Want your Tmux window titles to automatically show the hostname you connect to via SSH — and restore the local name after you disconnect? This guide will walk you through setting that up step by step.
1. Tmux configuration – ~/.tmux.conf
In your Tmux configuration file, set the default shell command to a custom Bash init file (.bash_tmux) that will handle window title updates.
This file runs at shell startup inside Tmux. It sets the window name to your local hostname and overrides the ssh command to change the window title dynamically.
.bash_tmux
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#!/bin/bash
# ~/.bash_tmux
# Custom Bash init file for Tmux sessions with dynamic tab naming
# Override the default ssh command to dynamically rename the Tmux window
ssh(){
if[-n"$TMUX"];then
# Loop through arguments to find the target host (first non-flag argument)
forarg in"$@";do
if[["$arg"!=-*]];then
if[["$arg"==*@*]];then
host="${arg#*@}"# extract host from user@host
else
host="$arg"
fi
break
fi
done
# Strip any trailing junk or whitespace
host="$(echo "$host" | cut -d' ' -f1)"
# Rename the Tmux window to the SSH target
[-n"$host"]&&tmux rename-window"$host"
# Save the local hostname to restore later
local_host="$(hostname -s)"
# Run the actual SSH command
commandssh"$@"
# Restore the original window name after logout
tmux rename-window"$local_host"
else
# Not in Tmux — just run ssh normally
commandssh"$@"
fi
}
# Load the user's regular bash configuration
source~/.bashrc
# On shell start, if in Tmux, set the window name to the current hostname
if[-n"$TMUX"];then
tmux rename-window"$(hostname -s)"
fi
3. Reload Tmux config without restarting
To apply the changes without restarting the Tmux session, run the following:
Reload tmux config
Shell
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tmux source-file~/.tmux.conf
To manually reload the current shell with the new .bash_tmux configuration:
Reload shell
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exec bash--rcfile~/.bash_tmux
4. Final result
New Tmux windows automatically show the local hostname
When connecting via SSH, the window is renamed to the remote host
When disconnecting, the original local name is restored
Clean, readable, and perfect for sysadmins, devops engineers, and Tmux lovers who appreciate automatic order in their terminal tabs 💪
