Tmux persistent sessions

Source: Notion | Last edited: 2024-11-06 | ID: 1302d2dc-3ef...

It’s more powerful than the screen Ubuntu: screen - How to Keep a Process Running After Logging Out

Step by step guide to use Tmux + Cursor / VSCode

Ask LLM on how to install Tmux on your Linux workstation; and install Tmux on your Linux. Or if you’re on Ubuntu, simply run sudo apt update && sudo apt install tmux
Install fzf, too: sudo apt install fzf
Add additional content snippet to the settings.json under the .vscode folder of your project directory in your Cursor / VScode IDE
Follow the instruction on the ~7min long video to find out how to use the Tmux to persist your terminal sessions.

Video file

The `settings.json` snippet described in the video above:

@Anonymous @Anonymous New fixes.

2024-11-01 bug fixes for tmux-create-named-session so that the mouse scroll would scroll the terminal windows but not the prompt history log; add detailed docstrings

2024-10-31 bug fixes for tmux-wipe-all; no more errors popping up. Compatible with different OS(s). Terminal tab title is more elegantly displaying the SHELL and folder name.

{
    "terminal.integrated.profiles.linux": { // NOTE: Ensure to modify 'linux' to your OS ('windows' or 'osx') in the profile name! If using SSH, the OS refers to the remote system.
        /**
         * Creates a new tmux session with a user-defined or timestamp-based name.
         *
         * Workflow:
         * - Checks if tmux is already running.
         * - If not, prompts the user to enter a session name.
         * - Defaults to a timestamp if no name is provided.
         * - Initiates a new tmux session with mouse support and specific terminal overrides.
         * - If tmux is already active, notifies the user.
         */
        "tmux-create-named-session": {
            "path": "${env:SHELL}",
            "args": ["-c", "if [ -z \"$TMUX\" ]; then timestamp=$(date '+%y%m%d-%H%M'); echo 'Creating new tmux session...'; echo 'Default name will be: '$timestamp; read '?Enter session name (Enter for default): ' name; session_name=${name:-$timestamp}; final_name=$timestamp'_'${session_name// /_}; echo 'Starting session: '$final_name; tmux new -s \"$final_name\" \\; set -g mouse on \\; set -g terminal-overrides 'xterm*:smcup@:rmcup@' \\; set-environment TERM_PROGRAM tmux || echo 'Failed to create session'; else echo 'Already in tmux session'; fi; $SHELL"],
            "icon": "rocket"
        },

        /**
         * Switches to an existing tmux session selected by the user via fzf.
         *
         * Workflow:
         * - Verifies if fzf is installed.
         * - Checks for active tmux sessions.
         * - Presents a selection menu using fzf for the user to choose a session.
         * - Attaches to the selected session or switches the client if already in tmux.
         * - Handles scenarios where no session is selected or if switching fails.
         */
        "tmux-switch": {
            "path": "${env:SHELL}",
            "args": ["-c", "if command -v fzf >/dev/null 2>&1; then if tmux ls >/dev/null 2>&1; then selected=$(tmux list-sessions -F '#{session_name}' | fzf --height=40% --reverse --header='Select session to attach (ESC to cancel):') && if [ -n \"$selected\" ]; then if [ -z \"$TMUX\" ]; then tmux attach -t \"$selected\" || echo 'Failed to attach to session'; else tmux switch-client -t \"$selected\" || echo 'Failed to switch session'; fi; else echo 'No session selected'; fi; else echo 'No tmux sessions running'; fi; else echo 'Please install fzf using your package manager'; fi; $SHELL"],
            "icon": "split-horizontal"
        },

