Config Deep Dive

File System Layout

Path	Purpose
~/.tmux.conf	Symlink → canonical config (do not edit directly)
~/github/common-config/tmux/tmux-config-symlink/.tmux.conf	Canonical config — edit this file
~/.tmux/plugins/tpm/	Plugin manager
~/.tmux/plugins/tmux-resurrect/	Session save/restore
~/.tmux/plugins/tmux-continuum/	Auto-save
~/.local/share/tmux/resurrect/	Session backup files (300+ snapshots)
~/github/common-config/tmux/gc-sg-m16/continuum/<date>/	Host-specific backup archive by date
~/github/common-config/tmux/default config/	tmux 3.4 defaults snapshot

Config Chain

~/.tmux.conf  →  symlink to
  ~/github/common-config/tmux/tmux-config-symlink/.tmux.conf

Edit the canonical file, not the symlink. Reload with tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf.

Backup Chain

tmux-resurrect saves to:
  ~/.local/share/tmux/resurrect/tmux_resurrect_<timestamp>.txt

tmux-continuum auto-saves every 15 minutes.
Post-save hook copies to:
  ~/github/common-config/tmux/gc-sg-m16/continuum/<date>/
  (60-day retention, auto-cleanup)

Default vs This Server

Prefix

	Default	This Server
Prefix key	Ctrl+b	Ctrl+Space
Send literal prefix	Ctrl+b Ctrl+b	Ctrl+Space Ctrl+Space

Settings Changed

Setting	Default	This Server
default-command	''	bash -c 'cd ~ && exec bash'
set-clipboard	external	on
extended-keys	off	on
status-style	bg=green,fg=black	bg=colour17,fg=white
status-left-length	10	40
default-shell	/bin/bash	/bin/bash
history-limit	2000	2000 (default)

Custom Bindings Added

Mnemonic Splits

Default	Modification	Action
Ctrl+b %	`Ctrl+Space	`
Ctrl+b "	Ctrl+Space -	Split vertically (horizontal dash → top/bottom)

Prefix-Free Navigation

Default	Modification	Action
Ctrl+b arrows	Alt+arrows	Navigate panes (no prefix)
Ctrl+b arrows	Alt+h/j/k/l	Navigate panes vim-style (no prefix)
Ctrl+b z	Alt+z	Toggle zoom (no prefix)
Ctrl+b n/p	Alt+PageDown/Up	Next/previous window (no prefix)
Ctrl+b 1/2/3	Alt+1/2/3	Jump to window 1/2/3 (no prefix)
Ctrl+b (/ )	Alt+Home/End	Previous/next session (no prefix)

Modal Tables

Table	Key	Then	Action
Swap pane	Prefix S	Left/Right/Up/Down or h/j/k/l	Swap with pane in direction
Rename	Prefix e	w / s / p	Rename window / session / pane title

Custom Quick Actions

Default	Modification	Action
Ctrl+b c	Ctrl+Space W	New window
Ctrl+b &	Ctrl+Space X	Kill current window (prompted)
—	Ctrl+Space N	New named session
—	Ctrl+Space k	Kill current session (prompted)
Ctrl+b s	Ctrl+Space s	Session chooser
Ctrl+b w	Ctrl+Space w	Window/pane tree
Ctrl+b L	Ctrl+Space L	Last session
Ctrl+b m	Ctrl+Space a	Toggle mouse

Defaults Removed

Default	Reason
Prefix O	Unbound
Prefix A	Unbound (replaced by mouse toggle Prefix a)
Prefix S	Unbound (replaced by swap table)
Prefix H/J/K/L	Unbound

Annotated ~/.tmux.conf

Local Overrides

set -g default-command "bash -c 'cd ~ && exec bash'"
set -g set-clipboard on
set -g extended-keys on
set-option -g status-style bg=colour17,fg=white
set -g status-left-length 40

Starts every new pane in the home directory. Enables clipboard and extended keys. Dark status bar matching the terminal theme.

Prefix Change

unbind C-b
set -g prefix C-Space
bind C-Space send-prefix

Changes the prefix from Ctrl+b to Ctrl+Space. The send-prefix binding lets you send Ctrl+Space to nested tmux sessions by pressing it twice.

Mnemonic Split Bindings

bind - split-window -v
bind '|' split-window -h

- looks like a horizontal line (top/bottom split). | looks like a vertical line (left/right split).

Prefix-Free Navigation

bind -n M-Left select-pane -L
bind -n M-Right select-pane -R
bind -n M-Up select-pane -U
bind -n M-Down select-pane -D
bind -n M-h select-pane -L
bind -n M-j select-pane -D
bind -n M-k select-pane -U
bind -n M-l select-pane -R
bind -n M-z resize-pane -Z

All Alt+ shortcuts work without the prefix key. Arrow keys and vim-style hjkl both work for pane navigation.

