> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tyba.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Split panes

> Split, navigate, resize — and the difference that trips up anyone coming from another terminal.

## Splitting

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="macOS">
    | Action      | Shortcut |
    | ----------- | -------- |
    | Split right | `⌘D`     |
    | Split down  | `⌘⇧D`    |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Windows and Linux">
    | Action      | Shortcut       |
    | ----------- | -------------- |
    | Split right | `Ctrl+Shift+E` |
    | Split down  | `Ctrl+Shift+D` |
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

Also via **right-click in the terminal** → *Split right* / *Split down*.

<Note>
  There's no split item in the [command palette](/en/interface/command-palette). Shortcut or context menu only.
</Note>

## Every split is a new session

<Warning>
  **A split doesn't divide the shell that's there — it opens a new shell.**
</Warning>

If you came from iTerm, tmux or Windows Terminal, this is the difference that will get you. Splitting isn't "show the same shell in two places": the new pane is born with a session of its own, with its own history and its own process.

If the workspace is tied to an [SSH host](/en/ssh/hosts-and-groups), the new pane is born **on that host** — the split inherits the connection instead of coming back to your machine.

## Nesting

Splits are a tree: **every pane can be split again**, and the result can be split once more. There's no limit in the code — the limit is your screen.

```
┌─────────────┬─────────────┐
│             │             │
│             ├──────┬──────┤
│             │      │      │
└─────────────┴──────┴──────┘
```

## Navigating

Two ways, and the second is the good one:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="macOS">
    | Action            | Shortcut |
    | ----------------- | -------- |
    | Next pane (cycle) | `⌘]`     |
    | Pane left         | `⌘⌥←`    |
    | Pane right        | `⌘⌥→`    |
    | Pane up           | `⌘⌥↑`    |
    | Pane down         | `⌘⌥↓`    |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Windows and Linux">
    | Action            | Shortcut     |
    | ----------------- | ------------ |
    | Next pane (cycle) | `Ctrl+Tab`   |
    | Pane left         | `Ctrl+Alt+←` |
    | Pane right        | `Ctrl+Alt+→` |
    | Pane up           | `Ctrl+Alt+↑` |
    | Pane down         | `Ctrl+Alt+↓` |
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

Directional navigation is **geometric**: TYBA computes where each pane sits on screen and goes to the real neighbor in that direction. It isn't "the next one in the list" — with four nested panes, `⌘⌥→` goes to whoever is actually on the right.

The cycle wraps: from the last one back to the first.

## Resizing

**With the mouse:** drag the divider.

**With the keyboard**, in 5% steps:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="macOS">
    | Action           | Shortcut      |
    | ---------------- | ------------- |
    | Narrower / wider | `⌘⌃←` / `⌘⌃→` |
    | Shorter / taller | `⌘⌃↑` / `⌘⌃↓` |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Windows and Linux">
    | Action           | Shortcut                                |
    | ---------------- | --------------------------------------- |
    | Narrower / wider | `Ctrl+Alt+Shift+←` / `Ctrl+Alt+Shift+→` |
    | Shorter / taller | `Ctrl+Alt+Shift+↑` / `Ctrl+Alt+Shift+↓` |
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

<Note>
  These four **are not remappable** — they're fixed.
</Note>

No pane disappears: the proportion is clamped between **10% and 90%**. You can't crush a pane to zero by accident.

## Closing

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="macOS">
    `⌘W` closes the active pane.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Windows and Linux">
    `Ctrl+Shift+W` closes the active pane.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

Closing the last pane closes the tab along with it. The neighboring panes rearrange to take up the space.

## The layout is remembered

The pane tree, the proportions and the active pane are saved on every change. Close and reopen TYBA and the layout comes back.

What comes back *inside* the panes depends on **Settings → Code → On app start**:

| Option                            | What it does                                                                                     |
| --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Reopen the sessions** (default) | Recreates the shell sessions and **reattaches SSH sessions** to the tmux still alive on the host |
| **Layout only**                   | Keeps the layout, without restarting anything                                                    |
| **New window**                    | Starts clean                                                                                     |

<Note>
  SSH panes are the only ones that bring work back: the remote shell never stopped, and the reattach hands you back whatever was running. See [session persistence](/en/ssh/persistence).
</Note>

<Warning>
  **Agent sessions never restart on their own**, under any of the options. An agent coming back out of nowhere, unasked, would do work you didn't ask for.
</Warning>

## What doesn't exist

|                          |                                      |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------ |
| **Zoom / maximize pane** | Doesn't exist. No shortcut, no menu. |
| **A pane limit**         | There's no limit in the code.        |

## See also

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Tabs and workspaces" icon="layout" href="/en/interface/tabs-and-workspaces">
    The layer above the panes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Shortcuts" icon="keyboard" href="/en/interface/shortcuts">
    The whole list, and how to remap.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>