Okena vs Zellij

Okena is a native terminal multiplexer for running multiple command-line agents and projects in one window. Workspaces can be arranged as side-by-side project columns, tabs, split panes, detachable terminal windows, or fullscreen. The terminal uses GPU-accelerated rendering and supports scrollback of up to 100,000 lines. Okena can save and restore workspace layouts and terminal sessions across restarts; persistence is local. Users can manage Git worktrees as projects and view branches and change statistics. Documented integrations include status or usage information for Claude Code and OpenAI Codex, Docker Compose project services, and opening files in editors. Remote control is documented through a local HTTP and WebSocket API, with a browser client and iOS and Android companion apps. Pairing uses HMAC-SHA256 token authentication and rate-limited pairing codes, and downloaded updates are SHA256 verified. Okena is free and open source under the MIT License, with a listed plan of free. Installation commands are provided for macOS, Linux, and Windows, alongside instructions for building from source.

Zellij is a terminal workspace for developers, operations-oriented users, and others who work in a terminal. It organizes work into tiled, floating, or stacked panes, which can be moved and resized with a mouse or keyboard. KDL layouts can define panes, tabs, commands, and plugins for repeatable workspace setups. Users can switch between named sessions and restore session structure and commands, including after reboots. A built-in web server enables browser access and remote session sharing over HTTPS; read-only tokens let observers view without interacting. The server is off by default, requires authentication, and its documentation recommends a reverse proxy on untrusted networks because it has no rate limiting. Plugins use WebAssembly and can be written in any language that compiles to WASM; Rust has an official SDK and scaffolding tools. Zellij works with existing terminal emulators, shells, and editors, but runs inside a terminal rather than replacing it. Zellij is free and open source at free, with no account required. Zellij.online is a paid hosted session-sharing service with a free tier and is described as being in closed beta.