# hivemux quick start for Claude Code sessions

First steps with hivemux: open projects with hm, add named Claude sessions with prefix Shift+C, jump with Option+0, and get sessions back after a reboot.

Source: https://hivemux.dev/docs/quick-start/

After installing hivemux, open Ghostty, run `hm ~/code/api` to start a project with Claude in window 1, and press `Option+0` whenever a session is waiting for you. `prefix` then `Shift+C` adds another named Claude to the same project; `prefix` is `Ctrl+A` with the recommended keys.

## Before you start

Install hivemux first: see [Install](/docs/install/). The examples use two folders, `~/code/api` and `~/code/web`; use your own.

## Six steps

1. **Open Ghostty.** You are inside tmux: a status line at the top and the sidebar on the left.
2. **Open a project.** `hm ~/code/api` opens project **api** with Claude running in window 1.
3. **Open a second project.** `hm ~/code/web` opens another. The first keeps working in the background.
4. **Watch the sidebar.** `Option+0` takes you to whatever is waiting for you.
5. **Add a Claude.** `prefix` then `Shift+C` adds another named Claude to the current project.
6. **Close Ghostty whenever you like.** Open it again and you are back where you were.

```sh
hm ~/code/api
hm ~/code/web
```

## Projects, windows and panes

hivemux maps tmux concepts to your work:

- **Project = tmux session.** `hm <dir>` creates one session per folder, named after the folder, or switches to it if it already exists. Inside the folder, plain `hm` is enough.
- **Window = tab.** A new project has `1:claude`, which runs Claude as `claude -n <name>`, and `2:shell` for git, dev servers and other commands. Tabs live in tmux's status line, not in Ghostty.
- **Sidebar.** Every window has the same board on its left, showing every Claude in every project.

`prefix s` shows the session list; `prefix` then a window number switches windows. All keys are on the [Keys](/docs/keys/) page.

## Reading the sidebar

[Image: hivemux sidebar with project boxes: api running for 4 minutes, docs done, wayfinder idle, and two web tasks that need input]

| Card | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| ● needs input | Waiting for an approval or an answer. The card pulses amber; the time is how long it has waited | Look at it first: `Option+0` |
| ✓ done | Finished, not seen yet. Green bar | Check the result; it turns idle once you look |
| ◐ running | Working. A light band sweeps across; the time is how long it has run | Let it work |
| ○ idle | Waiting for your next request; you have seen the result | Go there to give a new task |

The task you are looking at has a white line on each side. The `⌥` number at the top right of each card is its `Option+number` key.

## Name your tasks

The task name shows above Claude's input box, in the `/resume` list, in the Claude phone app and in the terminal title. `hm` uses the folder name, and `prefix Shift+C` uses the name you type. To rename a running task, double-click its card (or right-click → Rename); hivemux sends `/rename` to that Claude, waiting if it is busy.

When you start Claude yourself in a tmux pane, name it:

```sh
claude -n login-bug
```

## Start a project from the sidebar

Right-click the sidebar → New project opens a folder browser. `Enter` starts the selected folder like `hm`, `→` / `←` move in and out, typing filters, and `Ctrl+N` makes a new folder.

[Image: hivemux New project folder browser popup listing folders, with projects already open marked open]

## At the end of the day

Just close Ghostty. Running Claudes keep working inside tmux. After a reboot, tmux-resurrect restores the layout and hivemux resumes each pane's conversation with `claude --resume <id>`. Sessions you ended with `/exit` are not resumed. Read more in [Resume Claude Code sessions](/guides/resume-claude-code-sessions/).

## Next steps

- [Keys](/docs/keys/): every shortcut and mouse action
- [Bee office](/docs/bee-office/): every session as a bee in an office window
- [Work from another Mac](/docs/another-mac/): continue from a laptop over ssh
- [Claude Code notifications](/guides/claude-code-notifications/): how waiting and finished alerts work