Build Custom CLI tool: Tmux-sessionizer

After setting up NeoVim and customizing tmux to fit my workflow, I found myself facing a new challenge: efficiently switching between different projects. Opening terminals, navigating to the right directories, creating tmux sessions, and setting up the same window structure over and over was becoming tedious. I decided it was time to automate this process with my own CLI tool.

The Problem

My development routine typically looked like this:

• Open a terminal
• Navigate to my project directory
• Create a new tmux session
• Create windows for coding, running servers, and using git
• Repeat this process for each project I worked on

This was manageable but far from efficient. I wanted a single command that would:

• Let me quickly select a project from my repositories

• Create a consistently structured tmux session for that project if one didn't exist

• Switch to an existing session if it was already running

The Solution

I created a simple bash script that I call tmux-sessionizer. Here's the complete code:

Despite being just under 30 lines, this script has completely transformed how I navigate between projects. Let me explain how it works.

Breaking Down the Script

Let's walk through each part of the script to understand what's happening:

This sets the search directory to either the first argument passed to the script or defaults to $HOME/Git where I keep all my repositories.

This uses find to list all directories one level deep and pipes the output to fzf, which provides an interactive fuzzy search interface. The selected directory path is stored in the selected variable.

If no directory is selected (user presses Esc in fzf), the script exits gracefully.

This extracts the directory name from the path and replaces any special characters that might cause issues with tmux session names.

This function handles switching to the tmux session, with different behavior depending on whether the script is run from inside an existing tmux session or not.

Finally, this checks if a session for the selected project already exists. If it does, it switches to it. If not, it creates a new detached session (-d) with three windows: "editor" for coding, "server" for running local servers, and "lazygit" for git operations. Then it switches to this new session.

Making It Part of My Workflow

To make this script easily accessible, I:

• Saved it to ~/.local/bin/tmux-sessionizer or ~/bin/tmux-sessionizer (in reality I used stow to create a symlink to my script)

• Made it executable with chmod +x ~/.local/bin/tmux-sessionizer
• Created an alias in my .zshrc: alias ts="tmux-sessionizer"

Now I can simply type ts and immediately select from all my projects. The script creates a consistent environment for each project, which means less time setting up and more time coding.

The Benefits of Custom CLI Tools

This relatively simple script has saved me countless hours over the past few months. More importantly, it's taught me several valuable lessons about creating my own tools:

• Identify repetitive patterns in your workflow that could be automated

• Start simple and focus on solving just one specific problem

• Combine existing tools rather than reinventing the wheel

• Make the tool fit your workflow, not the other way around

• Refine over time based on how you actually use it

The beauty of creating your own CLI tools is that they can be perfectly tailored to your specific needs. While there are many fantastic general-purpose tools available, sometimes the most powerful solution is one you build yourself.

Taking it Futher

This idea is nothing new. I saw similar approaches used by people on the internet. For instance, ThePrimeagen took it way further. For every project he works on, he has a file inside that project called something like ready-tmux and another global script with the same name. Whenever he navigates to one of his projects, the global ready-tmux script checks if the project has its own ready-tmux file and, if it does, it runs it. You got the idea, with this approach, you can have a different tmux setup for each project.

Getting Started with Your Own CLI Tools

If you're interested in creating your own CLI tools, here's how I recommend getting started:

• Identify a pain point in your current workflow

• Start with a simple shell script that addresses just that problem

• Use existing tools like find, grep, and fzf to handle common tasks

• Make the script executable and add it to your PATH

• Iterate based on usage - the best improvements come from daily use

Don't worry about creating the perfect tool from the start. The most useful tools evolve over time based on real-world usage.

Conclusion

Creating my tmux project switcher has fundamentally changed how I work. What started as a simple script to save a few keystrokes has become an essential part of my development workflow. More importantly, it opened my eyes to the possibilities of creating custom tools tailored to my specific needs.

If you find yourself repeatedly performing the same sequence of commands, consider creating your own CLI tool. It doesn't have to be complex or sophisticated—even a simple script can save you time and make your development workflow more enjoyable.

Keep in touch and happy automating!