tmux-gdb-dashboard

A lightweight tmux automation script that launches GDB with GDB Dashboard in a structured multi-pane layout.

The script automatically creates a 2×2 tmux debugging workspace, starts gdb, and routes different dashboard modules (source, registers, memory) to dedicated panes.

This setup is especially useful for:

• Binary exploitation
• Reverse engineering
• Low-level debugging
• CTF challenges (e.g., picoCTF, pwn challenges)

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Features

• Automatic tmux session creation
• Generates a 2×2 debugging grid
• Runs GDB automatically
• Integrates with GDB Dashboard
• Sends dashboard modules to separate panes
• Automatically selects the correct stack register ($esp / $rsp)
• Requires zero manual pane configuration

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Layout

+----------------------+----------------------+
|        SOURCE        |      REGISTERS       |
|                      |                      |
|                      |                      |
+----------------------+----------------------+
|       GDB CONSOLE    |        MEMORY        |
|      (interactive)   |       (stack)        |
+----------------------+----------------------+

Pane description:

Pane	Purpose
Top Left	Displays source code
Top Right	Displays registers
Bottom Left	Interactive GDB console
Bottom Right	Stack memory viewer

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Requirements

Install the following dependencies:

tmux
gdb
gdb-dashboard

Install tmux

sudo apt install tmux

Install gdb

sudo apt install gdb

Install GDB Dashboard

git clone https://github.com/cyrus-and/gdb-dashboard.git
echo "source ~/gdb-dashboard/.gdbinit" >> ~/.gdbinit

---

Installation

Clone or download the script.

git clone https://github.com/c0d3-Astra/tools.git
cd tools

Make it executable:

chmod +x tm4.sh

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Usage

./tm4.sh <binary> <arch>

Example

64-bit binary

./tm4.sh ./vuln 64

32-bit binary

./tm4.sh ./vuln 32

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Architecture Handling

The script automatically chooses the correct stack pointer register.

Architecture	Stack Register
32-bit	$esp
64-bit	$rsp

Example logic used:

if [ "$ARCH" = "32" ]; then
    STACK_REG="$esp"
else
    STACK_REG="$rsp"
fi

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What the Script Does

1. Creates a tmux session

tmux new-session -d -s gbd_tmux

2. Builds a 2×2 pane grid

tmux split-window -h
tmux split-window -v
tmux split-window -v

3. Extracts pane TTYs

Each pane receives its own TTY, which allows GDB dashboard modules to print into specific panes.

tmux display-message -p "#{pane_tty}"

4. Launches GDB

gdb <binary>

5. Configures Dashboard Modules

dashboard -layout source registers memory assembly breakpoints variables

6. Redirects outputs

dashboard source -output <tty>
dashboard registers -output <tty>
dashboard memory -output <tty>

7. Watches the stack

dashboard memory watch $rsp 256

(or $esp for 32-bit)

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Example Debugging Workflow

Run the script:

./gdb_tmux.sh ./vuln 64

Inside GDB:

break main
run
next
step
x/20gx $rsp

You will see:

• source updating live
• registers updating automatically
• stack memory updating
• interactive console for commands

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Advantages

Compared to normal GDB:

Normal GDB	tmux-gdb-dashboard
Single terminal	Multi-pane view
Hard to track registers	Registers always visible
Manual memory checks	Auto stack watch
Messy output	Clean separation

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Use Cases

This setup is great for:

• CTF binary exploitation
• Kernel debugging
• Assembly learning
• Stack analysis
• Exploit development

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Troubleshooting

Dashboard not loading

Make sure .gdbinit contains:

source ~/gdb-dashboard/.gdbinit

tmux session already exists

Kill the previous session:

tmux kill-session -t gbd_tmux

Binary not loading

Ensure the binary is executable:

chmod +x ./binary

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Future Improvements

Potential upgrades:

• Automatic architecture detection
• pwndbg / gef compatibility
• dynamic pane resizing
• extra panes for stack / heap
• breakpoint pane
• syscall tracing

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License

MIT License

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Author

Created for binary exploitation and debugging workflows.