Install

Homebrew

brew install mdsakalu/tap/zsm

Go

go install github.com/mdsakalu/zmx-session-manager@latest

Nix

Run directly from the flake:

nix run github:mdsakalu/zmx-session-manager

Or install it into your profile:

nix profile install github:mdsakalu/zmx-session-manager

Open a development shell with the Go toolchain and project linters:

nix develop github:mdsakalu/zmx-session-manager

Requirements

zmx must be installed and available in your PATH. Current-screen previews use zmx 1.0.1 or newer. Older installations retain scrollback previews, labeled [scrollback] in the preview title. zsm retains compatibility with the legacy session_name/started_in list format.

After upgrading zmx, older session daemons may not support screen capture. zsm falls back to scrollback when the daemon reports that limitation. The zmx client must still be compatible with the session daemon: for example, zmx 1.0.1 cannot retrieve history from a 0.7.1 daemon. Those sessions need a matching older zmx client or must be recreated with the new version.

Key Bindings

Key	Action
↑ ↓	Navigate sessions
w	Toggle preview wrapping (on by default)
← →	Scroll preview horizontally when wrapping is off
space	Toggle selection
ctrl+a	Select / deselect all
enter	Attach to session, then return to zsm after detaching
n	Create and attach to a new session
e	Attach by replacing zsm (legacy behavior)
k	Kill selected session(s)
c	Copy attach command
s	Cycle sort mode (name / clients / PID / memory / uptime)
/	Filter sessions
[ ]	Scroll activity log
q	Quit
esc	Quit, or clear an active filter

When zsm runs inside a zmx session, selecting that same session exits the manager. Its preview is hidden to avoid recursively displaying the manager itself.

Existing sessions use their exact names, including any ZMX_SESSION_PREFIX already present. New sessions created with n still receive the configured prefix; the default name and duplicate checks account for it. Copied attach commands also target the exact existing session, even in a shell with a prefix configured.

The new-session name field supports arrow keys, Home/End (Ctrl+A/E), Delete, Backspace, and terminal paste. Ctrl+U or Ctrl/Cmd+Backspace clears the field; Ctrl+W or Alt+Backspace deletes the previous word, and Ctrl+K deletes to the end. Modified shortcuts depend on the terminal forwarding distinct key sequences; Ctrl+U works when the terminal maps modified Backspace to ordinary Backspace. The insertion point uses the terminal's default cursor style.

Preview output shows the current screen, excluding cleared scrollback and unused trailing blank rows. It wraps to the preview pane's width and shows the most recent rows. Press w to disable wrapping and use ← / → to inspect long lines horizontally.

Contributors

See CONTRIBUTORS.md for the people who have contributed code, reports, testing, and feedback.

License

MIT