Otaqui.com Blog

Use tmux for code reviews

If you ever do code reviews with a) more than about 3 people or b) a distributed team, you’ll know that everybody sitting around a desk is not workable all the time.

A great workaround is to use ‘tmux’ (think GNU Screen for grown ups). It instantly offers you multiple-users attached to the same session.

[Update 2012-04-14] Even better – use wemux !

You might, if you care about such things, want to do a bit of setup first. Assuming you’re using a *nix-based operating system (not too unlikely if tmux is an option for you) I recommend the following:

* Setup a single user account on a machine to be used for code reviews
* Log in as that user and start tmux.
* Open up a few windows and files relating to the review ready to go
* Bonus points for some panes containing command line invocations; log tails; load monitors
* I recommend that you use a chat mechanism out of this window, preferably with voice + typing capabilities (Skype, Google+ Hangout, whatever)
* Extra bonus points if window 0 in your tmux session has a review agenda