Claude Tmux Hop

Quickly hop between Claude Code sessions running in tmux panes.

Features

• Priority-based cycling: Jump to panes waiting for input first, then idle, then active
• Jump-back: Return to previous pane across sessions/windows with Alt+Space
• Auto-hop: Optionally auto-switch to panes when they need attention
• System notifications: Display OS notification when panes need attention (macOS/Linux/Windows)
• Terminal focus: Automatically bring terminal to foreground when panes need attention (macOS/Linux/Windows)
• Auto-registration: Claude Code hooks automatically track pane states
• Auto-discovery: Existing Claude Code sessions are detected on plugin load
• In-memory state: Uses tmux pane options - no files, auto-cleanup when panes close
• Cross-session navigation: Works across all tmux sessions
• Status bar integration: Show pane counts with customizable icons
• Popup picker: Interactive fzf-based picker with time-in-state display (requires fzf)

Requirements

• uv (for uvx command)
• tmux 3.0+
• Python 3.10+
• Claude Code

Installation

1. Install Claude Code Plugin

claude plugin marketplace add unsafe9/claude-tmux-hop
claude plugin install claude-tmux-hop

2. Install Tmux Plugin (via TPM)

Add to ~/.tmux.conf:

set -g @plugin 'unsafe9/claude-tmux-hop'

Then press prefix + I to install.

That's it! The CLI runs via uvx automatically - no manual Python installation needed.

Any existing Claude Code sessions will be automatically discovered and registered as idle on plugin load.

Usage

Key Bindings

Configuration

Add to ~/.tmux.conf:

# Customize cycle key (default: Space)
set -g @hop-cycle-key 'Space'

# Customize picker key (default: C-Space)
set -g @hop-picker-key 'C-Space'

# Customize back key (default: M-Space, root binding - no prefix)
set -g @hop-back-key 'M-Space'

# Cycle mode (default: priority)
# - priority: cycle within highest-priority group only
# - flat: cycle through all panes in priority order
set -g @hop-cycle-mode 'priority'

# Auto-hop: automatically switch to panes when they enter specific states
# Disabled by default. Set to comma-separated states to enable.
set -g @hop-auto 'waiting'           # Auto-switch when a pane needs input
# set -g @hop-auto 'waiting,idle'    # Also switch when tasks complete

# Priority-only mode (default: on)
# Only auto-hop if no other pane has equal or higher priority
set -g @hop-auto-priority-only 'on'  # Don't hop if another pane is already waiting
# set -g @hop-auto-priority-only 'off'  # Always hop regardless of other panes

# System notification: display OS notification when pane state changes
# Disabled by default. Set to comma-separated states to enable.
set -g @hop-notify 'waiting'         # Notify when a pane needs input
# set -g @hop-notify 'waiting,idle'  # Also notify when tasks complete

# Terminal focus: bring terminal app to foreground when pane state changes
# Disabled by default. Set to comma-separated states to enable.
set -g @hop-focus-app 'waiting'      # Focus terminal when a pane needs input

# Terminal app override (auto-detected from TERM_PROGRAM by default)
# set -g @hop-terminal-app 'iTerm'   # Explicitly set terminal app name

# Note: On macOS, iTerm2 and Terminal.app will focus the specific tab/window
# containing the tmux session, not just bring the app to foreground.

# Status bar integration - show pane counts in status bar
set -g status-right '#{E:@hop-status} | %H:%M'

# Status format (default: "{waiting:󰂜} {idle:󰄬}")
# Syntax: {state:icon} shows "icon count" when count > 0
set -g @hop-status-format '{waiting:󰂜} {idle:󰄬} {active:󰑮}'  # Include active
# set -g @hop-status-format '{waiting:W} {idle:I} {active:A}'  # ASCII icons

