Workflow 001: Remote Development

Fresh

Use tmux for persistent remote development sessions that survive disconnections.

When to Use

• Working on remote servers via SSH
• Need sessions to persist through network issues
• Running long processes (builds, deployments)
• Want IDE-like layouts in the terminal

Workflow Overview

Initial Setup

1. SSH to Server

ssh user@server.example.com

2. Start Named Session

# Create or attach to session named "dev"
tmux new-session -A -s dev

The -A flag

-A means "attach if exists, otherwise create" - perfect for reconnection!

3. Set Up Layout

Create an IDE-like development layout:

# Start with editor pane
vim .

# Split right for terminal
Ctrl+b %

# In right pane, split bottom for logs
Ctrl+b "

# Navigate to bottom-right, run commands
cd logs && tail -f app.log

Result:

+------------------+------------------+
|                  |                  |
|                  |    Terminal      |
|     Editor       |                  |
|                  +------------------+
|                  |                  |
|                  |      Logs        |
+------------------+------------------+

Daily Workflow

Connect and Attach

# One command to SSH and attach
ssh -t user@server "tmux new-session -A -s dev"

Add to ~/.bashrc as alias:

alias dev='ssh -t server "tmux new-session -A -s dev"'

Detach When Done

Ctrl+b d    # Detach (session keeps running)

Handle Disconnections

If your network drops, just reconnect:

ssh user@server
tmux attach -t dev
# Everything is exactly as you left it!

Advanced Setup

SSH Config for Quick Access

Add to ~/.ssh/config:

Host dev-server
    HostName server.example.com
    User username
    RequestTTY yes
    RemoteCommand tmux new-session -A -s dev

Now just:

ssh dev-server

Startup Script for Complex Layouts

Create ~/dev-layout.sh on the server:

#!/bin/bash
SESSION="dev"

# Kill existing session
tmux kill-session -t $SESSION 2>/dev/null

# Create session with editor window
tmux new-session -d -s $SESSION -n editor -c ~/project

# Split for terminal
tmux split-window -h -t $SESSION:editor -c ~/project

# Split for logs
tmux split-window -v -t $SESSION:editor.1 -c ~/project

# Create separate window for git
tmux new-window -t $SESSION -n git -c ~/project

# Create window for monitoring
tmux new-window -t $SESSION -n monitor -c ~/project
tmux send-keys -t $SESSION:monitor 'htop' C-m

# Set up main layout
tmux select-window -t $SESSION:editor
tmux select-pane -t $SESSION:editor.0

# Attach
tmux attach -t $SESSION

Keep-Alive Configuration

Prevent SSH timeouts in ~/.ssh/config:

Host *
    ServerAliveInterval 60
    ServerAliveCountMax 3

Multi-Server Workflow

Use local tmux to manage connections to multiple servers:

# Local machine
tmux new -s servers

# Split into panes
Ctrl+b %    # Split
Ctrl+b "    # Split again

# SSH to different servers in each pane
# Pane 0: ssh server1
# Pane 1: ssh server2
# Pane 2: ssh server3

# Synchronize if needed (same command to all)
:setw synchronize-panes on

Best Practices

1. Always use named sessions - Makes reconnection easy
2. Use new-session -A - Prevents duplicate sessions
3. Keep layouts simple - Complex setups are hard to restore
4. Script complex setups - Reproducible environments
5. Use SSH keys - Faster reconnection

Troubleshooting

Can't attach - session exists but is attached elsewhere

# Force detach other clients
tmux attach -dt dev

Session disappeared after server reboot

Note

tmux sessions don't survive reboots. Use your setup script to recreate. Consider tools like tmux-resurrect for persistence.

Nested tmux (local + remote)

Change prefix on one of them:

# On remote server ~/.tmux.conf
set -g prefix C-a
unbind C-b
bind C-a send-prefix

Now:

• Ctrl+b controls local tmux
• Ctrl+a controls remote tmux

See Also

• SOP-002: Session Management
• SOP-006: Configuration
• Workflow: Multi-Project Setup