> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.commanderplugin.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Split Mode: Tabbed tmux Sessions for Parallel Work

> How Split Mode works: the CCC menu in tab 0 with each task in its own tmux window. Covers keyboard shortcuts, canceling tasks, and running without tmux.

Split Mode is the default way CC Commander runs. When you type `ccc`, the tool starts a tmux session and keeps the CC Commander menu in the first pane. Every time you dispatch a task, Claude Code opens in a new tmux window — giving you a live view of the work with full terminal output while the menu stays available in the background.

<Note>
  Split Mode requires tmux to be installed. If tmux is not available on your system, install it with your system package manager (`brew install tmux`, `apt install tmux`, etc.) before running `ccc`.
</Note>

## How it works

When you launch `ccc`, CC Commander:

1. Creates a tmux session named `ccc`.
2. Runs the interactive menu in the first pane (the left side).
3. When you dispatch a task, opens a new tmux window for that Claude Code session, occupying 75% of the terminal width.
4. Names each window `claude-1`, `claude-2`, and so on, incrementing with each dispatch.

You can switch between the menu and any running task at any time using keyboard shortcuts or mouse clicks. All Claude output is visible in real time inside its own window.

## Keyboard shortcuts

| Key         | Action                                          |
| ----------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| `Ctrl+A n`  | Switch to the next tab                          |
| `Ctrl+A p`  | Switch to the previous tab                      |
| `Ctrl+A 0`  | Return to the CCC menu (tab 0)                  |
| `Ctrl+A q`  | Quit the tmux session entirely                  |
| Mouse click | Click any tab in the status bar to switch to it |

<Tip>
  CC Commander uses `Ctrl+A` as its tmux prefix (not the default `Ctrl+B`), so all shortcuts use `Ctrl+A` first.
</Tip>

## Canceling a running task

You have two ways to stop a task that is in progress:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="From the menu">
    Press `Escape` or `q` while a task is dispatching from the menu pane. This kills the Claude process and returns you to the menu immediately.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="From the Claude tab">
    Switch to the tab where Claude is running (`Ctrl+A n` or mouse click), then press `Ctrl+C`. This sends an interrupt signal directly to the Claude process in that window.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

For Night/YOLO Mode specifically, the stop mechanism is a file rather than a keyboard interrupt:

```bash theme={null}
touch ~/.claude/commander/yolo-stop
```

CC Commander checks for this file between cycles and halts the loop gracefully at the next checkpoint.

## Running without tmux

If you want the CC Commander menu without any tmux session management, use the `--simple` flag:

```bash theme={null}
ccc --simple
```

This starts the interactive menu in a plain terminal process. Tasks still dispatch, but they run in the same terminal window rather than opening separate tabs. This is useful when tmux is not installed or when you are running CC Commander inside an environment that already manages tabs (such as VS Code's integrated terminal).

## Resuming a split session

If your terminal closes or you disconnect, your tmux session persists in the background. Reattach to it with:

```bash theme={null}
tmux attach -t ccc
```

You will find the menu and any running Claude tasks exactly where you left them.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Menu only" icon="layout-list">
    Use `ccc --simple` when you don't need tmux or are working inside an IDE terminal that already manages panes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Full split mode" icon="layout-panel-left">
    Use `ccc` (default) to get a tabbed session where each task runs in its own visible window.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>