CLI Commands

# List all Claude Code panes
uvx claude-tmux-hop list

# Cycle to next pane (usually via keybinding)
uvx claude-tmux-hop cycle

# Jump back to previous pane (cross-session/window)
uvx claude-tmux-hop back

# Show picker menu (fzf popup if available, else display-menu)
uvx claude-tmux-hop picker
uvx claude-tmux-hop picker --menu  # Force display-menu style

# Discover existing Claude Code sessions (runs automatically on plugin load)
uvx claude-tmux-hop discover

# Remove stale state from panes no longer running Claude Code
uvx claude-tmux-hop prune

# Output status for tmux status bar
uvx claude-tmux-hop status

How It Works

Pane States

Cycling Behavior

Controlled by @hop-cycle-mode (default: priority):

Priority mode (set -g @hop-cycle-mode 'priority'):

1. If waiting panes exist, cycle only through waiting panes (oldest first)
2. If no waiting, cycle through idle panes (newest first)
3. If no idle, cycle through active panes (newest first)

Flat mode (set -g @hop-cycle-mode 'flat'):

• Cycle through all panes in priority order (waiting → idle → active)
• Within each priority level, sorted by timestamp

State Storage

State is stored directly on tmux panes using custom options:

• @hop-state: Current state (waiting/idle/active)
• @hop-timestamp: Unix timestamp of last state change

Benefits:

• No external files
• State auto-deleted when pane closes
• Fast (in-memory)

Notifications & Focus

Overview

Two complementary features help you stay aware of Claude Code activity:

Smart Notification Suppression

Notifications are automatically suppressed when you're already looking at the terminal:

1. Checks if terminal app is the frontmost application
2. On macOS iTerm2/Terminal.app: also checks if the correct tab/window is focused
3. If already focused → no notification (avoids redundant alerts)

This prevents notification spam when you're actively working in the terminal.

Auto-Focus Navigation

When @hop-focus-app is enabled, it performs full navigation:

Terminal App → Tab/Window → tmux Session → tmux Window → tmux Pane

Click-to-Focus Notifications (macOS)

When @hop-focus-app is disabled but @hop-notify is enabled, clicking the notification can navigate to the pane.

Requires optional dependency:

brew install terminal-notifier

Without terminal-notifier, notifications still work - you just can't click them to navigate.

Platform Support

macOS (Full Support)

• Notifications: Native via AppleScript display notification
• Focus Detection: AppleScript queries frontmost app and iTerm2/Terminal.app tabs
• App Focus: AppleScript activate command
• Tab Focus: AppleScript searches iTerm2 sessions / Terminal.app windows by tmux session name
• Click-to-Focus: Optional via terminal-notifier

Linux (X11)

• Notifications: notify-send (libnotify)
• Focus Detection: xdotool getactivewindow (X11 only, not Wayland)
• App/Window Focus: wmctrl or xdotool
• Click-to-Focus: Not supported (would require D-Bus complexity)

Windows

• Notifications: PowerShell Toast Notifications (Windows 10+)
• Focus Detection: PowerShell with Win32 GetForegroundWindow
• App Focus: PowerShell WScript.Shell.AppActivate
• Click-to-Focus: Not supported (would require protocol handler)

Recommended Configuration

Option A: Just notifications (minimal)

set -g @hop-notify 'waiting'   # Alert when input needed

Option B: Auto-focus (recommended)

set -g @hop-focus-app 'waiting'   # Auto-navigate when input needed

Option C: Both (belt and suspenders)

set -g @hop-notify 'waiting'      # Alert if not focused
set -g @hop-focus-app 'waiting'   # Also auto-navigate
# Notification is suppressed when focus succeeds, so no duplicate alerts

Terminal App Detection

The terminal app is auto-detected from environment variables:

Supported terminals include:

• macOS: Terminal.app, iTerm2, Alacritty, kitty, WezTerm, Ghostty, Hyper
• IDEs: VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Zed, Antigravity, all JetBrains IDEs
• Linux: gnome-terminal, Konsole, Alacritty, kitty, Tilix, Terminator
• Windows: Windows Terminal, ConEmu, Cmder

License

MIT