tmux-merge-sessions

name	tmux-merge-sessions
description	Use when the user wants to consolidate multiple tmux sessions into a single session's windows, or unify many tmux sessions into one tabbed view.

Merge tmux Sessions into Windows

Overview

Consolidate multiple tmux sessions into one session where each original session becomes a named window. Uses move-window to migrate windows and renames them by origin session for clarity.

Steps

1. Survey the landscape

   tmux list-sessions
   tmux list-windows -a
   

2. Pick a target session — usually the currently attached one.

3. Rename existing windows in the target so their origin is clear:

   tmux rename-window -t TARGET:0 "descriptive-name"
   

4. Move each window from other sessions (omit target window number to auto-assign):

   tmux move-window -s SOURCE_SESSION:WINDOW_NUM -t TARGET_SESSION:
   

5. Rename the moved window immediately (tmux assigns the next available slot):

   tmux rename-window -t TARGET:NEW_NUM "source-session-name"
   

6. Verify:

   tmux list-windows -t TARGET_SESSION
   

Example

Consolidate sessions 13, control-plane, waiting-plan-gen into session 12:

tmux rename-window -t 12:0 "12-a"

tmux move-window -s 13:0 -t 12:
tmux rename-window -t 12:2 "13"

tmux move-window -s control-plane:2 -t 12:
tmux rename-window -t 12:3 "ctrl-plane-a"
tmux move-window -s control-plane:4 -t 12:
tmux rename-window -t 12:4 "ctrl-plane-b"

tmux move-window -s waiting-plan-gen:0 -t 12:
tmux rename-window -t 12:5 "plan-gen"

Navigation After Merging

Key	Action
Ctrl+b w	Visual window picker
Ctrl+b <number>	Jump to window by index
Ctrl+b n / p	Next / previous window

Notes

• Moving the last window from a session destroys that session automatically.
• Always rename immediately after moving — auto-assigned numbers shift as windows are added.
• Multiple windows from the same session: move and rename each one individually.