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Zellij vs Ubra
Zellij is a friendly terminal workspace with layouts and plugins. Ubra is a desktop window built for coding agents: state badges, tray mode, Explorer and Git, with no keybindings to memorize.
Last updated: · By Ubra maintainers
Feature comparison table
Zellij details come from its official docs as of October 2026. If something is stale, open an issue. See all tools on the comparison hub.
| Area | Ubra | Zellij |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Native desktop app (own window) | Terminal workspace / multiplexer |
| Agent awareness | 28 agent CLIs detected, per-pane working/blocked/idle/done badges | Sees panes, not agents |
| Controls | Mouse and GUI | Modal keybindings with on-screen hints |
| Persistence | Tray keeps panes running when the window closes (where the tray is available); quitting stops all panes | Detached sessions and session resurrection |
| Layout restore | Workspaces, tabs, panes and last agent CLI restored | Layout files and session resurrection |
| File tree & Git | Built-in Explorer and Source Control | Use your own terminal tools or plugins |
| Plugins | None | WebAssembly plugin system |
| SSH remotes | On the roadmap, not shipped | Yes, runs on any server you SSH into |
| OS support | macOS, Linux, Windows | macOS, Linux (check their docs for Windows) |
| License | MIT, free | MIT, free |
Choose Zellij if
- You live in the terminal and work on remote machines over SSH.
- You want declarative layout files and a plugin system.
- You like keyboard-driven workflows with discoverable hints.
Choose Ubra if
- You want point-and-click panes instead of modes and keybindings.
- You want visual agent badges plus a notification when an agent finishes.
- You want Explorer, Git and plan usage built into the same window.