Where Is the Zellij Config File?
Zellij config.kdl and layouts folder on Linux and macOS under ~/.config/zellij.
Last updated
Zellij reads a single config.kdl from its XDG config directory, with a layouts subfolder for saved session layouts. No config ships by default, so the file may not exist until you create it.
Zellij has no native Windows build and runs through WSL there, where the same Linux paths apply. Dump the default config first and edit from a known-good base.
Where Zellij stores this, by platform
~/.config/zellij/config.kdl
Main config file; create it if missing. Layouts live in ~/.config/zellij/layouts. Run zellij setup --dump-config > config.kdl to start from documented defaults.
~/.config/zellij/config.kdl
Same KDL config and layouts folder as Linux. macOS follows the XDG-style path rather than Application Support.
Frequently asked questions
How do I see all Zellij options?
Dump the annotated defaults with zellij setup --dump-config and read through the comments. Paste the sections you change into your own config.kdl.
Where do Zellij layouts go?
As .kdl files in the layouts subfolder next to config.kdl, then launched with zellij --layout name.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.