"zmux is tmux ported to zig. that's it: a fully independent clone of tmux, called zmux."

... is what I wish this README said. We're getting there but it's still a work in progress.

By default, zmux keeps its own name and its own namespace. It looks for zmux config files, creates zmux socket paths, and exports ZMUX and ZMUX_PANE into panes. This keeps zmux and tmux from stepping on each other while the port is still in progress.

zmux can also run in tmux compatibility mode. Invoke the binary with the basename tmux - i.e. by symlinking or renaming it - and it switches a bunch of 'z's to 't's and tries to act as a drop-in tmux replacement.

zig build
ln -sf "$PWD/zig-out/bin/zmux" ~/.local/bin/tmux
tmux new

In this mode, zmux uses tmux config search paths, tmux socket directory names, TMUX / TMUX_PANE environment variables, etc.

Recently zmux has gotten close enough to fine that I'm beginning to be able to dogfood zmux in this tmux-replacement mode, using oh-my-tmux configs; it's not amazing yet, and bugs are not hard to find. But it is starting to work.

Known parity gaps live in docs/zmux-porting-todo.md. However, there are probably a lot more unknown parity gaps. So, you know, caveat emptor, YMMV if you DIY. GL!

send patches!

-gmt