Dmux

The Problem

Modern AI-assisted development means juggling multiple terminal sessions simultaneously. You need your code editor, a test runner, an AI coding assistant, a git interface, log watchers, and maybe a database console — all running at once, all visible, all coordinated.

Setting this up manually every time you start working is tedious:

1. Open a terminal
2. Start a tmux session
3. Split panes
4. Navigate to the right directory in each pane
5. Start the right tool in each pane
6. Resize panes to the right proportions
7. Repeat every single day

It's 3-5 minutes of mechanical setup before you write a single line of code. Over a year, that's 15-20 hours of lost productivity just opening your workspace.

For teams using AI coding assistants like Claude Code, the problem compounds. You want Claude running in one pane, your editor in another, tests in a third, and logs in a fourth. Each project might need a different layout. Each context switch means tearing down one workspace and building another.

---

What Dmux Does

Dmux launches complete multi-pane tmux and Claude dev environments with a single command. Define your workspace layout once, then spin it up instantly — every pane, every tool, every directory, ready to go.

dmux

One command. Your entire development environment appears: editor pane, Claude Code session, test runner, log watcher — whatever you've configured, exactly how you want it.

Key Capabilities

Instant workspace launch. Go from cold terminal to fully configured development environment in under 2 seconds. No manual pane splitting, no directory navigation, no tool startup.

Custom layout definitions. Define different workspace layouts for different projects or contexts. A frontend project might need a dev server, browser console, and component storybook. A backend project might need a database console, API tester, and log watcher. Each gets its own layout.

Claude Code integration. First-class support for AI-assisted development workflows. Launch Claude Code in a dedicated pane alongside your editor, with both pointing at the same project directory.

Tmux-native. Built on tmux, the industry-standard terminal multiplexer. All tmux keybindings, features, and plugins work seamlessly. Dmux doesn't replace tmux — it supercharges it.

Session persistence. Tmux sessions survive terminal disconnects. Close your laptop, reopen it, and your entire workspace is exactly where you left it — all panes, all processes, all state preserved.

---

Use Cases

AI-Assisted Development

The primary use case: developing with Claude Code or other AI assistants alongside traditional tools.

Layout: Editor (left, 60%) | Claude Code (top-right, 20%) | Tests/Logs (bottom-right, 20%)

You write code in your editor. Claude runs alongside, ready for questions, code generation, and debugging. Tests auto-run in the third pane. Everything is visible simultaneously — no window switching, no context loss.

Multi-Service Development

Working on a microservices project with multiple services running locally.

Layout: Service A logs (top-left) | Service B logs (top-right) | Editor (bottom-left, 60%) | API tester (bottom-right)

All services are visible at once. When Service A throws an error, you see it immediately — no flipping between tabs or scrolling through combined log output.

Pair Programming with AI

Using multiple AI sessions for different aspects of a project.

Layout: Main Claude session for architecture (left) | Code editor (center) | Second Claude session for testing (right)

One AI assistant helps you design the architecture. Another helps you write tests. You orchestrate in the middle.

DevOps and Infrastructure

Monitoring and managing deployed services.

Layout: Kubectl logs (top) | Deployment status (middle-left) | Metrics dashboard (middle-right) | Terminal (bottom)

Everything you need to monitor, debug, and deploy — in one view.

---

How It Works

1. Install. Clone the repo or install via your package manager.

2. Configure. Define your workspace layouts in a simple configuration file. Specify pane arrangements, sizes, startup commands, and working directories.

3. Launch. Run

dmux

and your workspace appears. That's it.

4. Customize. Add project-specific configurations, create layout variants for different tasks, and share configurations across your team.

---

Why Dmux

Zero-friction startup. The best workflow tool is the one you never think about. Dmux eliminates the mechanical overhead of workspace setup so you can start thinking about code immediately.

Built for the AI era. AI coding assistants are becoming standard development tools. Dmux is designed from the ground up for workflows that include AI — not as an afterthought, but as a first-class citizen.

Tmux, not against it. Dmux builds on tmux instead of replacing it. Your muscle memory, keybindings, and plugins all carry over. It's tmux, just faster to start.

Open source. Dmux is free, open source, and community-driven. Inspect the code, contribute features, fork it for your team.

---

Built by Skunkworks

Dmux came from our own frustration. Our engineering team runs multiple Claude Code sessions alongside editors, test suites, and log watchers every day. Setting up that workspace manually was eating 15-20 minutes a day across the team.

We built Dmux to solve it for ourselves, then open-sourced it because every developer using AI assistants has the same problem.