Terminal Multiplexer

Today in the Linux user’s glossary 🐧 terminal multiplexer — a tool that is very often used in the process of administering Linux systems 🧑‍💻. As usual, we’ll give a definition of the term, talk about popular implementations of terminal multiplexers, and of course about their advantages and disadvantages🧐.

Also note that this theoretical post📗 precedes a future article on installing and configuring the popular multiplexer Tmux 🪟.

What Is a Terminal Multiplexer?

A terminal multiplexer is a tool that allows a user to manage multiple terminal sessions in a single window. It acts as a “window manager” for the console, allowing you to launch and switch between multiple processes and shells, split the screen into panes, and (most importantly for me) restore work after a connection drop, for example SSH. Control is done using hotkeys🎹 and sometimes the mouse🐭.

Overall, an indispensable tool for advanced Linux users😎.

Brief History

The idea of managing multiple terminal sessions arose alongside the development of multitasking in Unix-like systems. The first popular tool for this purpose was screen from the GNU project, released in 1987. It was easy to use and allowed sessions to be restored after a connection drop🧐.

Over time, new tools emerged that offered more modern functionality. So in bring back my 2007, tmux 🔥 was released, which came from the BSD world and became a popular alternative to screen, thanks to convenient configuration, extensibility, and scripting support.

In recent years, more modern implementations👀 have appeared, such as Zellij and Wezterm, aimed at improving the user experience.

Popular Implementations, Their Pros and Cons

GNU Screen

Source: Habr

• Written in: C;
• License: GPL 3.0;
• Pros:
  • ease of installation (available in almost all repositories);
  • simplicity of configuration and use;
  • time-tested stability.
• Cons:
  • limited functionality compared to modern alternatives;
  • somewhat outdated interface, inconvenient hotkey configuration;
  • low development activity in recent years.

Tmux

Source: Habr

Here’s what my Tmux configuration looks like, which I’ll talk about in a future article 😉

• Written in: C;
• License: ISC (BSD);
• Pros:
  • configuration flexibility, ability to create complex configurations;
  • active community and regular updates;
  • plugin support for extending functionality🤯;
  • improved window and pane management.
• Cons:
  • learning curve for beginners (especially configuring the config file);
  • some features require installing third-party plugins.

Zellij

Source: zellij.dev

• Written in: Rust;
• License: MIT;
• Pros:
  • intuitive interface and well-thought-out hotkey system;
  • advanced capabilities for working with multiple users;
  • modern design and actively developing project.
• Cons:
  • young tool, not as stable as tmux or screen;
  • fewer plugins and less documentation.

Wezterm

Source: GitHub

• Written in: Rust;
• License: MIT;
• Pros:
  • integration with modern terminals and GPU rendering support;
  • advanced interface customization capabilities via Lua;
  • essentially a full-fledged terminal in its own right.
• Cons:
  • complex setup for beginners;
  • less popular in the community, so it’s harder to find help.

Conclusion

The choice of a terminal multiplexer depends, of course, on your requirements and tastes🤷‍♂️.

I prefer to work in Tmux, since it was the first multiplexer I got acquainted with😌. Another important factor, of course, is the time and resources I spent configuring Tmux🤯 to turn it into the ideal tool for me to work with the console.

If you often find yourself in a terminal window but haven’t yet worked with terminal multiplexers, I recommend giving them a look👍.

Useful sources

• Terminal multiplexer | Wikipedia (EN)
• Terminal multiplexers | Habr
• GNU Screen | ArchWiki (EN)
• Tmux | ArchWiki (EN)
• Zellij | Project website (EN)
• Wezterm | Project website (EN)

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💬 All the best ✌️

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