Muxi

Create dynamic shortcuts for your tmux sessions!

Stop wasting time navigating between tmux sessions. Muxi lets you create keyboard shortcuts for your most-used sessions, switch between them with FZF, and manage everything from a simple config file.

Features

• 🚀 Dynamic session bookmarks - Create keyboard shortcuts for any tmux session
• ⚡ FZF integration - Fuzzy-find and switch sessions instantly
• 🎯 Lua configuration - Flexible, programmable config with sensible defaults
• 🔌 Plugin management - Install and update tmux plugins (experimental)
• 🎨 Multiple workflows - Native tmux menu, FZF popup, or custom bindings
• 📝 Simple session file - Edit your sessions in TOML with your favorite editor

Quick Start

1. Install muxi:

cargo install muxi

2. Add to your tmux.conf:

if "type muxi" {
  run -b "muxi init"
}

3. Reload tmux config:

tmux source ~/.tmux.conf

4. Create your first session bookmark: <prefix>gJ will make a bookmark for j

5. Now press <prefix>gj to jump to your muxi session instantly!

Installation

From crates.io

cargo install muxi

From source

git clone https://github.com/iovis/muxi
cd muxi
cargo install --path .

Usage

❯ muxi
Create bookmarks for your tmux sessions on the fly! 🚀

Usage: muxi <COMMAND>

Commands:
  init         Register within Tmux and add bindings
  config       See and edit your settings [aliases: c]
  ls           List sessions
  sessions     See and manage your muxi sessions [aliases: s]
  plugins      See and manage your tmux plugins [aliases: p]
  completions  Generate completions for your shell
  fzf          Spawn a FZF popup to manage your muxi sessions [aliases: f]
  help         Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)

Options:
  -h, --help     Print help
  -V, --version  Print version

Configuration

Lua

You can provide an init.lua in one of the following locations:

• $MUXI_CONFIG_PATH/init.lua
• $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/muxi/init.lua
• ~/.config/muxi/init.lua

Or run muxi config edit to open it in your favorite $EDITOR

return {
  -- Optional: Use tmux <prefix> to define muxi's table (default: true)
  tmux_prefix = true

  -- Optional: Muxi's table binding (default: "g")
  muxi_prefix = "g" -- will bind to <prefix>g if tmux_prefix is true

  -- Optional: Uppercase letters will set the current session (default: true)
  uppercase_overrides = true

  -- Optional: Set current session path to current pane's path (default: false)
  use_current_pane_path = false

  -- Optional: open editor with certain arguments
  editor = {
    command = "nvim", -- (default: $EDITOR or "vi")
    args = { "+ZenMode", "-c", "nmap q <cmd>silent wqa<cr>" }, -- (default: {})
  },

  -- Optional: Define tmux plugins (EXPERIMENTAL)
  plugins = {
    "tmux-plugins/tmux-continuum",
    "tmux-plugins/tmux-resurrect",
    "tmux-plugins/tmux-yank",
  },

  -- Optional: FZF integration
  -- Use <alt-x> to navigate directly to session `x`
  fzf = {
    input = false,  -- Use --no-input (default: false)
    bind_sessions = false,  -- Bind the key of the session to switch to it (default: false)
    args = { "--color=input-border:black" }, -- Extra arguments for FZF (default: {})
  },

  -- Optional bindings to be created on tmux muxi table (Examples shown)
  bindings = {
    -- <prefix>ge => edit your sessions file (You can pass optional arguments to your editor after "--")
    e = {
      popup = { title = " sessions " },
      command = "muxi sessions edit -- +ZenMode",
    },

    -- <prefix>gc => edit config
    c = {
      popup = {
        title = " config ",
        width = "75%",
        height = "60%",
      },
      command = "muxi config edit -- -c 'nmap <silent> q :wqa<cr>'",
    },

    -- <prefix>gs => session switcher
    s = { popup = { title = " muxi " }, command = "muxi sessions switch --interactive" },

    -- <prefix>g/ => FZF integration
    ["/"] = { command = "muxi fzf" },

    -- <prefix>gt => session switcher (native tmux menu)
    t = { command = "muxi sessions switch --tmux-menu" },

    -- You can bind your own commands too!
    -- `tmux run-shell "tmux switch-client -l"`
    ["Space"] = { command = "tmux switch-client -l" },

    g = { command = "tmux new-window htop" },
  }
}

And start muxi in your tmux.conf:

