Tabs

Creating, switching, and managing tabs in Yazi

Yazi supports multiple tabs, allowing you to work in different directories simultaneously.

Creating Tabs

Create New Tab

tt  # Create a new tab in the current working directory

The new tab:

• Opens in the same directory as the current tab
• Becomes the active tab immediately
• Has its own independent navigation history

Each tab maintains its own state including:

• Current directory
• Directory history
• Selection state
• Preview state

Switching Tabs

Yazi provides multiple ways to switch between tabs:

Direct Tab Switching

Jump directly to a specific tab by number:

Key	Command	Description
1	tab_switch 0	Switch to 1st tab
2	tab_switch 1	Switch to 2nd tab
3	tab_switch 2	Switch to 3rd tab
4	tab_switch 3	Switch to 4th tab
5	tab_switch 4	Switch to 5th tab
6	tab_switch 5	Switch to 6th tab
7	tab_switch 6	Switch to 7th tab
8	tab_switch 7	Switch to 8th tab
9	tab_switch 8	Switch to 9th tab

Number Keys

Quick access to the first 9 tabs using number keys 1-9.

2  # Jump to second tab
5  # Jump to fifth tab

Sequential Switching

Navigate tabs sequentially using bracket keys.

Key	Command	Description
[	tab_switch -1 --relative	Switch to previous tab
]	tab_switch 1 --relative	Switch to next tab

]  # Next tab
[  # Previous tab

Relative Tab Navigation

[  # Switch to previous tab (wraps around)
]  # Switch to next tab (wraps around)

Relative navigation wraps around:

• Pressing [ on the first tab switches to the last tab
• Pressing ] on the last tab switches to the first tab

Reordering Tabs

Swap the current tab with adjacent tabs:

Key	Command	Description
{	tab_swap -1	Swap current tab with previous tab
}	tab_swap 1	Swap current tab with next tab

Example workflow:

# Move current tab to the left
{  # Swap with previous tab
{  # Swap again

# Move current tab to the right
}  # Swap with next tab

Tab swapping changes the order of tabs but doesn’t change which tab is active.

Renaming Tabs

tr  # Rename current tab interactively

The tab_rename --interactive command:

• Opens an input prompt
• Shows the current tab name (if any)
• Allows you to set a custom name for the tab

Use cases for tab names:

• Project identification: “frontend”, “backend”, “docs”
• Task tracking: “review”, “testing”, “cleanup”
• Location markers: “home”, “config”, “downloads”

Closing Tabs

<C-c>  # Close current tab (or quit if it's the last tab)

Behavior:

• If multiple tabs are open: Closes the current tab
• If only one tab remains: Quits Yazi
• The previous tab becomes active after closing

Closing a tab discards its state including:

• Navigation history
• Selection state
• Unsaved filter/search

Make sure to complete operations before closing a tab.

Tab State Management

Each tab in Yazi maintains independent state:

What’s Independent Per Tab

• Current directory: Each tab can be in a different location
• Directory history: Back/forward history is per-tab
• File selection: Selected files are tab-specific
• Preview state: Preview content is independent
• Search/filter: Active searches don’t affect other tabs

What’s Shared Across Tabs

• Yank buffer: Yanked/cut files are global
• Configuration: Settings apply to all tabs
• Tasks: Background tasks are shared

The yank buffer being shared across tabs is a powerful feature - you can yank files in one tab and paste them in another.

Practical Tab Workflows

Workflow 1: Multi-Location File Management

# Tab 1: Source directory
cd ~/projects/old-project
y    # Yank files

# Create new tab for destination
tt
cd ~/projects/new-project
p    # Paste files

# Tab 2 still has the source directory open
[    # Go back to review

Workflow 2: Organized Project Work

# Set up tabs for a project
1    # Tab 1: project root
cd ~/projects/myapp
tr → "root"

tt   # Tab 2: source code
cd src/
tr → "src"

tt   # Tab 3: documentation
cd docs/
tr → "docs"

# Quick navigation
1    # Jump to project root
2    # Jump to source
3    # Jump to docs

Workflow 3: Comparing Directories

# Open two related directories
cd /path/to/version1

tt
cd /path/to/version2

# Switch between them
[    # version1
]    # version2

Tab Indicator

Yazi displays tab information in the UI:

• Current tab is highlighted
• Tab count is visible
• Custom tab names are displayed (if set)
• Active tab indicator

Implementation Details

Tab management is implemented in /home/daytona/workspace/source/yazi-core/src/mgr/tabs.rs:9. The Tabs struct maintains:

pub struct Tabs {
    pub cursor: usize,      // Active tab index
    pub items: Vec<Tab>,    // All tab instances
}

Each tab is independent with its own:

• Current folder state
• Parent folder reference
• Preview state
• History backstack
• Mode (normal/visual)

Tips

Performance

• Yazi tabs are lightweight
• No performance penalty for having many tabs
• Each tab’s preview is loaded on-demand

Workflow

• Use numbered tabs (1-9) for frequently accessed locations
• Name tabs for clarity in complex projects
• Use tab swapping to organize tabs by priority

Integration

• Yank buffer works across tabs
• Shell commands run in the current tab’s directory
• Each tab can have different sort orders and filters