Tmux Manage

Tmux Management Skill

通用 tmux 会话管理工具，适用于所有开发和运营容器。

Capabilities

1. Session Management

• List all tmux sessions
• Create new sessions with custom names
• Attach to existing sessions
• Kill sessions (single or multiple)
• Rename sessions
• Check if session exists

2. Window Management

• List windows in a session
• Create new windows
• Switch between windows
• Rename windows
• Kill windows

3. Pane Management

• Split panes (horizontal/vertical)
• Navigate between panes
• Resize panes
• Kill panes
• Synchronize panes

4. Session Information

• View session details
• Check active sessions
• Show session tree structure
• Display window and pane count

5. Quick Operations

• Quick attach to last session
• Create workspace sessions
• Clone session layout
• Session cleanup

Common Commands

List Sessions

# List all sessions
tmux list-sessions
tmux ls

# Show detailed session info
tmux list-sessions -F "#{session_name}: #{session_windows} windows (created #{session_created_string})"

Create Sessions

# Create new session
tmux new-session -s <session-name>

# Create detached session
tmux new-session -d -s <session-name>

# Create session in specific directory
tmux new-session -s <session-name> -c /path/to/dir

Attach to Sessions

# Attach to session
tmux attach-session -t <session-name>
tmux attach -t <session-name>
tmux a -t <session-name>

# Attach to last session
tmux attach

# Create or attach
tmux new-session -A -s <session-name>

Kill Sessions

# Kill specific session
tmux kill-session -t <session-name>

# Kill all sessions except current
tmux kill-session -a

# Kill all sessions
tmux kill-server

Window Operations

# Create new window
tmux new-window -t <session-name> -n <window-name>

# List windows
tmux list-windows -t <session-name>

# Kill window
tmux kill-window -t <session-name>:<window-index>

Pane Operations

# Split pane horizontally
tmux split-window -h -t <session-name>

# Split pane vertically
tmux split-window -v -t <session-name>

# List panes
tmux list-panes -t <session-name>

# Send commands to pane
tmux send-keys -t <session-name>:<window>.<pane> "command" C-m

Tmux Key Bindings

Default prefix: Ctrl+B

Session Commands

• Ctrl+B d - Detach from session
• Ctrl+B s - List sessions
• Ctrl+B $ - Rename session
• Ctrl+B ( - Previous session
• Ctrl+B ) - Next session

Window Commands

• Ctrl+B c - Create new window
• Ctrl+B , - Rename window
• Ctrl+B w - List windows
• Ctrl+B n - Next window
• Ctrl+B p - Previous window
• Ctrl+B & - Kill window
• Ctrl+B 0-9 - Switch to window by number

Pane Commands

• Ctrl+B % - Split horizontally
• Ctrl+B " - Split vertically
• Ctrl+B o - Next pane
• Ctrl+B ; - Last pane
• Ctrl+B x - Kill pane
• Ctrl+B ←↑→↓ - Navigate panes
• Ctrl+B { - Move pane left
• Ctrl+B } - Move pane right
• Ctrl+B z - Toggle pane zoom
• Ctrl+B ! - Break pane to new window

Other Commands

• Ctrl+B ? - List all key bindings
• Ctrl+B [ - Enter copy mode (scroll)
• Ctrl+B ] - Paste buffer
• Ctrl+B : - Enter command mode

Useful Workflows

Create Development Workspace

# Create session with multiple windows
tmux new-session -d -s workspace -n editor
tmux new-window -t workspace -n server
tmux new-window -t workspace -n logs
tmux new-window -t workspace -n shell
tmux attach -t workspace

Monitor Multiple Services

# Create session with split panes
tmux new-session -d -s monitor
tmux split-window -h -t monitor
tmux split-window -v -t monitor:0.0
tmux split-window -v -t monitor:0.1
tmux attach -t monitor

Quick Session Switch

# Detach and switch to another session
# In tmux: Ctrl+B d
tmux attach -t <another-session>

# Or use Ctrl+B s to select from list

Session Cleanup

# Kill all dead sessions
for session in $(tmux ls | grep -v attached | cut -d: -f1); do
    tmux kill-session -t "$session"
done

# Kill sessions matching pattern
tmux ls | grep "pattern" | cut -d: -f1 | xargs -I {} tmux kill-session -t {}

Configuration Tips

Essential .tmux.conf Settings

# Mouse support
set -g mouse on

# Increase history limit
set -g history-limit 10000

# Start window numbering at 1
set -g base-index 1
set -g pane-base-index 1

# Renumber windows on close
set -g renumber-windows on

# Enable focus events
set -g focus-events on

# Status bar
set -g status-position bottom
set -g status-style 'bg=colour234 fg=colour137'

Helper Scripts

The scripts/ directory contains helper tools:

• tmux-list.sh - Enhanced session listing
• tmux-quick-attach.sh - Quick session selection
• tmux-workspace.sh - Create workspace layouts
• tmux-cleanup.sh - Clean up old sessions

Best Practices

1. Use Descriptive Names: Name sessions after their purpose

   tmux new -s api-server
   tmux new -s log-monitor
   tmux new -s debug-session
   

2. Detach, Don't Kill: Use Ctrl+B d to detach instead of killing

   • Sessions persist after detaching
   • Easy to reattach later

3. Check Existing Sessions: Before creating new session

   tmux ls
   tmux has-session -t <name> 2>/dev/null
   

4. Use Session Create-or-Attach:

   tmux new-session -A -s <session-name>
   

5. Clean Up Regularly: Remove unused sessions

   tmux kill-session -t <unused-session>
   

6. Keep Sessions Organized:

   • One session per major task/project
   • Multiple windows within session for related subtasks
   • Split panes for side-by-side viewing

