Tmux Sessions

Operator uses tmux for terminal session management, providing a customized experience for managing multiple LLM tool agent sessions from a single terminal.

What is `tmux`?

tmux is a program which runs in a terminal and allows multiple other terminal programs to be run inside it. Each program inside tmux gets its own terminal managed by tmux, which can be accessed from the single terminal where tmux is running - this called multiplexing and tmux is a terminal multiplexer.

tmux - and any programs running inside it - may be detached from the terminal where it is running (the outside terminal) and later reattached to the same or another terminal.

Operator! uses tmux to start llm sessions in, so that those sessions can be attached when the llms await input, and detach once work is delegated to.

Custom Configuration

Operator generates a custom .tmux.conf for managed sessions with:

Easy detach binding (Ctrl+a)
Mouse support
Increased scrollback
Custom status bar with agent stats
Operator color theme

Color Theme

The tmux theme uses Operator’s salmon-based palette:

Element	Color	Hex
Background	Salmon	`#cc6c55`
Primary text	Dark teal	`#114145`
Muted text	Darker salmon	`#8a4a3a`
Accent	Tan/cream	`#f4dbb7`
Warning	Red/coral	`#d46048`

Status Bar

The status bar shows:

op:SESSION | 1:window  | 3 agents | 14:30

Agent Display

3 agents - All agents running
2/1 agents - 2 running, 1 awaiting input
PAUSED - Queue is paused

Key Bindings

Binding	Action
`Ctrl+a`	Detach from session
`Ctrl+b` (prefix)	Standard tmux prefix

Configuration File

The generated config includes:

# Operator custom tmux configuration

# Easy detach: Ctrl+a (no prefix needed!)
bind-key -n C-a detach-client

# Increase scrollback buffer
set -g history-limit 10000

# Status bar colors (Operator theme)
set -g status-style "bg=#cc6c55,fg=#114145"

# Left: session name
set -g status-left "#[fg=#f4dbb7,bold] op:#S #[fg=#8a4a3a]| "

# Right: operator stats + time
set -g status-right "#[fg=#8a4a3a]| #(status-script) | %H:%M"

Status Script

The status script reads state.json and outputs:

#!/bin/bash
STATE_FILE="$1"

if command -v jq &> /dev/null; then
    RUNNING=$(jq '[.agents[] | select(.status == "running")] | length' "$STATE_FILE")
    AWAITING=$(jq '[.agents[] | select(.status == "awaiting_input")] | length' "$STATE_FILE")
fi

if [ "$AWAITING" -gt 0 ]; then
    echo "$RUNNING/$AWAITING agents"
else
    echo "$RUNNING agents"
fi

Best Practices

Use Ctrl+a to detach - Quick detach without prefix
Check status bar - Monitor agent count at a glance
Scroll history - Use mouse or vi keys in copy mode
Multiple windows - Organize by project or task