Layouts

aibox ships four Zellij layouts that control the terminal workspace arrangement. Each layout is optimized for a different workflow.

Available Layouts

dev (default)

VS Code-like arrangement with a Yazi file sidebar, Vim editor, and stacked terminal panes. Best for general development where you need file navigation, editing, and terminal access simultaneously.

focus

One tool per tab, fullscreen. Tabs for vim, lazygit, bash, and your AI provider (e.g., claude). Zero distraction -- each tool gets the entire screen.

cowork

Side-by-side coding with AI. Yazi and Vim on the left, AI agent pane on the right. Ideal for pair programming sessions where you want to see AI output while editing.

browse

Yazi-focused layout with a large file preview (60%) and an AI pane (40%). Great for exploring unfamiliar codebases, reviewing files, and asking AI about what you find.

Setting the Default Layout

Set your preferred layout in aibox.toml:

[customization]
layout = "dev"

Options: dev, focus, cowork, browse.

Per-Session Override

Override the default layout when starting a session:

aibox start --layout focus

This does not change the default in aibox.toml -- it only applies to the current session.

Custom Layouts

Layouts are standard Zellij layout files stored in .aibox-home/.config/zellij/layouts/. You can edit the built-in layouts or create your own.

See the Zellij layout documentation for the full layout specification and examples.