Terminal and workflow

NAME

terminal - tmux, panes and the shell workflow

DESCRIPTION

Every shell runs inside tmux, with lazygit for git and a few custom scripts. This page assumes:

The tmux prefix is CTRL-A, so Prefix | means CTRL-A, then |.
The From column says whether a key is the tool’s own or one the dotfiles add. The last table lists every tmux key the dotfiles add, generated from the config itself.

Contents

Start or return to your session
Split and move between panes
Work with windows
Switch or close sessions
Copy text from the terminal
Open a git worktree
Read the status bar
Stage, commit, and push with lazygit
Look up a command
Shell shortcuts
Keys the dotfiles add

Start or return to your session

Opening a terminal starts a tmux session of its own, numbered from 0 upward, and leaves the sessions already running alone.

Closing a terminal detaches it rather than ending it, so the shells inside and anything they run keep going. Prefix X ends them after confirming, and Prefix s lists every session and its windows, the way back to one you left. A killed session’s number is reused, so rename with Prefix $ if you mean to find it again. For a shell outside tmux, start the terminal with NO_AUTO_TMUX=1.

Everything between the window opening and the first prompt, including how the SSH key reaches the agent, is on session start.

Do this	Press	From
Detach, leaving everything running	`Prefix d`	tmux
Reload the tmux config after editing it	`Prefix r`	dotfiles
Send CTRL-A to the program, such as bash’s jump to the start of the line	`Prefix CTRL-A`	dotfiles

Split and move between panes

New panes and windows open in the current pane’s folder. The mouse works too: click a pane to focus it, and drag a border to resize.

Do this	Press	From
Split side by side	`Prefix \|`	dotfiles
Split top and bottom	`Prefix -`	dotfiles
Focus the pane to the left	`Prefix h`	dotfiles
Focus the pane below	`Prefix j`	dotfiles
Focus the pane above	`Prefix k`	dotfiles
Focus the pane to the right	`Prefix l`	dotfiles
Zoom a pane to fill the window, and back	`Prefix z`	tmux
Close a pane	`Prefix x`	tmux

Work with windows

Windows are numbered from 1, and closing one renumbers the rest.

Do this	Press	From
Open a window	`Prefix c`	dotfiles
Go to window 1 to 9	`Prefix 1` to `Prefix 9`	tmux
Go to the previous window, holding to repeat	`Prefix CTRL-H`	dotfiles
Go to the next window, holding to repeat	`Prefix CTRL-L`	dotfiles
Go back to the last window	`Prefix Backspace`	dotfiles
Rename a window	`Prefix ,`	tmux

Switch or close sessions

Do this	Press	From
Choose a session or window from a tree	`Prefix s`	dotfiles
Kill the session, after confirming	`Prefix X`	dotfiles
Rename the session	`Prefix $`	tmux

Copy text from the terminal

Copy mode moves through the pane’s history like Vim. A copy reaches the system clipboard, even in WSL or over SSH. Scrolling with the mouse also enters copy mode.

Do this	Press	From
Enter copy mode	`Prefix Enter`	dotfiles
Start a selection	`v`	dotfiles
Select whole lines	`V`	dotfiles
Toggle a block selection	`CTRL-V`	dotfiles
Copy the selection and leave	`y`	dotfiles
Leave without copying	`Escape`	dotfiles

Open a git worktree

Prefix e lists the current repo’s worktrees, most recent Claude Code session first, and opens the one you pick in a new pane beside the current one. Outside tmux, run worktree-open for the same list, and it opens a shell in the worktree you pick.

Do this	Press	From
Pick a worktree and open it in a split	`Prefix e`	dotfiles

Read the status bar

The bar lists the windows on the left, and marks a zoomed window with *. On the right, it names Claude Code agents that want you: purple for one waiting on a reply, green for one that’s finished. A yellow PREFIX appears while tmux is waiting for the key after CTRL-A.

Stage, commit, and push with lazygit

Run lazygit in a repo. Every key is lazygit’s own, and ? lists the ones for the panel you’re in.

Do this	Press	From
Stage or unstage the selected file	Space	lazygit
Stage or unstage everything	`a`	lazygit
Stage part of a file, by opening its diff	Enter	lazygit
Commit	`c`	lazygit
Amend the last commit	`A`	lazygit
Push or pull	`P` or `p`	lazygit
Undo the last git action	`z`	lazygit
List the keys for this panel	`?`	lazygit
Quit	`q`	lazygit

Look up a command

cheatsheet tar prints a short cheat sheet for tar from cheat.sh. It works for most commands.

Shell shortcuts

vi and vim both open Neovim. ll lists files with sizes, and la adds hidden files. The prompt shows the current folder, and the git branch when you’re in a repo.

Keys the dotfiles add

Key	Does	Where
`Prefix CTRL-A`	Send CTRL-A to the program in the pane	After the prefix
`Prefix r`	Reload the tmux config	After the prefix
`Prefix \|`	Split the pane side by side	After the prefix
`Prefix -`	Split the pane top and bottom	After the prefix
`Prefix h`	Focus the pane to the left	After the prefix
`Prefix j`	Focus the pane below	After the prefix
`Prefix k`	Focus the pane above	After the prefix
`Prefix l`	Focus the pane to the right	After the prefix
`Prefix c`	Open a window in the current folder	After the prefix
`Prefix Backspace`	Go to the last window	After the prefix
`Prefix CTRL-H`	Go to the previous window (hold to repeat)	After the prefix
`Prefix CTRL-L`	Go to the next window (hold to repeat)	After the prefix
`Prefix Enter`	Enter copy mode	After the prefix
`v`	Start a selection	In copy mode
`V`	Select whole lines	In copy mode
`CTRL-V`	Toggle a block selection	In copy mode
`y`	Copy the selection to the clipboard	In copy mode
`Escape`	Leave copy mode	In copy mode
`Prefix s`	Choose a session or window from a tree	After the prefix
`Prefix e`	Open a git worktree in a split	After the prefix
`Prefix X`	Kill the session, after confirming	After the prefix