The Ultimate Tmux Cheat Sheet: Master Terminal Multiplexing

Tmux (terminal multiplexer) is an essential tool for developers and system administrators who work extensively in the terminal. This comprehensive guide covers everything from basic usage to advanced configurations, helping you become a tmux power user.

Master tmux to supercharge your terminal workflow

Why Use Tmux?

Before diving into commands, let’s understand why tmux is invaluable:

• Session Persistence: Keep your work alive even when disconnected
• Multiple Windows: Organize different projects in separate windows
• Pane Management: Split your terminal for multitasking
• Remote Work: Perfect for SSH sessions and server management
• Scripting: Automate complex terminal setups

{: .notice–info} Pro Tip: Tmux is especially powerful when combined with tools like Vim, Git, and various CLI utilities. It transforms your terminal into a complete development environment.

Installation

macOS

# Using Homebrew
brew install tmux

# Using MacPorts
sudo port install tmux

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install tmux

CentOS/RHEL/Fedora

# CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum install tmux

# Fedora
sudo dnf install tmux

Getting Started

Session Management

Task	Command	Description
Start tmux	tmux	Start with default session
Start named session	tmux new -s <session-name>	Create session with name
Start with command	tmux new -s work -c ~/projects	Start in specific directory
Attach to last	tmux attach or tmux a	Reconnect to last session
Attach to named	tmux a -t <session-name>	Connect to specific session
List sessions	tmux ls	Show all active sessions
Kill session	tmux kill-session -t <name>	Terminate specific session
Kill all sessions	tmux kill-server	Terminate tmux server

Creating Your First Session

# Start a new session for a project
tmux new-session -d -s "my-project" -c ~/code/my-project

# Create multiple windows
tmux new-window -t "my-project" -n "editor" -c ~/code/my-project
tmux new-window -t "my-project" -n "server" -c ~/code/my-project
tmux new-window -t "my-project" -n "logs" -c ~/code/my-project

# Attach to the session
tmux attach-session -t "my-project"

The Prefix Key

The prefix key is your gateway to tmux commands. By default, it’s Ctrl+b, but many users prefer Ctrl+a:

# Default prefix
Ctrl + b

{: .notice–warning} Important: All tmux keyboard shortcuts require pressing the prefix key first, then the command key. For example, Ctrl+a c means press Ctrl+a, release, then press c.

Changing the Prefix Key

Add this to your ~/.tmux.conf:

# Unbind default prefix
unbind C-b

# Set new prefix to Ctrl+a
set -g prefix C-a

# Ensure we can send Ctrl+a to applications
bind C-a send-prefix

{: .notice–tip} Ergonomic Tip: Remap your Caps Lock key to Ctrl at the OS level. This makes Ctrl+a much more comfortable to press repeatedly.

Session Control

Task	Keyboard Shortcut	Command Line
List all sessions	Ctrl+a s	tmux list-sessions
Detach from session	Ctrl+a d	tmux detach-client
Rename current session	Ctrl+a $	tmux rename-session <name>
Switch to last session	Ctrl+a L	tmux switch-client -l
Choose session tree	Ctrl+a w	Interactive session browser

Session Workflow Example

# Development workflow
tmux new -s dev -d
tmux send-keys -t dev 'cd ~/projects && vim .' Enter

# Create additional sessions for different contexts
tmux new -s monitoring -d
tmux send-keys -t monitoring 'htop' Enter

tmux new -s logs -d
tmux send-keys -t logs 'tail -f /var/log/system.log' Enter

# Switch between sessions quickly
tmux attach -t dev

Window Management

Windows in tmux are like tabs in a browser - each contains one or more panes.

Task	Keyboard Shortcut	Command Line
Create new window	Ctrl+a c	tmux new-window
Rename current window	Ctrl+a ,	tmux rename-window <name>
List all windows	Ctrl+a w	tmux list-windows
Close current window	Ctrl+a &	tmux kill-window
Switch to window by #	Ctrl+a 0-9	tmux select-window -t <num>
Switch to next window	Ctrl+a n	tmux next-window
Switch to previous	Ctrl+a p	tmux previous-window
Switch to last window	Ctrl+a l	tmux last-window
Move window	Ctrl+a .	tmux move-window -t <num>
Find window	Ctrl+a f	Search window names

