Split panes

Arrange shells, Files, Port Forwarding, Dashboard, and Snippets together in one Zync workspace.

Splits are workspace layouts, not terminal-only layouts. A pane can hold a local or SSH shell, or a supported host feature. Use them to keep the tools for one task visible together without opening another window.

One split group. A shell stays available while host features work beside it.

What can occupy a pane

A split group can contain:

Local or SSH terminal tabs.
Files for the active host.
Port Forwarding for the active host.
Dashboard for the active host.
Snippets for the active host.

Plugin panels remain full workspace views. They are not split-pane leaves in the current release.

Every split group keeps at least one shell. Closing or removing a feature pane cannot leave a feature-only group.

Create a split

Start from the terminal workspace, focus the pane you want to divide, then use one of these methods:

Use a split control in the terminal tab bar.
Open a terminal tab’s context menu and choose a split direction.
Press Ctrl+Shift+Left, Right, Up, or Down to split the focused pane in that direction.
Drag another shell tab or a supported feature tab toward an edge of a pane, then drop it on the preview.
Choose Open in split for a supported feature.

Dropping on the left or right creates a side-by-side branch. Dropping on the top or bottom creates a stacked branch. New splits divide the targeted leaf, so nested layouts can combine both directions.

The four-pane limit

A split group supports up to four visible leaves. The limit counts both shells and feature panes.

When a group already has four panes, Zync refuses another split and shows a message. Close or unsplit an existing pane before adding another.

Opening content that is already present focuses its existing pane instead of creating a duplicate leaf.

Focus, resize, and balance

Select a pane with the pointer, or use Ctrl+Alt+Left, Right, Up, or Down to focus a neighboring pane.

Drag a divider to resize its two branches. Zync keeps both sides usable by enforcing a minimum share of the available space. Double-click a divider to balance its two sides again.

The focused pane is the target for directional split commands and for actions that open a feature beside the current shell.

Move and dock content

Drag a shell tab or supported feature tab over the workspace. The preview follows the nearest edge of the pane under the pointer:

Drop edge	Result
Left	Place the incoming pane before the target, side by side.
Right	Place it after the target, side by side.
Top	Place it above the target in a stack.
Bottom	Place it below the target in a stack.

Dropping outside a pane cancels the operation. Dragging an item onto itself does not create another copy.

Remove a pane or split

Close a feature pane from its pane controls. Use the terminal tab or pane context menu to remove a shell from a split or unsplit the focused branch.

When one side of a split is removed, its sibling expands into the available space. Removing a nested branch preserves the rest of the layout.

What is restored

Zync saves split layouts locally as part of the workspace session. The snapshot includes:

The nested horizontal and vertical layout.
Relative divider sizes.
The focused pane.
Visible terminal tabs and supported feature panes.

After an app restart, local shells can start through the normal restore flow. SSH split layouts return as metadata first and become live after you reconnect the host. Missing terminal tabs and invalid panes are pruned safely during restore.

The layout snapshot does not restore terminal output or running processes. Read Session persistence for the complete restore boundary.

Terminal for shells, tabs, output search, and rendering.
File Manager for opening Files beside a shell.
Port Forwarding for tunnel management.
Snippets for reusable host commands.
Keyboard Shortcuts for split and directional focus bindings.