tmux/Q/Is there a keyshort to jump back to my previous window, even in a different session, after using prefix w to open the session picker?

• Is there a keyshort to jump back to my previous window, even in a different session, after using tmux/Prefix w to open the tmux/session/Picker?

  • AI Answer

    • Short answer: not in one step by default, but two built-in keyshorts combine to do it.
    • tmux/Keyshort/Window/Last Window (<prefix> l, lowercase) only toggles within the current session — it will not follow you across sessions.
    • The piece that's missing is the session toggle: <prefix> L (capital L, default binding for switch-client -l) switches the client back to the last session it was attached to, including one you just left via the session picker.
    • So, after picking a window in another session with <prefix> w, press <prefix> L to return to the previous session, then <prefix> l if you also need to return to the previously active window inside it.
    • There is no single native keyshort that jumps straight back to the exact prior window regardless of session; it's this two-step combo (<prefix> L then, if needed, <prefix> l).

  • Is there a technical underpinning to bind this as one keyshort in a plugin?

    • Yes. tmux/Commands can be chained with \; in a single bind-key, so a plugin (or a plain config line) can bind one key straight to the combo, e.g. bind-key W switch-client -l \; last-window.
    • gpakosz/.tmux's own .tmux.conf already does the two underlying pieces separately: bind BTab switch-client -l (last session) and bind Tab last-window (last window), confirming both primitives are ordinary bindable commands, not special-cased behavior.
    • For anything smarter than a fixed chain — e.g. only running last-window when the session actually changed, or tracking the exact previously active pane rather than tmux's own single last-session/last-window pointers — a plugin would use run-shell to call a script, and persist its own state between key presses with user options (set -g @my_var ..., read back via #{@my_var} or show-options -gv). The same .tmux.conf uses this exact user-option pattern (e.g. @battery_percentage, @battery_charge) to cache values across separate command invocations.
    • Hooks (set-hook -g client-session-changed, pane-focus-in, etc.) are the mechanism for updating that saved state automatically as focus moves, rather than only on the explicit keypress.
    • A TPM-installed plugin is just a .tmux-suffixed shell script that a user's config sources via run-shell, and which calls bind-key/set-hook itself — no different in kind from hand-written bind-key lines in .tmux.conf.