zolrath / wemux

Multi-User Tmux Made Easy

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wemux enhances tmux to make multi-user terminal multiplexing both easier and more powerful. It allows users to host a wemux server and have clients join in either:

Mirror Mode gives clients (another SSH user on your machine) read-only access to the session, allowing them to see you work, or

Pair Mode allows the client and yourself to work in the same terminal (shared cursor)

Rogue Mode allows the client to pair or work independently in another window (separate cursors) in the same tmux session.

It features multi-server support as well as user listing and notifications when users attach/detach.

How To Install

IMPORTANT: Wemux requires tmux version >= 1.6

MacPorts (on OS X)

If you have MacPorts installed you can install wemux with a very simple:

sudo port install wemux

Homebrew (on OS X)

If you have Homebrew installed you can install wemux with a fairly simple:

brew install wemux

The user that installed wemux will automatically be added to the wemux host list. To change the host or add more hosts, edit /usr/local/etc/wemux.conf and add the username to the host_list array.

Users in the host_list will be able to start new wemux servers, all other users will be wemux clients and join these servers.

$ vim /usr/local/etc/wemux.conf
     OR
$ wemux conf

host_list=(zolrath brocksamson)

Manual Installation

The rest of this readme will operate under the assumption you'll place wemux in wemux/ in your /usr/local/share directory. To make wemux available for all users, perform the following steps, using sudo as required:

Git clone this repo.

git clone git://github.com/zolrath/wemux.git /usr/local/share/wemux

Symlink the wemux file into your $PATH via /usr/local/bin/, being sure to use the full path.

ln -s /usr/local/share/wemux/wemux /usr/local/bin/wemux

IMPORTANT: Copy the wemux.conf.example file to /usr/local/etc/wemux.conf

cp /usr/local/share/wemux/wemux.conf.example /usr/local/etc/wemux.conf

Then set a user to be a wemux host by adding their username to the host_list in /usr/local/etc/wemux.conf. Users in the host_list will be able to start new wemux servers, all other users will be wemux clients and join these servers.

vim /usr/local/etc/wemux.conf
host_list=(zolrath brocksamson)

To upgrade to a new version of wemux return to the /usr/local/share/wemux directory and perform a git pull

Host Commands

wemux start

Use wemux start to start a wemux server, chmod /tmp/wemux-wemux to 1777 so that other users may connect to it, and attach to it. If a wemux server already exists, it will attach to it instead.

wemux attach

Use wemux attach to attach to an existing wemux server.

wemux stop

Use wemux stop to kill the wemux server and remove the /tmp/wemux-wemux socket.

wemux kick username

Use wemux kick <username> to kick an SSH user from the server and remove their wemux rogue sessions.

wemux config

Use wemux config to open /usr/local/etc/wemux.conf in your $EDITOR. Note this only works if you have the environment variable EDITOR configured.

wemux

When wemux is run without any arguments in host mode, it is just like running wemux start. It will reattach to an existing wemux server if it exists, otherwise it will start a new server.

Client Commands

wemux mirror

Use wemux mirror to attach to server in read-only mode.

wemux pair

Use wemux pair to attach to server in pair mode, allowing the client to control the terminal as well.

wemux rogue

Use wemux rogue to attach to server in rogue mode, which allows both editing with the host and switching to windows independently from the host.

wemux logout

Use wemux logout to remove your rogue mode session.

wemux

When wemux is run without any arguments in client mode, its behavior attempts to intelligently select mirror, pair, or rogue:

• If the client does not have an existing rogue session it will attach to the wemux server in pair mode.
• If the client has already started a wemux rogue session, it will reattach to the server in rogue mode.
• If both rogue and pair mode are disabled, it will attach in mirror mode.
• By setting default_client_mode="rogue" in wemux.conf this can be changed to always join in rogue mode, even if a rogue session doesn't already exist.

Other Commands

wemux passes commands it doesn't understand through to tmux with the correct socket setting.

wemux list-sessions is equivalent to entering tmux -S /tmp/wemux-wemux list-sessions

User List

wemux can display a list of connected users, indicating users in mirror mode with [m] at the end of their name.

If you'd like to see a list of all users currently connected to the wemux server, you have three options:

wemux users

Enter wemux users in the terminal to display a list of all currently connected wemux users.

$ wemux users
Users connected to 'wemux':
  1. zolrath
  2. csagan[m]

Status Bar

You can add the user list to your status bar by adding #(wemux status_users) where you see fit by editing your ~/tmux.conf file.

set -g status-right "#(wemux status_users)"

Display Message

If you'd rather display users on command via a tmux message, similar to the user attachment/detachment messages, you can do so by editing your ~/tmux.conf file. Pick whatever key you'd like to bind the displaying the message to. Using t as an example:

unbind t
bind t run-shell 'wemux display_users'

Note that the tmux prefix should be pressed before t to activate the command.