# ~/.tmux.conf
if "type muxi" {
  run -b "muxi init"
}

Tmux variables

You can alternatively define settings entirely from your tmux config:

# If you're going to define bindings on the muxi table, don't use `-b`
run "muxi init"

# Defining bindings on the muxi table:
# <prefix>ge => Edit sessions in your editor
bind -T muxi e popup -w 76% -h 75% -b rounded -T " sessions " -E "muxi sessions edit -- +ZenMode -c 'nmap <silent> q :wqa<cr>'"

# TIP: Using the native tmux menu is a good alternative to the common workflow,
# it'll map your session bindings to the menu
bind 'f' run 'muxi sessions switch --tmux-menu'

Sessions

Running muxi sessions edit will open your sessions.toml file, which should look something like the following:

# <key> = { name = <session_name>, path = <session_path> }
d = { name = "dotfiles", path = "~/.dotfiles" }
m = { name = "muxi", path = "~/Sites/rust/muxi/" }
n = { name = "notes", path = "~/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/notes" }

This is the file that muxi will use to generate your session bindings and keep state. After exiting your editor, muxi will re-sync the sessions (same with your configuration!)

Session Commands

# Edit sessions in your $EDITOR
muxi sessions edit

# List all sessions
muxi sessions list

# Manage sessions with FZF popup
# - Enter: switch to session
# - Ctrl-x: delete session
# - Ctrl-r: edit sessions
# - Ctrl-e: edit config
# - Alt-p: toggle preview
# - Alt-r: rotate preview
# - Alt-[key]: switch to session with <key>
# - Alt-[KEY]: set current session to <key> (uppercase_overrides must be true)
muxi fzf

# Switch sessions using native tmux menu
muxi sessions switch --tmux-menu

# Delete a session
muxi sessions delete <key>

# Set a session (create or update)
muxi sessions set <key>

Plugins (Experimental)

Muxi provides experimental support for managing tmux plugins. Plugins are cloned from GitHub and stored in $XDG_DATA_HOME/muxi/plugins/ (or ~/.local/share/muxi/plugins/).

Configuration

Define plugins in your init.lua:

return {
  plugins = {
    "tmux-plugins/tmux-continuum",
    "tmux-plugins/tmux-resurrect",
    "tmux-plugins/tmux-yank",
  },
}

Commands

# Install all configured plugins
muxi plugins install

# Update all plugins
muxi plugins update

# List plugins with their install status
muxi plugins list

# Source all installed plugins (call this in tmux.conf)
muxi plugins init

Sourcing Plugins

To automatically source your plugins in tmux, add this to your tmux.conf:

# Set plugin options before loading!
set -g @continuum-restore 'on'
set -g @continuum-save-interval '5'

if "type muxi" {
  run -b "muxi init"
  run -b "muxi plugins init"
}

Note: This feature is experimental and may change in future versions. muxi init and muxi plugins init are independent; you can use one without the other.

Why Muxi?

Muxi is designed for developers who want a lightweight, flexible way to manage tmux sessions without the overhead of full session managers.

vs tmuxinator/tmuxp: No YAML files, no session templates. Just bookmarks with keyboard shortcuts. Create sessions on the fly, not in advance.

vs tmux-resurrect: Muxi doesn't save/restore your entire environment. It gives you quick access to session directories you care about.

vs native tmux: Muxi adds the missing keyboard shortcuts layer. Instead of <prefix>s → navigate list → find session → enter, just press <prefix>gm.

vs custom shell scripts: Muxi handles tmux integration, path resolution, config reloading, and provides a consistent UI.

Troubleshooting

Command not found after install

Make sure ~/.cargo/bin is in your $PATH:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
# or ~/.zshrc, ~/.config/fish/config.fish, etc.

Tmux doesn't detect muxi

Check that muxi is in your PATH from within tmux:

tmux run "which muxi"

If empty, add the full path to your tmux.conf:

if "test -x $HOME/.cargo/bin/muxi" {
    run -b "$HOME/.cargo/bin/muxi init"
}

Bindings don't work

1. Verify muxi is initialized: muxi --help
2. Reload your tmux config: tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf
3. Check your muxi table bindings: tmux list-keys -T muxi

Editor doesn't open

Muxi uses $EDITOR by default. Set it in your shell config:

export EDITOR=nvim  # or vim, code, etc.

Or override in your init.lua:

return {
  editor = { command = "nvim" },
}

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT