tmux-operations

name	tmux-operations
description	Use when user asks about tmux panes, windows, or layouts — reading pane content, moving processes between panes/windows, splitting, resizing, or rearranging.
user-invocable	true

tmux Operations

Orientation

Always start by getting the current tmux context:

tmux display-message -p '#S:#I.#P'

Then list all panes in the session:

tmux list-panes -s -F '#{window_index}.#{pane_index} #{pane_current_command} #{pane_width}x#{pane_height} #{?pane_active,*,}'

This tells you the session, active window/pane, what's running in each pane, and their sizes.

List all sessions:

tmux list-sessions -F '#{session_name} #{session_windows} windows #{?session_attached,(attached),}'

List windows in a session:

tmux list-windows -t <session> -F '#{window_index} #{window_name} #{window_panes} panes #{?window_active,*,}'

Read Pane Content

Capture visible content plus 500 lines of scrollback from a target pane:

tmux capture-pane -t <target> -p -S -500

Targeting panes:

Target	Meaning
{left}	Pane to the left of active
{right}	Pane to the right of active
{up}	Pane above active
{down}	Pane below active
0.1	Window 0, pane 1
%5	Pane ID 5 (absolute)

To read less scrollback, adjust -S (e.g., -S -50 for 50 lines). Omit -S for only the visible area.

Quick Move / Swap

Move pane to its own window:

tmux break-pane -t <target>

Omit -t to break the active pane.

Swap two panes:

tmux swap-pane -s <src> -t <dst>

Join a window as a pane in another window:

tmux join-pane -s <src> -t <dst>

Add -h for a horizontal split or -v for vertical (default).

Advanced Workflows

• For guided move workflows (interactive pane selection, edge cases, preserving focus) → read move.md
• For layout management (splitting, resizing, preset layouts, rearranging) → read layout.md