arjunmahishi tmux CLI Skill
Use tmux commands via Bash to manage terminal sessions, windows, and panes.
Do NOT use the tmux MCP server — use the CLI directly.
All commands below are safe to run and do not require user confirmation unless they kill sessions or panes containing unsaved work.
Session Management
tmux list-sessions # list all sessions (alias: tmux ls)
tmux new-session -d -s myapp # create detached session
tmux new-session -d -s myapp -c ~/project # create with working directory
tmux kill-session -t myapp # kill a session (confirm first)
tmux rename-session -t old new # rename a session
tmux has-session -t myapp 2>/dev/null # check if session exists (exit code)
Window Management
tmux new-window -t myapp # new window in session
tmux new-window -t myapp -n build # new window with name
tmux new-window -t myapp -n build -c ~/src # with name and working directory
tmux rename-window -t myapp:0 main # rename window
tmux select-window -t myapp:1 # switch to window by index
tmux kill-window -t myapp:1 # kill a window (confirm first)
tmux list-windows -t myapp # list windows in a session
Pane Management
tmux split-window -t myapp -h # split horizontally (side by side)
tmux split-window -t myapp -v # split vertically (top/bottom)
tmux split-window -t myapp -h -c ~/src # split with working directory
tmux select-pane -t myapp:0.1 # select pane (session:window.pane)
tmux kill-pane -t myapp:0.1 # kill a pane
tmux list-panes -t myapp:0 # list panes in a window
tmux resize-pane -t myapp:0.1 -R 20 # resize pane right by 20 cells
tmux resize-pane -t myapp:0.1 -D 10 # resize pane down by 10 cells
# Resize directions: -U (up), -D (down), -L (left), -R (right)
Command Execution
# Send a command to a specific pane
tmux send-keys -t myapp:0.0 'make build' Enter
# Send keys without pressing Enter (useful for partial input)
tmux send-keys -t myapp:0.0 'echo hello'
# Send Ctrl-C to interrupt a running process
tmux send-keys -t myapp:0.0 C-c
# Run a command in a new window directly
tmux new-window -t myapp -n tests 'go test ./...'
Content Capture
# Capture visible pane content
tmux capture-pane -t myapp:0.0 -p
# Capture with scrollback history (last 100 lines)
tmux capture-pane -t myapp:0.0 -p -S -100
# Capture entire scrollback
tmux capture-pane -t myapp:0.0 -p -S -
# Check if a command is still running (look for shell prompt in output)
tmux capture-pane -t myapp:0.0 -p | tail -5
Layouts
tmux select-layout -t myapp:0 even-horizontal # equal columns
tmux select-layout -t myapp:0 even-vertical # equal rows
tmux select-layout -t myapp:0 main-horizontal # large top, small bottom panes
tmux select-layout -t myapp:0 main-vertical # large left, small right panes
tmux select-layout -t myapp:0 tiled # equal grid
Target Syntax
Targets follow the pattern session:window.pane:
myapp— session named "myapp"myapp:0— first window in "myapp"myapp:0.1— second pane in first window of "myapp"myapp:build— window named "build" in "myapp"
Common Workflows
Run a background process and check on it
tmux new-session -d -s bg
tmux send-keys -t bg 'long-running-command' Enter
# ... later ...
tmux capture-pane -t bg -p | tail -20 # check output
Start roachdev claude in a new pane with a prompt
tmux new-session -d -s dev -c ~/project
tmux send-keys -t dev "roachdev claude --prompt 'fix the failing tests'" Enter
Monitor a long-running command
tmux new-window -t dev -n watch
tmux send-keys -t dev:watch 'watch -n 5 curl -s http://localhost:8080/health' Enter
# Check on it later:
tmux capture-pane -t dev:watch -p
Multi-pane development layout
tmux new-session -d -s work -c ~/project
tmux split-window -t work -h # editor | terminal
tmux split-window -t work:0.1 -v # editor | terminal / logs
tmux send-keys -t work:0.1 'make watch' Enter
tmux send-keys -t work:0.2 'tail -f app.log' Enter
tmux select-layout -t work:0 main-vertical
Wait for a command to finish
# Poll until the shell prompt reappears
while ! tmux capture-pane -t myapp:0.0 -p | tail -1 | grep -q '\$'; do
sleep 2
done
echo "Command finished"
tmux capture-pane -t myapp:0.0 -p | tail -20