I started using multiple byobu windows to organize my projects, but in the process, something annoying happened: I began to lose track of which window was which. When switching windows, I couldn’t tell from the window title which byobu window to switch to.

Fortunately, I use tmux as the terminal back-end for byobu, so I some very elementary tmux configuration was enable to solve the problem.

Turn Titles On in tmux

In a tmux window:

1. Press F12.

2. Type :set -g set-titles on.

3. Type :set -g set-titles-string "#(pwd)".

When you reopen the terminal window, you’ll see that the byobu session name is now at the beginning of the terminal window title, making it easier to see when switching windows.

Remember These Settings Forever

Edit the .tmux.conf configuration file. I found mine at $HOME/.config/byobu/.tmux.conf. Add these lines:

set -g set-titles on
set -g set-titles-string "#(pwd)"

When you reopen the terminal window, you’ll see that these settings have become yours to keep forever.

Further Reading

Nothing beats the man page.