Beginners on Nick Liu - Software Engineer

Make tmux Show What Each Window Is Doing

nickboy@users.noreply.github.com (Nick Liu) — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

If you use tmux, you've hit this: ten windows open and they're all named `zsh` or `node`. Which one had your AI agent running? No idea. Let's make tmux label windows usefully.

Tested with Claude Code 2.1.x · macOS / Linux

New to tmux? It’s a “terminal multiplexer”: it splits one terminal into many windows and panes that survive disconnects. The only vocabulary you need here: a window is like a browser tab inside tmux; the bar at the bottom lists them. The prefix is the key you press before a tmux command, commonly Ctrl+b (mine is Ctrl+a).

Why everything is named `zsh`
#

By default tmux has a setting called automatic-rename turned on. It renames each window after whatever program is running in it. A shell? zsh. A Node program (like Claude Code)? node. Helpful in theory, useless when everything collapses to the same word.

Running Several AI Coding Agents Without Losing Track

nickboy@users.noreply.github.com (Nick Liu) — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Once you're comfortable with AI coding agents, you start running several at once: one refactoring here, one writing tests there, one stuck waiting for your approval. Keeping them straight is its own little skill.

Tested with Claude Code 2.1.x · macOS / Linux

Here are two ways to do it: a lightweight tmux plugin, and (briefly) dedicated “AI terminal” apps.

Stop Losing Your Claude Code Conversations

nickboy@users.noreply.github.com (Nick Liu) — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

You're deep in a great Claude Code conversation. You close the terminal. The next day you want to pick up where you left off… and you can't find it. Sound familiar? Let's fix that.

Tested with Claude Code 2.1.x · macOS / Linux

What is a “session,” and where does it go?
#

Every time you run claude, you start a session, one conversation, with its full history. When you quit, that history doesn’t vanish. Claude Code saves it to disk, organized per project folder, here:

Your First Claude Code Hook: Auto-Name Every Session

nickboy@users.noreply.github.com (Nick Liu) — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In Part 1 we learned that named sessions are easy to find. Now let's make naming automatic with a hook. This is also a perfect first hook project, so I'll explain the whole idea from scratch.

Tested with Claude Code 2.1.x · macOS / Linux

Part 1 left us with one chore: you still have to remember to name your sessions. Let’s delete that chore.

Beginners on Nick Liu - Software Engineer

Make tmux Show What Each Window Is Doing

Why everything is named zsh #

Running Several AI Coding Agents Without Losing Track

Stop Losing Your Claude Code Conversations

What is a “session,” and where does it go? #

Your First Claude Code Hook: Auto-Name Every Session

Why everything is named `zsh`
#

What is a “session,” and where does it go?
#