Window and Session Shortcuts

bind -n M-PageUp previous-window
bind -n M-PageDown next-window
bind -n M-1 select-window -t 1
bind -n M-2 select-window -t 2
bind -n M-3 select-window -t 3
bind -n M-Home switch-client -p
bind -n M-End switch-client -n

Prefix-free window switching with Alt+PageUp/Down and session switching with Alt+Home/End.

Swap Pane Table

bind S switch-client -T opencode-swap
bind -T opencode-swap Left swap-pane -s '{left-of}'
bind -T opencode-swap Right swap-pane -s '{right-of}'
bind -T opencode-swap Up swap-pane -s '{up-of}'
bind -T opencode-swap Down swap-pane -s '{down-of}'
bind -T opencode-swap h swap-pane -s '{left-of}'
bind -T opencode-swap j swap-pane -s '{down-of}'
bind -T opencode-swap k swap-pane -s '{up-of}'
bind -T opencode-swap l swap-pane -s '{right-of}'

Press Prefix S (then release), then use arrows or hjkl to swap the current pane with the one in that direction.

Rename Table

bind e switch-client -T opencode-rename
bind -T opencode-rename w command-prompt -I "#W" { rename-window "%%" }
bind -T opencode-rename s command-prompt -I "#S" { rename-session "%%" }
bind -T opencode-rename p command-prompt -I "#{pane_title}" { select-pane -T "%%" }

Press Prefix e (then release), then w to rename window, s to rename session, or p to set pane title.

Quick Actions

bind a if-shell -F '#{mouse}' 'set -g mouse off' 'set -g mouse on'
bind N command-prompt -p "new session name" { new-session -s "%%" }
bind W new-window
bind L switch-client -l
bind X confirm-before -p "kill-window #W? (y/n)" kill-window
bind k confirm-before -p "kill-session #S? (y/n)" kill-session

Toggle mouse mode with Prefix a. Create new named sessions with Prefix N. Prefix X kills the current window with a safety prompt, Prefix k kills the current session with a safety prompt.

Copy Mode Additions

bind -T copy-mode S-Left send-keys -X begin-selection \; send-keys -X cursor-left
bind -T copy-mode S-Right send-keys -X begin-selection \; send-keys -X cursor-right
bind -T copy-mode C-S-Left send-keys -X begin-selection \; send-keys -X previous-word
bind -T copy-mode C-S-Right send-keys -X begin-selection \; send-keys -X next-word-end
bind -T copy-mode h send-keys -X begin-selection \; send-keys -X cursor-left
bind -T copy-mode j send-keys -X begin-selection \; send-keys -X cursor-down
bind -T copy-mode k send-keys -X begin-selection \; send-keys -X cursor-up
bind -T copy-mode l send-keys -X begin-selection \; send-keys -X cursor-right
bind -T copy-mode C-a send-keys -X history-top \; send-keys -X begin-selection \; send-keys -X history-bottom \; send-keys -X copy-pipe-and-cancel

Shift+arrow starts a character selection. Ctrl+Shift+arrow extends by word. hjkl in copy mode also selects while moving. Ctrl+a selects and copies all content (select all).

Plugin Block

set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tpm'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-resurrect'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-continuum'
set -g @continuum-restore 'on'
set -g @resurrect-dir "$HOME/.local/share/tmux/resurrect"
set -g @resurrect-capture-pane-contents 'on'
set -g @resurrect-processes 'yazi opencode ssh btop visidata python3'

Three plugins active: TPM for management, resurrect for manual save/restore, continuum for auto-save.

Backup Hook

set -g @resurrect-hook-post-save-layout '
  mkdir -p ~/github/common-config/tmux/gc-sg-m16/continuum/$(date +%F) &&
  cp "$1" ~/github/common-config/tmux/gc-sg-m16/continuum/$(date +%F)/tmux-resurrect-$(hostname)-$(basename "$1") &&
  find ~/github/common-config/tmux/gc-sg-m16/continuum/ -mindepth 2 -type f -mtime +60 -delete &&
  find ~/github/common-config/tmux/gc-sg-m16/continuum/ -mindepth 1 -type d -empty -delete'

Every save triggers a copy to a dated directory under common-config for git tracking. Backups older than 60 days are cleaned up automatically.

Final Bindings

run '~/.tmux/plugins/tpm/tpm'
bind w choose-tree -Zw

TPM must be the last line. Prefix w opens the searchable session/window/pane tree.