Window Organization Tips

# Create a structured session with named windows
tmux new-session -d -s fullstack
tmux rename-window -t fullstack:0 'frontend'
tmux new-window -t fullstack -n 'backend'
tmux new-window -t fullstack -n 'database'
tmux new-window -t fullstack -n 'docker'
tmux new-window -t fullstack -n 'monitoring'

# Set up each window with specific commands
tmux send-keys -t fullstack:frontend 'cd ~/app/frontend && npm run dev' Enter
tmux send-keys -t fullstack:backend 'cd ~/app/backend && npm start' Enter
tmux send-keys -t fullstack:database 'mysql -u root -p' Enter

Pane Management

Panes allow you to split your terminal window into multiple sections.

Basic Pane Operations

Task	Keyboard Shortcut	Command Line
Split horizontally	Ctrl+a "	tmux split-window -v
Split vertically	Ctrl+a %	tmux split-window -h
Navigate between panes	Ctrl+a o	tmux select-pane -t <dir>
Go to last active pane	Ctrl+a ;	tmux last-pane
Close current pane	Ctrl+a x	tmux kill-pane
Toggle pane zoom	Ctrl+a z	tmux resize-pane -Z
Show pane numbers	Ctrl+a q	Display pane indices
Break pane to window	Ctrl+a !	tmux break-pane
Join pane from window	Ctrl+a @	tmux join-pane -s <window>

Advanced Pane Navigation

Task	Keyboard Shortcut	Description
Move to pane left	Ctrl+a Left	Navigate with arrow keys
Move to pane right	Ctrl+a Right	Navigate with arrow keys
Move to pane up	Ctrl+a Up	Navigate with arrow keys
Move to pane down	Ctrl+a Down	Navigate with arrow keys
Resize pane left	Ctrl+a Ctrl+Left	Hold Ctrl for continuous
Resize pane right	Ctrl+a Ctrl+Right	Hold Ctrl for continuous
Swap pane up	Ctrl+a {	Move pane position
Swap pane down	Ctrl+a }	Move pane position

Pane Layout Presets

Task	Keyboard Shortcut	Description
Cycle through layouts	Ctrl+a Space	Auto-arrange panes
Even horizontal	Ctrl+a Alt+1	Equal width columns
Even vertical	Ctrl+a Alt+2	Equal height rows
Main horizontal	Ctrl+a Alt+3	Large top, small bottom
Main vertical	Ctrl+a Alt+4	Large left, small right
Tiled	Ctrl+a Alt+5	Grid arrangement

Copy Mode and Scrolling

Copy mode allows you to scroll through terminal history and copy text.

Entering Copy Mode

Task	Keyboard Shortcut	Description
Enter copy mode	Ctrl+a [	Start scrolling/copying
Exit copy mode	q or Escape	Return to normal mode
Paste copied text	Ctrl+a ]	Insert clipboard content

Vi-Style Copy Mode

Enable vi-style keys in your config:

# Enable vi mode
setw -g mode-keys vi
set -g status-keys vi

# Vi-style copy bindings
bind-key -T copy-mode-vi v send-keys -X begin-selection
bind-key -T copy-mode-vi y send-keys -X copy-selection-and-cancel
bind-key -T copy-mode-vi r send-keys -X rectangle-toggle

Copy Mode Navigation

Task	Vi Keys	Emacs Keys
Move cursor	h/j/k/l	Arrow keys
Start of line	0 or ^	Ctrl+a
End of line	$	Ctrl+e
Next word	w	Alt+f
Previous word	b	Alt+b
Page up	Ctrl+u	Page Up
Page down	Ctrl+d	Page Down
Go to top	g	Alt+<
Go to bottom	G	Alt+>
Search forward	/	Ctrl+s
Search backward	?	Ctrl+r
Next search result	n	Ctrl+s
Previous search result	N	Ctrl+r

Selection and Copying

Task	Vi Keys	Description
Start selection	Space or v	Begin text selection
Select line	V	Select entire line
Select rectangle	Ctrl+v	Column selection mode
Copy selection	Enter or y	Copy to tmux buffer
Cancel selection	Escape	Exit selection mode

Mouse Support

Modern tmux supports mouse interaction for easier navigation.

