cleanup-panes_skill

Overview

This skill closes all tmux panes in the current window except the active one, letting you quickly reduce clutter or reset a window layout. It is a simple, safe command for keeping only the pane you are working in while leaving the window and session intact. Use it when you want a clean workspace without manually closing each pane.

How this skill works

The skill reads the current pane ID, lists all panes in the active tmux window, filters out the current pane, and kills each remaining pane. It counts successful kills and reports how many panes were closed. If there are no other panes, it reports that nothing needed closing.

When to use it

• You want to close every other pane in the current tmux window quickly.
• You need to reset a messy pane layout back to a single pane.
• You finished parallel work in other panes and want to focus on the current pane.
• You want a fast way to clean the window before creating a new layout or split.

Best practices

• Run the command from the pane you want to keep to avoid unintentionally closing the wrong pane.
• Verify unsaved work in other panes before running, since killed panes terminate their processes.
• Use within the intended tmux window—this does not affect other windows or sessions.
• Combine with a quick status or list-panes check if you want to inspect panes before cleanup.

Example use cases

• After running multiple build or test panes, keep only the editor pane to continue work.
• Clean up a temporary debugging window that spawned several short-lived panes.
• Reset a collaboration window after a pair-programming session to start a new layout.
• Remove leftover panes created by scripts or tools without closing the tmux window or session.