hard right edge flowing to mode

Track upstream features and plugins to revisit: auto tab rename (blocked on CwdChanged event), clickable session widget, autolock status indicator, mouse bindings, image protocol passthrough.

Simplify right side to: swap layout, hostname, session, mode.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Updates the Zellij setup (layouts, keybinds, plugins, and theme) to more closely match the repo’s tmux UX, and adds a small quality-of-life Fish abbreviation.

Changes:

Adds a new default Zellij layout using zjstatus for redesigned top/bottom status bars and swap layouts.
Updates Zellij keybinds/plugins to integrate autolock toggling with Ctrl+g, adds zsm/lazygit launchers, and introduces a custom “subtle” Catppuccin theme.
Adds a Fish abbreviation for zj → zellij and introduces a “future changes” tracking doc.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 5 out of 5 changed files in this pull request and generated 8 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
dot_config/zellij/layouts/default.kdl	New default layout using `zjstatus` for top/bottom bars and swap layouts.
dot_config/zellij/config.kdl.tmpl	Autolock integration, extra keybinds, background plugin load, and custom theme selection.
dot_config/fish/conf.d/zz_04_abbr.fish	Normalizes some abbr definitions and adds `zj` abbreviation.
dot_config/fish/conf.d/zz_03_interactive.fish	Minor formatting-only change near the end of the interactive setup.
docs/zellij-future-changes.md	New doc to track upstream Zellij/zjstatus feature gaps and follow-ups.

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Copilot · 2026-03-01T22:00:16Z

dot_config/fish/conf.d/zz_03_interactive.fish

    # Set simple hostname for prompt display
    set -gx HOST (string split -f1 '.' $hostname)
+
+


There are two consecutive blank lines added before end, which makes the block look like it has trailing whitespace. Consider removing the extra empty lines to keep the interactive config tight/consistent.

Suggested change

Copilot · 2026-03-01T22:00:16Z

dot_config/zellij/layouts/default.kdl

+layout {
+    default_tab_template {
+        pane size=2 borderless=true {
+            plugin location="https://github.com/dj95/zjstatus/releases/latest/download/zjstatus.wasm" {


default.kdl hardcodes the zjstatus plugin via a GitHub releases/latest URL in two places. Since this repo already uses Zellij plugin aliases (see config.kdl.tmpl plugins { ... }), consider defining a zjstatus alias there and referencing it here to centralize updates and avoid duplicating the URL.

Suggested change

plugin location="https://github.com/dj95/zjstatus/releases/latest/download/zjstatus.wasm" {

plugin location="zjstatus" {

Copilot · 2026-03-01T22:00:16Z

dot_config/zellij/config.kdl.tmpl

+theme "catppuccin-mocha-subtle"
+pane_frames false
+copy_command "{{ template "copy-cmd" . }}"


The PR description calls out “subtle pane borders”, but the config sets pane_frames false, which disables pane borders entirely. Either enable pane_frames to make the new frame_* theme entries take effect, or adjust the description/theme to match the intended UI.

Copilot · 2026-03-01T22:00:16Z

dot_config/zellij/config.kdl.tmpl

+        bind "z" {
+            LaunchOrFocusPlugin "https://github.com/liam-mackie/zsm/releases/latest/download/zsm.wasm" {
+                floating true
+                move_to_focused_tab true
+            }
+            SwitchToMode "normal"


LaunchOrFocusPlugin uses the zsm plugin via a releases/latest URL. For consistency with the rest of the config (which uses plugin aliases like session-manager, plugin-manager, autolock), consider adding a zsm entry in the plugins { ... } section and referencing it by alias here.

Copilot · 2026-03-01T22:00:17Z

dot_config/zellij/config.kdl.tmpl

+    autolock location="https://github.com/fresh2dev/zellij-autolock/releases/latest/download/zellij-autolock.wasm" {
+        is_enabled true
+        triggers "nvim|vim|vi|helix|hx|fzf|atuin"
+        reaction_seconds "0.3"
+        print_to_log true
+    }
 }

 // Plugins to load in the background when a new session starts
-// eg. "file:/path/to/my-plugin.wasm"
-// eg. "https://example.com/my-plugin.wasm"
 load_plugins {
+    autolock
 }


The autolock plugin is configured from a mutable releases/latest GitHub URL and auto-loaded via load_plugins, so unpinned third-party WASM code is fetched and executed on every new session. A compromised GitHub release or account could replace zellij-autolock.wasm with malicious code that runs with your terminal user’s privileges. Reduce this supply-chain risk by vendoring the plugin or pinning to a specific immutable version or hash rather than using releases/latest.

