AI-CLI - Zellij Layout for AI Coding

A Zellij layout configuration for an AI-powered coding environment with Claude, cursor-agent, and ccusage monitoring.

Prerequisites

Zellij terminal multiplexer
Claude CLI tool
OpenAI Codex CLI tool
cursor-agent
lazygit
bunx (for ccusage blocks)

Recommended: LazyVim

If you use nvim in this layout, consider installing LazyVim for an excellent out-of-the-box coding experience (LSP, formatting, treesitter, file explorer).

Quick install:

# Backup any existing Neovim config first
mv ~/.config/nvim ~/.config/nvim.bak 2>/dev/null || true

# Install LazyVim starter
git clone https://github.com/LazyVim/starter ~/.config/nvim
rm -rf ~/.config/nvim/.git

# First launch will install plugins
nvim

Installation

Quick Install

Run the setup script:

./setup.sh

This will:

Copy the ai-coding.kdl layout to ~/.config/zellij/layouts/
Add the ai-cli alias to your shell configuration (.zshrc and .bashrc)

Manual Installation

Copy the layout file:

mkdir -p ~/.config/zellij/layouts
cp ai-coding.kdl ~/.config/zellij/layouts/

Add alias to your shell configuration (.zshrc or .bashrc):

alias ai-cli='zellij --layout ai-coding'

Reload your shell:

source ~/.zshrc

Usage

Simply run:

ai-cli

This will launch Zellij with the AI coding layout.

Layout Structure

The layout includes several tabs:

Coding Tab (default)

Left pane (60%): Claude - Full height for AI coding assistance
Right panes (40%):
- Codex - OpenAI Codex for code generation
- lazygit - Git interface for version control

Planning Tab

Left pane (50%): Claude
Right pane (50%): cursor-agent

Review Tab

Left pane (50%): cursor-agent
Right pane (50%): lazygit

Usage Tab

Full pane: ccusage blocks (live monitoring)

Terminal Tab

Full pane: Regular terminal

Customization

You can modify the ai-coding.kdl file to customize:

Pane sizes
Commands to run in each pane
Tab names and order
Additional tabs or panes

Troubleshooting

If the ai-cli command is not found:

Make sure you've reloaded your shell configuration: source ~/.zshrc
Check that the alias was added correctly: grep "ai-cli" ~/.zshrc
Ensure Zellij is installed: which zellij

License

MIT

Dimillian/ai-cli