Tabby

A free, open-source terminal workspace for macOS.

Tabby gives you browser-style tabs, split-pane layouts, live terminal sessions, and per-pane launch profiles — all in one native app. Press Cmd+T, pick a layout, and start working across multiple terminals without losing context.

Built-in Profiles & Integrations:



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Why Tabby?

• One window, many terminals — tabs hold independent workspace layouts, each with its own split configuration
• No session loss — switching tabs or resizing panes never kills your running processes
• Per-pane identity — each pane has its own working directory, profile, and runtime
• Built-in profiles — launch Terminal, Claude Code, Codex, or any custom command per pane
• Scriptable — CLI flags let you automate workspace creation from scripts or hotkey daemons

How It Works

1. Open a tab — Cmd+T creates a new workspace tab
2. Pick a layout — choose from 1x1 up to 3x3 grid presets
3. Work — each pane runs an independent PTY session that survives tab switches
4. Customize — set profiles, working directories, and themes per pane

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel)
• Bun
• Rust
• Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install)

Install & Run

git clone https://github.com/markbrutx/Tabby.git
cd Tabby
bun install

# Full desktop app with real terminal sessions
bun run tauri dev

Frontend-only mode (no Rust, mock transport for UI development):

bun run dev

Build

bun run build        # Frontend bundle
bun run tauri build  # macOS .app + .dmg

Features

Feature	Description
Workspace tabs	Cmd+T / Cmd+W / Cmd+1-9 — each tab is an independent workspace
Split layouts	Grid presets from 1x1 to 3x3, fully resizable after creation
Persistent sessions	PTY processes survive tab switches, focus changes, and layout resizing
CLI profiles	Terminal, Claude Code, Codex, or custom commands per pane
Per-pane cwd	Each pane tracks its own working directory
Browser panes	Embed web views alongside terminal panes
Git integration	Status, branches, commits, diffs, blame, and stash management
Theme system	Light/dark modes, custom themes, live editor
Keyboard-first	Full shortcut coverage for tabs, panes, and workspace actions
CLI automation	tabby --new-tab --layout 2x2 --profile codex --cwd ~/project

CLI Usage

# Open a new tab with a 2x2 grid in a specific directory
tabby --new-tab --layout 2x2 --cwd ~/projects/my-app

# Open a tab with Codex profile
tabby --new-tab --profile codex

# Custom command in a new tab
tabby --new-tab --profile custom --command "docker compose up"

Flag	Description
--new-tab	Opens a new tab in the running instance
--layout	Layout preset: 1x1, 1x2, 2x2, 2x3, 3x3
--profile	Pane profile: terminal, claude-code, codex, custom
--cwd	Working directory for panes
--command	Custom command (with --profile custom)

Architecture

Tabby follows a layered architecture with five bounded contexts:

Presentation  →  React 18 + TypeScript + Zustand + Tailwind CSS v4
Transport     →  specta + tauri-specta (typed IPC bindings)
Application   →  Rust services with port-adapter pattern
Infrastructure→  Tauri v2 + portable-pty + plugin ecosystem
Domain        →  Pure Rust crates (kernel, workspace, runtime, settings, git)

Crate	Purpose
tabby-kernel	Shared value objects and ID types
tabby-workspace	Tabs, panes, split layouts, domain events
tabby-runtime	Pane runtime lifecycle and status tracking
tabby-settings	User preferences and terminal profiles
tabby-git	Git operations domain model
tabby-contracts	Transport DTOs and IPC event structs

For full architecture docs, see the documentation site.

Verification

# Frontend
bun run lint          # ESLint + DTO boundary check
bun run typecheck     # TypeScript strict mode
bun run test          # Vitest (500+ tests)
bun run test:e2e      # Playwright E2E

# Rust
cd src-tauri
cargo fmt --all --check
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings
cargo test --workspace   # 500+ tests

# Everything at once
bun run verify:all

Project Layout

src/                          React frontend
  features/                   Feature modules (workspace, terminal, browser, git, settings, theme)
  app-shell/                  Transport clients and bootstrap
  components/                 Shared UI components
src-tauri/                    Rust backend
  src/                        Tauri bootstrap, services, commands, infrastructure
  crates/                     Domain crates (kernel, workspace, runtime, settings, git, contracts)
tests/e2e/                    Playwright E2E tests
docs/                         VitePress documentation site

Contributing

Tabby is macOS-first. The architecture is portable — if you're interested in bringing Tabby to Linux or Windows, contributions are welcome.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines, or visit the docs site.

Acknowledgments

• Tauri for the Rust-based desktop framework
• xterm.js for terminal rendering
• portable-pty for cross-platform PTY management

License

MIT