tmux/Tutorial/Kanban for Agentic Coding

• tmux as a Kanban for Agentic Coding (Minimal Tutorial)

• Goal

  Use tmux window/pane titles as live "cards" that reflect issue + agent status (e.g., #342 auth-bug [working], #517 deps [PR]).
  

• 1) Absolute minimum tmux concepts

• Session = workspace
• Window = a card (one issue)
• Pane = subprocess in a card (Claude, tests, logs, etc.)
• Prefix = Ctrl-b (default)

• 2) Commands you actually need

• Create a card (window)

• Prefix c → new window

• Rename a card (set issue + status)

• Prefix , → rename window interactively

• Jump between cards

• Prefix w → list windows
• Prefix 0..9 → jump by index

• Close a card when merged

• Prefix & → kill window

• 3) Make titles automatic (one-time config)

  Add to ~/.tmux.conf:
  

  • # Allow programs to rename panes/windows
    set -g allow-rename on
    
    # Prefer window name set by tmux when available
    set -g automatic-rename off
    
    # Show window name in status bar
    set -g set-titles on
    set -g set-titles-string "#S:#W"

    Reload config inside tmux:
    

  • tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf

• 4) Update status from inside the terminal (no tmux commands needed)

  From any shell in a pane, change the window name (card title):
  

  • tmux rename-window "#342 auth-bug [working]"

    Change just the pane title (useful if you split panes later):
    

  • printf '\033]2;%s\007' "Claude: planning"

• 5) Minimal workflow pattern

• Prefix c → new window
• tmux rename-window "#NNN short-title [todo]"
• Start Claude Code in that window
• As it progresses:

  • tmux rename-window "#NNN short-title [working]"
    tmux rename-window "#NNN short-title [PR]"
    tmux rename-window "#NNN short-title [merged]"

• Prefix & → close when done
• You now have a tmux-based Kanban.

• 6) Optional: tiny helpers (quality of life)

  Put in your shell rc (.bashrc / .zshrc / .fish):
  

  • issue() {
    tmux rename-window "$1"
    }
    
    status() {
    local cur="$(tmux display-message -p '#W')"
    tmux rename-window "${cur%%[*}[$1]"
    }

    Usage:
    

  • issue "#342 auth-bug [todo]"
    status working
    status PR
    status merged

• 7) Mental model

• Window name = card title + state
• Kill window = close card
• Window list = Kanban board
• That's it. Nothing else required.