Enabling Mouse Mode

# Enable mouse support
set -g mouse on

# Optional: Configure mouse behavior
set -g mouse-select-pane on
set -g mouse-select-window on
set -g mouse-resize-pane on

Mouse Operations

• Click: Switch between panes and windows
• Scroll: Navigate through terminal history
• Drag: Resize panes by dragging borders
• Double-click: Select words
• Triple-click: Select entire lines
• Right-click: Context menu (if configured)

{: .notice–info} Note: Mouse mode can interfere with terminal applications that have their own mouse support. Toggle it on/off as needed.

Buffer Management

Tmux maintains multiple copy buffers for managing copied text.

Task	Command	Description
List all buffers	tmux list-buffers	Show buffer contents
Show buffer content	tmux show-buffer -b <index>	Display specific buffer
Paste from buffer	tmux paste-buffer -b <index>	Insert buffer content
Delete buffer	tmux delete-buffer -b <index>	Remove buffer
Save buffer to file	tmux save-buffer -b 0 ~/buffer.txt	Export buffer to file
Load file to buffer	tmux load-buffer ~/file.txt	Import file as buffer

Working with Multiple Buffers

# Copy multiple selections in copy mode
# Each copy creates a new buffer

# View all buffers
tmux list-buffers

# Choose which buffer to paste
tmux choose-buffer

# Paste from specific buffer
tmux paste-buffer -b 2

Advanced Configuration

Complete ~/.tmux.conf Example

# =======================
# BASIC SETTINGS
# =======================

# Set prefix to Ctrl-a
unbind C-b
set -g prefix C-a
bind C-a send-prefix

# Reload config file
bind r source-file ~/.tmux.conf \; display-message "Config reloaded!"

# Enable mouse support
set -g mouse on

# Set default terminal mode to 256color
set -g default-terminal "screen-256color"
set -ga terminal-overrides ",xterm-256color:Tc"

# Increase scrollback buffer size
set -g history-limit 50000

# Display messages for 2 seconds
set -g display-time 2000

# Start window and pane indices at 1
set -g base-index 1
setw -g pane-base-index 1

# Automatically renumber windows
set -g renumber-windows on

# =======================
# KEY BINDINGS
# =======================

# Vi mode
setw -g mode-keys vi
set -g status-keys vi

# Pane splitting
bind | split-window -h -c "#{pane_current_path}"
bind - split-window -v -c "#{pane_current_path}"
unbind '"'
unbind %

# Pane navigation (vim-like)
bind h select-pane -L
bind j select-pane -D
bind k select-pane -U
bind l select-pane -R

# Window navigation
bind -n S-Left previous-window
bind -n S-Right next-window

# Pane resizing
bind -r H resize-pane -L 5
bind -r J resize-pane -D 5
bind -r K resize-pane -U 5
bind -r L resize-pane -R 5

# Copy mode bindings
bind-key -T copy-mode-vi v send-keys -X begin-selection
bind-key -T copy-mode-vi y send-keys -X copy-pipe-and-cancel "pbcopy"
bind-key -T copy-mode-vi r send-keys -X rectangle-toggle

# Quick pane cycling
bind -n M-h select-pane -L
bind -n M-l select-pane -R
bind -n M-k select-pane -U
bind -n M-j select-pane -D

# =======================
# APPEARANCE
# =======================

# Status bar position
set -g status-position top

# Status bar colors
set -g status-bg colour235
set -g status-fg colour136
set -g status-attr default

# Window status
setw -g window-status-fg colour244
setw -g window-status-bg default
setw -g window-status-current-fg colour166
setw -g window-status-current-bg default

# Pane borders
set -g pane-border-fg colour235
set -g pane-active-border-fg colour240

# Message colors
set -g message-bg colour235
set -g message-fg colour166

# Status bar content
set -g status-left-length 40
set -g status-left "#[fg=green]Session: #S #[fg=yellow]#I #[fg=cyan]#P"
set -g status-right "#[fg=cyan]%d %b %R"
set -g status-interval 60
set -g status-justify centre

# Activity monitoring
setw -g monitor-activity on
set -g visual-activity on

# =======================
# PLUGINS (using TPM)
# =======================

# List of plugins
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tpm'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-sensible'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-resurrect'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-continuum'
set -g @plugin 'christoomey/vim-tmux-navigator'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-yank'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-open'

# Plugin settings
set -g @resurrect-strategy-vim 'session'
set -g @resurrect-strategy-nvim 'session'
set -g @continuum-restore 'on'
set -g @continuum-boot 'on'

