setup-tmux

Setup tmux

Set up a fully configured tmux environment on macOS with an optimized configuration, Dracula theme, and essential plugins.

What gets installed

• tmux (via Homebrew if not present)
• TPM (Tmux Plugin Manager)
• Plugins: vim-tmux-navigator, Dracula theme (cpu/ram/network status)
• Optimized config with these highlights:
  • Prefix: Ctrl-a (instead of default Ctrl-b)
  • Pane splitting: prefix + \ (horizontal), prefix + - (vertical)
  • Vim-style pane resize: prefix + h/j/k/l
  • Alt+arrow pane switching (no prefix needed)
  • Native copy/paste with pbcopy (mouse select, double/triple-click)
  • Heavy pane borders with green active border
  • 50,000 lines history, auto-renumber windows
  • Ghostty hyperlinks passthrough, OSC 52 clipboard

Quick setup

Run the bundled script which handles everything automatically — installing tmux, backing up any existing config, deploying the optimized config, installing TPM and plugins:

bash ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/setup-tmux.sh

The script backs up any existing ~/.tmux.conf before overwriting.

Manual / selective setup

If the user only wants part of the config (e.g., just the keybindings or just the theme), read the bundled config at ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/tmux.conf and apply only the relevant sections to their existing config.

Key bindings reference

Action	Binding
Prefix	Ctrl-a
Split horizontal	prefix + \
Split vertical	prefix + -
Resize pane	prefix + h/j/k/l
Zoom pane	prefix + m
Switch pane	Alt + arrow keys
Reload config	prefix + r
Paste	prefix + p
Create named window	prefix + c

Customization

After setup, the user can modify ~/.tmux.conf directly. The config is structured with clear section comments. Common customizations:

• Dracula plugins: Change @dracula-plugins to add/remove status bar widgets (battery, git, gpu-usage, weather, time, etc.)
• Pane borders: Change pane-border-lines to simple, double, or number
• Active border color: Modify pane-active-border-style (current: bright green)