Tab Drag & Drop
Drag tabs. Snap to position. Move between windows. Pixel-perfect, zero drift.
Questions this answers
- Can I drag terminal tabs between windows?
- How does tab drag and drop work in Chau7?
- Which terminal has smooth tab reordering with drag?
- How to move a terminal tab to another window?
How it works
Chau7's tab drag system uses accumulated offset snapping rather than linear interpolation. When you grab a tab and drag, the tab snaps to its new position based on the total drag distance, keeping the tab visually locked to your cursor. This avoids the drift that plagues lerp-based drag systems where the tab gradually falls behind or overshoots the cursor position.
Tabs can be dragged within the tab bar to reorder, or dragged out of the window entirely to create a new window or drop into an existing one. The drop target is determined by cursor position with visual feedback showing where the tab will land. The entire interaction is animated at 60fps using Core Animation, with no frame drops during the drag.
Why it matters
Tab reordering is one of the most frequent interactions in a multi-tab terminal. If dragging feels laggy or imprecise, you stop using it and start mentally tracking tab positions instead. Chau7's drag uses snap-to-position with accumulated offset, so the tab stays under your cursor. No lerp, no drift, no fighting the UI.
Frequently asked questions
Can I drag a tab to create a new window?
Yes. Drag a tab away from the tab bar and release it to create a new window containing that tab. You can also drag it onto an existing window to move it there.
Does drag and drop preserve the terminal session?
Absolutely. The terminal session, scrollback buffer, running processes, and all state move with the tab. There is no reconnection or state loss during the drag.