        /**
         * Kills a selected tmux session chosen by the user via fzf.
         *
         * Workflow:
         * - Checks if fzf is installed.
         * - Verifies the existence of active tmux sessions.
         * - Utilizes fzf to present a selection menu for session termination.
         * - Attempts to kill the selected session and notifies the user of the outcome.
         * - Handles cases where no session is selected or if killing fails.
         */
        "tmux-wipe-a-selected": {
            "path": "${env:SHELL}",
            "args": ["-c", "if command -v fzf >/dev/null 2>&1; then if tmux ls >/dev/null 2>&1; then selected=$(tmux list-sessions -F '#{session_name}' | fzf --height=40% --reverse --header='Select session to kill (ESC to cancel):') && if [ -n \"$selected\" ]; then tmux kill-session -t \"$selected\" && echo \"Killed session: $selected\" || echo 'Failed to kill session'; else echo 'No session selected'; fi; else echo 'No tmux sessions running'; fi; else echo 'Please install fzf using your package manager'; fi; $SHELL"],
            "icon": "chrome-close"
        },

        /**
         * Terminates all running tmux sessions and cleans up related processes.
         *
         * Workflow:
         * - Checks if any tmux processes are active.
         * - Attempts to kill the tmux server, suppressing errors.
         * - Notifies the user of successful or failed termination.
         * - Cleans up any lingering tmux-related processes by matching specific command patterns.
         * - Restarts the shell session.
         */
        "tmux-wipe-all": {
            "path": "${env:SHELL}",
            "args": ["-c", "if pgrep tmux >/dev/null 2>&1; then (tmux kill-server 2>/dev/null || true) && echo 'All sessions cleaned' || echo 'Failed to kill all sessions'; pkill -f 'tmux.*create-named-session' 2>/dev/null; pkill -f 'tmux.*switch' 2>/dev/null; pkill -f 'tmux.*wipe' 2>/dev/null; else echo 'No tmux sessions running'; fi && exec $SHELL"],
            "icon": "clear-all"
        }
    },
    "terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.windows": "cmd", // Change to your preferred shell on Windows (e.g., "cmd", "git-bash", "pwsh", "PowerShell")
    "terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.linux": "bash", // Change to your preferred shell on Linux (e.g., "zsh", "fish", "sh", "ksh")
    "terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.osx": "zsh", // Change to your preferred shell on macOS (e.g., "bash", "fish", "tcsh")
    "terminal.integrated.tabs.enabled": true,
    "terminal.integrated.tabs.location": "right",
    "terminal.integrated.scrollback": 100000000,
    "terminal.integrated.allowChords": false,
    "terminal.integrated.persistentSessionReviveProcess": "never",
    "terminal.integrated.enablePersistentSessions": true,
    "terminal.integrated.tabs.title": "${process}${separator}${workspaceFolder}",
    "terminal.integrated.tabs.description": "${local}${separator}${cwdFolder}",
    "terminal.integrated.tabs.showActiveTerminal": "always",
    "terminal.integrated.tabs.separator": " - ",
    "terminal.integrated.tabs.hideCondition": "never"
}

The demo SHELL script for long session running:

#!/bin/bash
LOG_FILE="~/scripts/progress.log"
SCRIPT_NAME=$(basename "$0")

# Color definitions
RED='\033[0;31m'
GREEN='\033[0;32m'
BLUE='\033[0;34m'
YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
MAGENTA='\033[0;35m'
CYAN='\033[0;36m'
NC='\033[0m' # No Color

echo -e "${BLUE}[${MAGENTA}${SCRIPT_NAME}${BLUE}]${NC} Starting long-running process at $(date)" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
for i in {1..100}; do
    PERCENT="${YELLOW}${i}${NC}"
    echo -e "${BLUE}[${MAGENTA}${SCRIPT_NAME}${BLUE}]${NC} ${CYAN}Iteration ${PERCENT}${GREEN} (Progress: ${PERCENT}%)${NC} at $(date)" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
sleep 8
done
echo -e "${BLUE}[${MAGENTA}${SCRIPT_NAME}${BLUE}]${NC} ${GREEN}Process completed at $(date)${NC}" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"

Tmux persistent sessions

Step by step guide to use Tmux + Cursor / VSCode

The settings.json snippet described in the video above:

The `settings.json` snippet described in the video above: