Is Zellij in the official Debian repositories?

No, Zellij is not packaged in the official Debian archives. This repository is currently the only apt source, serving Zellij 0.45.0.

How do I install the latest Zellij on Debian?

Add the deb.griffo.io repository once using the instructions above, then run: sudo apt install zellij. New releases arrive through the normal sudo apt upgrade.

Are the packages signed and how are they built?

Every package is signed with the repository's GPG key (EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256) and built from upstream releases in public GitHub packaging repositories that anyone can inspect.

Which Debian releases are supported?

Debian 12 Bookworm, Debian 13 Trixie, Forky and Sid.

Install Latest Zellij on Debian via apt

Source	Version
deb.griffo.io	0.45.0 ✅
Official Debian	🚫 not packaged

← Back to home

What is Zellij?

Zellij is a terminal workspace and multiplexer written in Rust. A modern alternative to tmux and screen, it lets you split your terminal into panes and tabs, save and restore layouts, and extend it with a WebAssembly plugin system, all with discoverable keybindings and a friendly UI that make it easy to pick up.

            🚀 Why Latest Versions Matter: Zellij is actively developed with new layout features, plugin capabilities and performance improvements. Running the latest release gives you the newest workspace features and fixes.
        

⚡ Key Features of Zellij

🪟 Panes & Tabs

Split your terminal into panes and organize work across multiple tabs.

📐 Layouts

Define and restore reproducible workspace layouts for your projects.

🔌 Plugin System

Extend Zellij with WebAssembly plugins for custom functionality.

🧭 Discoverable UI

On-screen hints make keybindings easy to learn and remember.

🎯 Why Zellij?

Beginner friendly: On-screen keybinding hints lower the learning curve
Powerful layouts: Reproducible workspaces defined in config
Extensible: WebAssembly plugin system
Modern: Fast Rust implementation with sane defaults

🆕 Highlights

Multiplexing: Panes and tabs in a single terminal
Session Management: Detach and reattach to running sessions
Layouts: Save and load workspace arrangements
Plugins: WASM-based extensibility

📦 Installation from deb.griffo.io

Run the commands

Step 1: Add Repository

sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg] https://deb.griffo.io/apt $(lsb_release -sc 2>/dev/null) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
sudo apt update

install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg] https://deb.griffo.io/apt $(lsb_release -sc 2>/dev/null) main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
apt update

sudo apt install extrepo
sudo extrepo enable griffo
sudo apt update

🆓 There is an always-free mirror. deb-free.griffo.io serves packages free forever, no account, no subscription, at most 2 months behind upstream, security fixes immediately. It currently carries cliamp, Ghostty, lazydocker, Oh My Posh and Zed; Zellij is not one of them, so the repository above is the only way to get it today, ask and it can be enrolled.

How the free mirror works →

🧩 About the extrepo option. extrepo is Debian's own tool for external repositories: it writes the sources file and installs the signing key for you, checking the key against signed metadata first. This repository is registered with it as griffo, and the always-free mirror as griffo-free, so on Debian (bookworm, trixie, forky and sid) the commands above are the whole setup.

extrepo sets up the sources file and the key only, so a subscription's credentials still go in /etc/apt/auth.conf.d/deb.griffo.io.conf. Ubuntu is not covered, because extrepo publishes metadata for Debian suites only: there, use the sudo or root commands.

Step 2: Install zellij

# Install latest zellij
sudo apt install zellij

# Verify installation
zellij --version

# Install latest zellij
apt install zellij

# Verify installation
zellij --version

🎯 Basic Usage Examples

# Show version
zellij --version

# Start a new session
zellij

# Start a named session
zellij --session work

# List active sessions
zellij list-sessions

# Attach to an existing session
zellij attach work

🚀 Why Choose deb.griffo.io?

📊 Repository Comparison:

Official Debian: Often months behind, missing latest features
deb.griffo.io: Latest version within hours of release
Manual Installation: Manual downloads and PATH setup required
Our Repository: Pre-built, ready-to-use packages

✅ Latest Features: Get newest Zellij features and improvements immediately
✅ No Manual Setup: Pre-built binaries, installed and updated through apt
✅ Automatic Updates: Packages updated within hours of upstream releases
✅ Proper Dependencies: Correctly packaged with all required libraries
✅ Multi-Distribution: Works on Bookworm, Trixie, and Sid
✅ Easy Maintenance: Simple apt commands for updates

📦 Package Build Repository

The Debian packages are automatically built and maintained in this GitHub repository:

📁 zellij-debian - Latest release builds

🔗 Related Packages

Also available from deb.griffo.io:

Starship - Fast, customizable cross-shell prompt
Atuin - Shell history sync, search and stats
Helix Editor - Post-modern modal text editor

            🎯 Perfect for: Terminal power users who want a modern, approachable multiplexer with panes, tabs, saved layouts and plugins as an alternative to tmux.
        

💝 Support This Project

If this repository saves you time and effort, please consider supporting it!

⭐ Star on GitHub 🐦 Share on Twitter

🪟 Install Latest Zellij on Debian