Copilot · 2026-03-01T22:00:17Z

dot_config/zellij/layouts/default.kdl

+layout {
+    default_tab_template {
+        pane size=2 borderless=true {
+            plugin location="https://github.com/dj95/zjstatus/releases/latest/download/zjstatus.wasm" {


The plugin is loaded directly from a mutable releases/latest URL on GitHub, meaning unpinned third-party WASM code is automatically fetched and executed in your terminal session. If the GitHub account, release, or delivery path is compromised, an attacker can ship a new zjstatus.wasm and gain code execution with your user privileges. To reduce this supply-chain risk, vendor the plugin locally or pin it to a specific immutable version or checksum instead of using releases/latest.

Copilot · 2026-03-01T22:00:17Z

dot_config/zellij/layouts/default.kdl

+        children
+
+        pane size=2 borderless=true {
+            plugin location="https://github.com/dj95/zjstatus/releases/latest/download/zjstatus.wasm" {


The second plugin instance is also loaded from a mutable releases/latest GitHub URL, again pulling unpinned third-party WASM code into your terminal session. A compromised release or account could silently swap in a malicious zjstatus.wasm and execute it with your user’s privileges. Prefer vendoring the binary or pinning to a specific immutable version or hash rather than using releases/latest.

Copilot · 2026-03-01T22:00:17Z

dot_config/zellij/config.kdl.tmpl

+            LaunchOrFocusPlugin "https://github.com/liam-mackie/zsm/releases/latest/download/zsm.wasm" {
+                floating true
+                move_to_focused_tab true
+            }


The LaunchOrFocusPlugin call references a WASM plugin via a mutable releases/latest GitHub URL, so each use may download and execute unpinned third-party code. If that release is hijacked, pressing z would transparently run attacker-controlled code with your local user privileges. To mitigate, vendor the plugin or pin it to a specific version or checksum instead of releases/latest.

Will address all of these in a separate PR

tyvsmith added 9 commits February 28, 2026 22:17

zellij modern

c2eda46

Split keybinding hints bar and add dotted border under top bar

abb1e7c

Bottom bar: Ctrl shortcuts left-aligned (mode-aware), Alt shortcuts right-aligned (static). Top bar gets a dotted ┈ border in surface0 color as a subtle separator from content panes.

Add custom catppuccin-mocha-subtle theme with dim pane borders

9307526

New component-based theme overrides frame_unselected (surface0), frame_selected (surface2), and frame_highlight (surface1) for subtle pane separators without affecting ANSI terminal colors.

Add zellij future changes watchlist doc

c4d6e52

Track upstream features and plugins to revisit: auto tab rename (blocked on CwdChanged event), clickable session widget, autolock status indicator, mouse bindings, image protocol passthrough.

Remove CPU load and datetime pills from status bar

3d43213

Simplify right side to: swap layout, hostname, session, mode.

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings March 1, 2026 21:54

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of tyvsmith March 1, 2026 21:54 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Mar 1, 2026

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tyvsmith merged commit 31d16c4 into main Mar 1, 2026
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Zellij improvements: zjstatus redesign, autolock, container integration#11

Zellij improvements: zjstatus redesign, autolock, container integration#11
tyvsmith merged 9 commits intomainfrom
feat/zellij-improvements

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		# Set simple hostname for prompt display
		set -gx HOST (string split -f1 '.' $hostname)

	plugin location="https://github.com/dj95/zjstatus/releases/latest/download/zjstatus.wasm" {
	plugin location="zjstatus" {

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tyvsmith commented Mar 1, 2026

Summary

zjstatus Status Bar Redesign

Custom Theme

Autolock Improvements

Container Integration

Other

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