How to remap <C-W>hjkl to navigate tmux panes and vim splits

Question

I'm trying to use vim-tmux-navigator. I'd like to use default key bindings to move between vim and tmux splits. Which is <C-W>hjkl.

But it isn't working. Either you can't remap anything with C-W prefix or something else, I don't know. Is this possible?

I know that a lot of people use <C-l> to switch between splits, but I don't like it. I'd like to use default bindings for that.

let g:tmux_navigator_no_mappings = 1

nnoremap <silent> <C-w>h :TmuxNavigateLeft<cr>
nnoremap <silent> <C-w>j :TmuxNavigateDown<cr>
nnoremap <silent> <C-w>k :TmuxNavigateUp<cr>
nnoremap <silent> <C-w>l :TmuxNavigateRight<cr>
nnoremap <silent> <C-w>p :TmuxNavigatePrevious<cr>

Here is my config. I can confirm again, that it isn't working for me. It's moves between vim splits without a problem, but isn't calling TmuxNavigate commands obviously, because can't move to another tmux split. At the same time it's moving between vim and tmux splits perfectly when issuing TmuxNavigate command manually.

Which is why I created this question in the first place. Guys, are you sure this is working for you?

Answer 1

Some commands are defined by the plugin, you can use them:

nnoremap <C-W>l :TmuxNavigateRight<CR>

Have a look at the plugin's code for more informations.

And note you can also disable the default mapping with the variable:

g:tmux_navigator_no_mappings

Answer 2

This is actually answered in an issue on vim-tmux-navigator and the solution works for me:

.tmux.conf

bind-key -n C-w switch-client -T VIMWINDOWS
bind-key -T VIMWINDOWS h if-shell "$is_vim" "send-keys C-a C-h"  "select-pane -L"
bind-key -T VIMWINDOWS j if-shell "$is_vim" "send-keys C-a C-j"  "select-pane -D"
bind-key -T VIMWINDOWS k if-shell "$is_vim" "send-keys C-a C-k"  "select-pane -U"
bind-key -T VIMWINDOWS l if-shell "$is_vim" "send-keys C-a C-l"  "select-pane -R"

vimrc

nnoremap <silent> <c-a><c-h> :TmuxNavigateLeft<cr>
nnoremap <silent> <c-a><c-j> :TmuxNavigateDown<cr>
nnoremap <silent> <c-a><c-k> :TmuxNavigateUp<cr>
nnoremap <silent> <c-a><c-l> :TmuxNavigateRight<cr>