zellij setup: clipboard and scrollback options, lock toggle moved from Ctrl g to Ctrl b, other stock keybindings kept

zellij.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

echo "Starting zellij setup..."

# Detect OS/session and configure clipboard behavior
clip_cmd=""
copy_target="zellij OSC 52 host clipboard"
os_name="$(uname -s 2>/dev/null || true)"
is_wayland=0
is_ssh=0
has_display=0

if [[ "${XDG_SESSION_TYPE:-}" == "wayland" ]] || [[ -n "${WAYLAND_DISPLAY:-}" ]]; then
  is_wayland=1
fi

if [[ -n "${SSH_CONNECTION:-}" ]] || [[ -n "${SSH_CLIENT:-}" ]]; then
  is_ssh=1
fi

if [[ -n "${DISPLAY:-}" ]] || [[ -n "${WAYLAND_DISPLAY:-}" ]]; then
  has_display=1
fi

# Zellij copies through OSC 52 by default, and VTE terminals (Ptyxis, GNOME
# Terminal, Tilix) ignore OSC 52, so a mouse selection there copies nothing.
# A local desktop session gets a real clipboard helper instead. Over SSH, OSC 52
# stays: it lands on the machine running the terminal, not the remote host.
use_osc52=1
if [[ "${is_ssh}" -eq 0 ]] && [[ "${has_display}" -eq 1 ]]; then
  use_osc52=0
fi

install_pkg() {
  if command -v apt >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    sudo apt update >/dev/null 2>&1
    sudo apt install -y "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1
  elif command -v dnf >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    sudo dnf install -y "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1
  elif command -v pacman >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    sudo pacman -S --needed --noconfirm "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1
  fi
}

case "${os_name}" in
  Linux)
    if [[ "${use_osc52}" -eq 0 ]]; then
      if [[ "${is_wayland}" -eq 1 ]]; then
        command -v wl-copy >/dev/null 2>&1 || install_pkg wl-clipboard || true
        if command -v wl-copy >/dev/null 2>&1; then
          clip_cmd="wl-copy"
        fi
      else
        command -v xclip >/dev/null 2>&1 || install_pkg xclip || true
        if command -v xclip >/dev/null 2>&1; then
          clip_cmd="xclip -in -selection clipboard"
        fi
      fi
    fi
    ;;
  Darwin)
    if [[ "${use_osc52}" -eq 0 ]]; then
      clip_cmd="pbcopy"
    fi
    ;;
esac

config_dir="${ZELLIJ_CONFIG_DIR:-${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-${HOME}/.config}/zellij}"
config_file="${config_dir}/config.kdl"
mkdir -p "${config_dir}"
if [[ -f "${config_file}" ]]; then
  backup="${config_file}.bak.$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
  cp "${config_file}" "${backup}"
  echo "Previous config saved to ${backup}"
else
  # No file means stock keybindings; the options and lock toggle set below
  # merge over them
  : > "${config_file}"
fi

# Set a top-level option in place: drop any live line for it, then append.
# Every other line in the file is left alone.
set_option() {
  local key="$1" value="$2"
  sed -i.tmp -E "/^${key}[[:space:]]/d" "${config_file}"
  rm -f "${config_file}.tmp"
  printf '%s %s\n' "${key}" "${value}" >> "${config_file}"
}

unset_option() {
  sed -i.tmp -E "/^$1[[:space:]]/d" "${config_file}"
  rm -f "${config_file}.tmp"
}

# Move the lock toggle from Ctrl g to Ctrl b. A full keybinds tree has its Ctrl g
# toggles renamed and its other Ctrl b binds dropped; otherwise a small block
# merges over the defaults.
if grep -q '^keybinds' "${config_file}"; then
  sed -i.tmp -E \
    -e '/bind "Ctrl b" \{ SwitchToMode "([Nn]ormal|[Ll]ocked)"; \}/!{s/bind "Ctrl b" "/bind "/;/^[[:space:]]*bind "Ctrl b" /d;}' \
    -e 's/bind "Ctrl g" (\{ SwitchToMode "([Nn]ormal|[Ll]ocked)"; \})/bind "Ctrl b" \1/' \
    "${config_file}"
  rm -f "${config_file}.tmp"
else
  cat >> "${config_file}" <<'EOF'
keybinds {
    unbind "Ctrl g"
    locked { bind "Ctrl b" { SwitchToMode "normal"; }; }
    shared_except "locked" { bind "Ctrl b" { SwitchToMode "locked"; }; }
}
EOF
fi

if [[ -n "${clip_cmd}" ]]; then
  set_option copy_command "\"${clip_cmd}\""
  copy_target="local desktop clipboard helper (${clip_cmd})"
else
  unset_option copy_command
fi
set_option copy_clipboard '"system"'
set_option copy_on_select true
# Default is 10,000 lines. Zellij keeps scrollback as styled cells in memory,
# so tmux-sized 1,000,000 costs gigabytes across a few busy panes.
set_option scroll_buffer_size 100000

if command -v zellij >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  if ! zellij --config "${config_file}" setup --check >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "WARNING: zellij rejected ${config_file}. Run: zellij --config ${config_file} setup --check"
  fi
fi

echo "---"
echo "Updated ${config_file}"
echo "Copy target: ${copy_target}"
echo "scroll_buffer_size applies to new sessions only; the rest applies on save."
echo ""
echo "=== HOW TO COPY ==="
echo "[Method A: Mouse]"
echo "  • Click & drag -> release to auto-copy."
echo ""
echo "[Method B: Keyboard, via your editor]"
echo "  • Ctrl+s then e opens the pane's scrollback in \$EDITOR; copy from there."
echo ""
echo "[Method C: Bypass zellij]"
echo "  • Hold SHIFT while dragging with the mouse."

curl -fsSL https://gist.githubusercontent.com/HackingGate/9c46e8ee00fac6babfccab224f650f7e/raw/zellij.sh | bash