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Comparisons

vs smart_workspace_switcher.wezterm

smart_workspace_switcher.wezterm is a great plugin and a direct inspiration for workspace-manager. It focuses on fast fuzzy-find switching using zoxide. Here is how the two differ:

smart_workspace_switcher workspace-manager
Switcher entries Live workspaces + zoxide directories Live workspaces + saved sessions + zoxide/custom suggestions
Custom entries Override get_choices with raw {id, label} pairs Override get_choices with paths or tables; plugin handles normalization, deduplication, and styling
In-overlay actions Switch only Switch, delete, rename, create by name, create at path
Session persistence None (pair with resurrect.wezterm) Built in and opt-in
Sorting Workspaces in mux order, zoxide results in frecency order All entries sorted by recency (access times tracked on disk)
Zoxide Required dependency Optional (default provider, can disable or replace)
Theming Single workspace_formatter function Per-segment color control (icon, name, counts, current marker)

smart_workspace_switcher is a solid lightweight choice if all you need is a fast workspace picker with zoxide. workspace-manager is designed for people who want lifecycle management and session persistence in the same place.

vs resurrect.wezterm

workspace-manager's session persistence is built on code vendored from resurrect.wezterm (MIT licensed). The two plugins have overlapping goals but different scopes.

What resurrect offers that workspace-manager does not:

  • Encryption of state files (age, rage, GnuPG)
  • Window-level and tab-level saves (not just workspace-level)
  • A separate fuzzy loader UI for browsing all saved states with date stamps and type-specific formatting
  • Remote domain re-attachment (SSH, SSHMUX, WSL, Docker)

What workspace-manager offers that resurrect does not:

  • Saved workspaces appear in the switcher automatically alongside live ones — no separate UI or keybinding needed
  • State is saved automatically on workspace switch, no event wiring required
  • Startup restore waits for window geometry to stabilize before restoring pane splits, which avoids the resize issues commonly reported with resurrect
  • Deleting a workspace via the switcher also removes its state file so it does not reappear
  • Renaming a workspace also renames its state file on disk
  • One boolean (session_enabled = true) to opt in, vs. multiple keybindings, event handlers, and callbacks

resurrect is a flexible toolkit with granular building blocks. workspace-manager is opinionated and integrated, trading some of that flexibility for a workflow where switching and persistence work together out of the box. If you need encryption, window or tab-level saves, or remote domain support, resurrect is the better fit.

The two can also interoperate — see below.

Using resurrect.wezterm instead

If you prefer to use resurrect.wezterm directly (for encryption, its fuzzy loader, window/tab-level saves, or remote domain support), keep session_enabled = false and wire up the events manually:

local resurrect = wezterm.plugin.require("https://github.com/MLFlexer/resurrect.wezterm")
local workspace_manager = wezterm.plugin.require("https://github.com/ryanmsnyder/workspace-manager.wezterm")

-- Save old workspace state BEFORE switching
wezterm.on("workspace_manager.workspace_switcher.switching", function(mux_window, pane, old_workspace, new_workspace)
  if old_workspace and old_workspace ~= "default" and old_workspace ~= new_workspace then
    local state = resurrect.workspace_state.get_workspace_state()
    resurrect.state_manager.save_state(state, old_workspace)
  end
end)

-- Restore workspace state when creating a new workspace from the switcher
wezterm.on("workspace_manager.workspace_switcher.created", function(mux_window, pane, workspace_name, path)
  local state = resurrect.state_manager.load_state(workspace_name, "workspace")
  if state then
    resurrect.workspace_state.restore_workspace(state, {
      window = mux_window,
      relative = true,
      on_pane_restore = resurrect.tab_state.default_on_pane_restore,
    })
  end
end)