Troubleshooting

Session Already Exists

# Error: duplicate session
# Solution: Attach instead
tmux attach -t <session-name>

# Or kill and recreate
tmux kill-session -t <session-name>
tmux new -s <session-name>

Cannot Connect to Server

# Check tmux is running
ps aux | grep tmux

# Check socket permissions
ls -la /tmp/tmux-*/

# Restart tmux server
tmux kill-server
tmux new-session

Lost Session

# List all sessions
tmux ls

# Check for detached sessions
tmux ls | grep -v attached

# Attach to last session
tmux attach

Pane Synchronization Issues

# Enable pane synchronization
tmux setw synchronize-panes on

# Disable pane synchronization
tmux setw synchronize-panes off

# Or use Ctrl+B : then type
:setw synchronize-panes on

Integration with Container Workflows

Development Container

# Create dev session on container startup
tmux new-session -d -s dev -n editor
tmux new-window -t dev -n terminal
tmux new-window -t dev -n logs

# Attach when needed
tmux attach -t dev

Operations Container

# Monitor session for production
tmux new-session -d -s ops -n metrics
tmux new-window -t ops -n alerts
tmux new-window -t ops -n logs

# Multiple monitors
tmux split-window -h -t ops:metrics
tmux split-window -v -t ops:metrics.0

CI/CD Container

# Temporary build session
tmux new-session -d -s "build-${BUILD_ID}"
tmux send-keys -t "build-${BUILD_ID}" "make build" C-m

# Capture output
tmux pipe-pane -t "build-${BUILD_ID}" 'cat > build.log'

# Kill after completion
tmux kill-session -t "build-${BUILD_ID}"

Managed Sessions

This skill provides pre-configured session management scripts for common workflows.

System Monitor Session

univers-monitor - System monitoring dashboard (4-pane layout)

# Start monitor session
tmux-monitor start

# Attach to monitor
tmux-monitor attach

# Check status
tmux-monitor status

# Stop monitor
tmux-monitor stop

Features:

• Real-time system resource monitoring
• 4-pane split layout for comprehensive overview
• Auto-refresh monitoring data
• 50,000 line history buffer

Layout:

┌──────────────┬──────────────┐
│   系统资源    │   进程监控    │
│   (htop)     │   (top CPU)   │
├──────────────┼──────────────┤
│   磁盘监控    │   网络监控    │
│   (df/du)    │   (ss/ip)     │
└──────────────┴──────────────┘

Panes:

• Pane 0 (Top-Left): System resources (htop/top)
• Pane 1 (Top-Right): Top CPU processes (watch ps)
• Pane 2 (Bottom-Left): Disk usage (watch df/du)
• Pane 3 (Bottom-Right): Network connections (watch ss/ip)

Navigation:

• Ctrl+B ←↑→↓ to navigate between panes
• Ctrl+B Z to zoom/unzoom current pane

Container Manager Session

univers-manager - Container management terminal

# Start manager session
tmux-manager start

# Attach to manager
tmux-manager attach

# Check status
tmux-manager status

# Stop manager
tmux-manager stop

Features:

• Opens in univers-container directory
• Shows available container management commands
• Persistent session for Claude Code and skill management
• 50,000 line history buffer

Desktop View Session

univers-desktop-view - Split-pane aggregated view (for desktop monitors)

# Start desktop view
tmux-desktop-view start

# Attach to view
tmux-desktop-view attach

# Check status
tmux-desktop-view status

Layout:

Window 1: workbench (4 panes)

┌──────────────┬──────────────┐
│              │  server      │
│  developer   ├──────────────┤
│              │  ui          │
│              ├──────────────┤
│              │  web         │
└──────────────┴──────────────┘

Window 2: operation (1 pane)

• univers-operator

Window 3: manager (1 pane)

• univers-manager

Dependencies:

• univers-developer (hvac-workbench)
• univers-server (hvac-workbench)
• univers-ui (hvac-workbench)
• univers-web (hvac-workbench)
• univers-operator (hvac-operation)
• univers-manager (univers-container)

Mobile View Session

univers-mobile-view - Multi-window view (for smaller screens/mobile workflows)

# Start mobile view
tmux-mobile-view start

# Attach to view
tmux-mobile-view attach

# Check status
tmux-mobile-view status

Layout:

Window 1: dev - univers-developer

Window 2: service (3 panes, vertical stack)

┌──────────────┐
│  server      │
├──────────────┤
│  ui          │
├──────────────┤
│  web         │
└──────────────┘

Window 3: ops - univers-operator

Window 4: manager - univers-manager

Navigation:

• Ctrl+B 1-4 to switch between windows
• Ctrl+B ←↑→↓ to navigate panes in service window

Dependencies: Same as desktop view

Installation

Install all tmux-manage commands globally:

cd .claude/skills/tmux-manage
./install.sh

This creates global commands:

• tmux-manager - Manager session control
• tmux-desktop-view - Desktop view control
• tmux-mobile-view - Mobile view control
• tmux-monitor - System monitor control

Complete Workflow Example

# 1. Start all base sessions
univers-dev developer start      # Developer terminal
univers-dev server start socket  # Backend server
univers-dev ui start             # UI development
univers-dev web start            # Web development
univers-ops operator start       # Operations console
tmux-manager start               # Container manager

# 2. Start aggregated view
tmux-desktop-view start          # Or tmux-mobile-view start

# 3. Attach to view
tmux-desktop-view attach

# 4. Work with unified interface
# - All services visible in one view
# - Switch windows/panes as needed
# - Detach without stopping services (Ctrl+B D)

Version History

• v1.2 (2025-10-24): Add system-monitor session with 4-pane layout
• v1.1 (2025-10-24): Add manager, desktop-view, mobile-view sessions
• v1.0 (2025-10-24): Initial tmux management skill