zellij-org/zellij · error

This zellij was built without bundled plugins (feature 'disa

Error message

This zellij was built without bundled plugins (feature 'disable_automatic_asset_installation'). Builtin plugins are provided by the distributor of this build and must be placed in the plugin directory, visible in the output of `zellij setup --check`.

What it means

Returned by Setup::from_cli_with_options when `zellij setup --dump-plugins` is run on a binary compiled with the disable_automatic_asset_installation feature. Such builds embed no plugin assets, so there is nothing to dump; the distributor is expected to ship plugins separately in the plugin directory.

Source

Thrown at zellij-utils/src/setup.rs:406

        if let Some(swap_layout) = &self.dump_swap_layout {
            dump_specified_swap_layout(swap_layout)?;
            std::process::exit(0);
        }

        Ok(())
    }

    /// Checks the merged configuration
    pub fn from_cli_with_options(&self, opts: &CliArgs, config_options: &Options) -> Result<()> {
        if self.check {
            Setup::check_defaults_config(opts, config_options)?;
            std::process::exit(0);
        }

        if let Some(maybe_path) = &self.dump_plugins {
            if cfg!(feature = "disable_automatic_asset_installation") {
                return Err(anyhow!(
                    "This zellij was built without bundled plugins (feature \
                     'disable_automatic_asset_installation'). Builtin plugins are provided by the \
                     distributor of this build and must be placed in the plugin directory, \
                     visible in the output of `zellij setup --check`."
                ))
                .context("failed to dump plugins");
            }
            let data_dir = &opts.data_dir.clone().unwrap_or_else(get_default_data_dir);
            let dir = match maybe_path {
                Some(path) => path,
                None => data_dir,
            };

            println!("Dumping plugins to '{}'", dir.display());
            dump_builtin_plugins(&dir)?;
            std::process::exit(0);
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to 98a0837077)

Solutions

1. Install the plugins your distribution ships as a separate zellij-plugins package
2. Verify the plugin directory location with `zellij setup --check` and ensure the plugins are present there
3. If you need dump-plugins, use an official upstream binary or build without the disable_automatic_asset_installation feature

// Shell-level check before attempting the dump:
// zellij setup --check 2>&1 | grep -i 'plugin dir'
# then verify the plugin files exist in the reported directory before launching

When it happens

Trigger: Running `zellij setup --dump-plugins` (with or without a path) on a distro-packaged zellij built with --features disable_automatic_asset_installation.

Common situations: Linux distribution packages (Debian/Nix/etc.) that strip bundled WASM assets to avoid duplicating files; users following upstream docs that assume the official release binary.

Related errors

• No plugin found at '{}'
• Swap Layout not found for: {}
• The layout was not found
• Exceeded log buffer size. Make sure that your plugin calls f

AI-assisted analysis of zellij-org/zellij@98a0837077 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d92d77a4a66d48f5. Report an issue: GitHub.