Workspaces

Overview

A workspace is a self-contained environment that groups several terminals into a single layout. Where a plain terminal window gives you one shell that disappears when you close it, a Gridmux workspace remembers how its panes were arranged and which folder its terminals start in — and brings all of that back the next time you launch the app.

You can keep more than one workspace open at once and switch between them from the tab bar, so a different project or task each gets its own set of shells instead of crowding everything into one window.

Key capabilities

Persistent layout — the arrangement of panes and terminals in a workspace is saved automatically and rebuilt on launch.
Default working directory — each workspace can have a default folder that new terminals open in (see Default working directory).
Saved layouts (snapshots) — capture a layout and restore it later, per workspace (see Saved layouts).
Reusable as a template — export a workspace’s layout as a template and recreate it whenever you need it. Templates are an Extended Subscription feature; see the Templates guide.
Auto-restore on launch — your last session, including every workspace, comes back automatically when you reopen Gridmux.

Limits per edition

The number of workspaces and the number of terminals per workspace depend on your edition:

	Workspaces	Terminals per workspace
Base (free)	2	4
Extended (one-time or subscription)	25	Unlimited

On Base, trying to create a third workspace shows an upgrade prompt instead. See Activating your license to unlock the Extended limits.

Creating and switching workspaces

Create a new workspace with Ctrl+T, or from the menu bar via File → New Workspace. You get an empty workspace with one terminal using your platform’s default shell.

New workspaces are named Workspace N automatically, using the smallest free number — so closing Workspace 2 frees that name for the next one you create.

Switch between workspaces by clicking their tabs in the workspace tab bar.

Managing workspaces

Rename — double-click a workspace tab and type a new name. Press Enter to commit.
Reorder — drag a tab left or right to change its position.
Close — click the × on a tab. Gridmux asks you to confirm, since closing a workspace ends its terminal sessions. The last remaining workspace cannot be closed — there is always at least one open.

Saved layouts (snapshots)

A snapshot stores a workspace’s current layout so you can return to it later. Right-click a workspace tab to open its context menu:

Save Layout — store the current arrangement of panes and terminals.
Restore Layout — rebuild the workspace from the saved snapshot (you’ll be asked to confirm).
Delete Saved Layout — discard the snapshot.

You can keep up to 10 saved layouts total. This limit is the same on every edition.

Default working directory

Each workspace can have a default working directory — the folder that newly opened terminals start in. Right-click a workspace tab and choose Choose default path…, then pick a folder.

Persistence

You don’t have to save anything manually. Gridmux auto-saves your workspaces, their layouts, and their working directories as you work, and restores the last session automatically the next time you launch the app — close it whenever you like and pick up where you left off.

Best practices

One workspace per context. Give each project or task its own workspace and rename it (double-click the tab) so the tab bar stays scannable.
Snapshot before you rearrange. Save a layout before experimenting with splits, so you can restore it in one click if the new arrangement doesn’t work out.
Set a default path per workspace. Point each workspace at the folder you actually work in, so every new terminal opens in the right place.
On Base, prefer splits over new workspaces. With a 2-workspace limit, group related shells as panes inside one workspace; Extended raises the limit to 25 if you need more.
Let auto-restore do the work. There’s no “save session” step to remember — quit freely and your workspaces come back on the next launch.