Add possibility to open tabs instead of sessions

[dam4rus]

First of all, thanks for the plugin. This is ALMOST what I had in mind and needed. However, I'm using tabs instead of sessions per directory. Do you think it would make sense to allow the possibility of opening tabs instead of sessions? If you think this is out of scope for the plugin it's fine.

[liam-mackie]

The only issue is that a lot of the functionality revolves around setting up layouts, which are session-based. I'd probably say that this is out-of-scope of this plugin, but it'd be trivial to remove functionality and have tabs per-directory. You'd likely need to sacrifice layouts to an extent, and switching tabs would be a little harder, but I think it'd be possible. If anyone else has a need for it, I might consider an option to use tabs - if you're looking to write some rust, I'm also happy to work with you on figuring out the best way forward? :)

[dam4rus]

The only issue is that a lot of the functionality revolves around setting up layouts, which are session-based. I'd probably say that this is out-of-scope of this plugin, but it'd be trivial to remove functionality and have tabs per-directory. You'd likely need to sacrifice layouts to an extent, and switching tabs would be a little harder, but I think it'd be possible.

I'm not sure what's the difference between layouts for a session and tabs. There's an API for creating tabs with a layout: https://docs.rs/zellij-tile/latest/zellij_tile/shim/fn.new_tabs_with_layout_info.html, so it looks feasible to me at a first glance.

if you're looking to write some rust, I'm also happy to work with you on figuring out the best way forward? :)

Thanks for the offer. I'm already familiar with developing Rust and Zellij plugins to an extent (I have one what I think is "production ready" and some WIP). I opened this issue because I've actually wanted to start developing a new plugin that is pretty similar to this plugin, just with tabs. If you think it's out of scope for this plugin that's totally fine and feel free to close the issue. Please ping me, if you plan on creating a new plugin with tabs so I don't start my own.

[liam-mackie]

Oh, nice! It looks like the Zellij team did all the work for me (again)!
I'd be happy to add an option that allows tab creation in the current session instead of sessions, since it seems pretty trivial.

In terms of the UX, I had a couple of questions about the intended workflow if you wouldn't mind answering?

• When opening the ZSM UI, would you expect tabs that match the naming convention across sessions, or only in your current session?
• When deleting a "session" (actually a tab, in this case) in the ZSM UI, would you expect it to close a tab, or would you expect the option to be disabled?
• When you create a new tab, where would you expect it to be placed? At the end of the list of current tabs, or immediately after the currently open tab? Do you care?

[dam4rus]

Thank you for being open to this suggestion.

When opening the ZSM UI, would you expect tabs that match the naming convention across sessions, or only in your current session?

Since Zellij's plugin manager shows both the session and it's tab, and can be searched for in both, I think showing tabs across sessions makes more sense. Most of the work should be already done too I think since the plugin manager already does this.

When deleting a "session" (actually a tab, in this case) in the ZSM UI, would you expect it to close a tab, or would you expect the option to be disabled?

I think it would make more sense to have the same functionality as when working with sessions, so yes, allow closing tabs. But this circles back to your previous question: only the tab in the selected session should be closed.

When you create a new tab, where would you expect it to be placed? At the end of the list of current tabs, or immediately after the currently open tab? Do you care?

Zellij opens every tab at the end, so it's fine to open at the end. Don't have strong feelings about this.

If it feels like it's too much work to have tabs shown and closed in every session, feel free to simplify by restricting it to the current session. If you need any help with this, feel free to ping me. I can make some time to help.