Séance vs Zellij
Séance
no1msd.github.io
Zellij
zellij.devSide by side
| Figure | Séance | Zellij |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Terminal Multiplexers | 8.0 (#9) | 7.6 (#16) |
| Compatibility limit | The maker says OpenCode remote attach sessions and --pure launches are not tracked. | Zellij runs inside a terminal and does not replace the terminal emulator; native Windows support and downloadable Windows binaries are also stated on the maker site. |
| Privacy | The project states that Séance has no telemetry. | The maker says Zellij has no ads, telemetry, or data collection and does not require an account or online presence. |
| Purpose | Séance is a scrolling terminal multiplexer that tracks AI coding agent sessions. | Zellij is a terminal workspace for developers, operations oriented users, and others who use the terminal. |
| Support | The maker welcomes bug reports, feature requests, and pull requests, and directs questions and show-and-tell to GitHub Discussions. | The maker directs users to its documentation, tutorials, GitHub issues, GitHub discussions, and social media for help and feedback. |
Plans
In their own words
Séance
Séance is a free, Linux-only terminal multiplexer for tracking AI coding-agent sessions. It follows Claude Code, Codex, Pi, OpenCode, and Antigravity CLI sessions, and shows whether each is working, awaiting permission, or idle. Permission requests and task completions can generate desktop notifications with unread tracking. Its panes scroll horizontally, with workspaces, tabs within columns, a command palette, focus-follows-mouse, and session persistence across restarts. The app uses GTK4, libadwaita, and libghostty, and supports X11 and Wayland. The `seance ctl` command connects to a running instance over a Unix domain socket; commands can return JSON, manage workspaces and panes, send input, and read terminal output. The project states that it has no telemetry and is licensed under MIT. Installation options include Arch Linux AUR, a Nix flake, and an x86_64 AppImage. OpenCode remote attach sessions and `--pure` launches are not tracked. Séance is pre-1.0, and only the latest release receives security fixes.
Zellij
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.