User listing can be disabled by setting allow_user_list="false" in wemux.conf

Short-form Commands

All commands have a short form. s for start, a for attach, p for pair etc. For a complete list, type wemux help (or wemux h)

Multi-Host Capabilities

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wemux supports specifying the joining different wemux servers via wemux join <server>. This allows multiple hosts on the same machine to host their own independent wemux servers with their own clients. By default this option is disabled.

wemux will remember the last server specified to in order to make reconnecting to the same server easy. wemux help will output the currently specified server along with the wemux command list.

Changing servers can be enabled by setting allow_server_change="true" in /usr/local/etc/wemux.conf

Joining Different wemux Servers

To change the wemux server run wemux join <server>. The name will be sanitized to contain no spaces or uppercase letters.

$ wemux join Project X
Changed wemux server from 'wemux' to 'project-x'
$ wemux
$ wemux stop
$ wemux reset
Changed wemux server from 'project-x' to 'wemux'

wemux join servername

Join wemux server with specified name.

$ wemux join rails
Changed wemux server from 'wemux' to 'rails'

wemux join servernumber

Alternatively, enter the server number displayed next to the server name in wemux list.

$ wemux j 1
Changed wemux server from 'rails' to 'project-x'

wemux join

Join with no argument simply displays the current wemux server, if you're into that.

$ wemux join
Current wemux server: wemux

Resetting the Server Name

In order to easily return to the default server you can run wemux reset

wemux reset

Joins the default wemux server: wemux (or value of default_server_name in wemux.conf)

$ wemux reset
Changed wemux server from 'project-x' to 'wemux'

Active Server List

To list the name of all currently running wemux servers run wemux list

wemux list

List all currently active wemux servers.

$ wemux list
Currently active wemux servers:
  1. project-x
  2. rails
  3. wemux    <- current server

wemux join and wemux stop both accept either the name of a server or the number indicated next to the name in wemux list.

Listing servers can be disabled by setting allow_server_list="false" in /usr/local/etc/wemux.conf

Configuration

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There are a number of additional options that be configured in /usr/local/etc/wemux.conf. In most cases the only option that must be changed is the host_list array. To open your wemux configuration file, you can either open /usr/local/etc/wemux.conf manually or run wemux config

Host Mode

To have an account act as host, ensure that you have added their username to the /usr/local/etc/wemux.conf file's host_list array.

host_list=(zolrath hostusername brocksamson)

Pair Mode

Pair mode can be disabled, only allowing clients to attach to the server in mirror mode by setting allow_pair_mode="false"

Rogue Mode

Rogue mode can be disabled, only allowing clients to attach to the server in mirror or pair mode by setting allow_rogue_mode="false"

Default Client Mode

When clients enter 'wemux' with no arguments by default it will first attempt to join an existing rogue mode session. If there is no rogue session it will start in pair mode. By setting default_client_mode to "rogue", 'wemux' with no arguments will always join a rogue mode session, even if it has to create it.

This can be changed by setting default_client_mode="rogue"

Default Server Name

The default wemux server name will be used with wemux reset and when allow_server_name is not enabled in wemux.conf.

This can be changed by setting default_server_name="customname"

Changing Servers

The ability to change servers can be enabled by setting allow_server_change="true"

Listing Servers

Listing servers can be disabled by setting allow_server_list="false"

Listing Users

Listing users can be disabled by setting allow_user_list="false" in wemux.conf

Kicking SSH Users

Kicking SSH users from the server can be disabled by setting allow_kick_user="false" in wemux.conf

Announcements

When a user joins a server in either mirror, pair, or rogue mode, a message is displayed to all currently attached users:

csagan has attached in mirror mode.
csagan has detached.

This can be disabled by setting announce_attach="false"

In addition, when a user switches from one server to another via the wemux join <servername> command, their movement is displayed similarly to the attach messages.

If csagan enters wemux join applepie the users on the default server wemux will see:

csagan has switched to server: applepie

If csagan returns to default server with: wemux reset users on wemux will see:

csagan has joined this server.

This can be disabled by setting announce_server_change="false"

Automatic SSH Client Modes

To make an SSHed user start in a wemux mode automatically, add one of the following lines to the users .bash_profile or .zshrc

Option 1: Automatically log the client into mirror mode upon login, disconnect them from the server when they detach.

wemux mirror; exit

Option 2: Automatically start the client in mirror mode but allow them to detach.

wemux mirror

Option 3: Automatically start the client in pair mode but allow them to detach.

wemux pair

Option 4: Automatically start the client in rogue mode but allow them to detach.

wemux rogue

Option 5: Only display the connection commands, don't automatically start any modes.

wemux help

Please note that this does not ensure a logged in user will not be able to exit tmux and access their shell. If the user is not trusted, you must perform any security measures one would normally perform for a remote user.