# Initialize TMUX plugin manager (keep this line at the very bottom)
run '~/.tmux/plugins/tpm/tpm'

Installing TPM (Tmux Plugin Manager)

# Clone TPM
git clone https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tpm ~/.tmux/plugins/tpm

# Add to your ~/.tmux.conf (already included in config above)
# Reload tmux config
tmux source ~/.tmux.conf

# Install plugins with Ctrl+a I (capital i)

Essential Plugins

1. Tokyo Night Theme

set -g @plugin 'janoamaral/tokyo-night-tmux'
set -g @tokyo-night-tmux_window_id_style digital
set -g @tokyo-night-tmux_pane_id_style hsquare
set -g @tokyo-night-tmux_zoom_id_style dsquare

2. Vim Navigation

set -g @plugin 'christoomey/vim-tmux-navigator'

3. Session Persistence

set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-resurrect'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-continuum'

# Auto-restore sessions
set -g @continuum-restore 'on'
set -g @continuum-boot 'on'

4. Enhanced Copy/Paste

set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-yank'

Workflow Examples

Full-Stack Development Setup

#!/bin/bash
# save as setup-dev.sh

SESSION_NAME="fullstack-dev"

# Create session
tmux new-session -d -s $SESSION_NAME

# Window 1: Frontend
tmux rename-window -t $SESSION_NAME:0 'frontend'
tmux send-keys -t $SESSION_NAME:frontend 'cd ~/projects/my-app/frontend' Enter
tmux send-keys -t $SESSION_NAME:frontend 'npm run dev' Enter

# Split for logs
tmux split-window -t $SESSION_NAME:frontend -v -p 30
tmux send-keys -t $SESSION_NAME:frontend 'npm run test:watch' Enter

# Window 2: Backend
tmux new-window -t $SESSION_NAME -n 'backend'
tmux send-keys -t $SESSION_NAME:backend 'cd ~/projects/my-app/backend' Enter
tmux send-keys -t $SESSION_NAME:backend 'npm run dev' Enter

# Split for database
tmux split-window -t $SESSION_NAME:backend -v -p 30
tmux send-keys -t $SESSION_NAME:backend 'docker-compose up database' Enter

# Window 3: Editor
tmux new-window -t $SESSION_NAME -n 'editor'
tmux send-keys -t $SESSION_NAME:editor 'cd ~/projects/my-app && nvim .' Enter

# Window 4: Git/Terminal
tmux new-window -t $SESSION_NAME -n 'git'
tmux send-keys -t $SESSION_NAME:git 'cd ~/projects/my-app' Enter

# Attach to session
tmux attach-session -t $SESSION_NAME

Server Monitoring Setup

#!/bin/bash
SESSION_NAME="monitoring"

tmux new-session -d -s $SESSION_NAME

# System monitoring
tmux rename-window -t $SESSION_NAME:0 'system'
tmux send-keys -t $SESSION_NAME:system 'htop' Enter

# Split for disk usage
tmux split-window -t $SESSION_NAME:system -h
tmux send-keys -t $SESSION_NAME:system 'watch -n 5 df -h' Enter

# Split for network
tmux split-window -t $SESSION_NAME:system -v
tmux send-keys -t $SESSION_NAME:system 'nethogs' Enter

# Logs window
tmux new-window -t $SESSION_NAME -n 'logs'
tmux send-keys -t $SESSION_NAME:logs 'tail -f /var/log/syslog' Enter

# Split for application logs
tmux split-window -t $SESSION_NAME:logs -v
tmux send-keys -t $SESSION_NAME:logs 'tail -f /var/log/nginx/access.log' Enter

tmux attach-session -t $SESSION_NAME

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: Tmux not starting or showing errors

# Check tmux version
tmux -V

# Validate config file
tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf

Issue: Colors not displaying correctly

# Check terminal capabilities
echo $TERM

# Add to ~/.tmux.conf
set -g default-terminal "screen-256color"
set -ga terminal-overrides ",xterm-256color:Tc"

Issue: Mouse scrolling not working

# Enable mouse mode
set -g mouse on

# If still not working, try
set -g mouse-select-pane on
set -g mouse-resize-pane on
set -g mouse-select-window on

Issue: Copy/paste not working with system clipboard

# macOS
brew install reattach-to-user-namespace

# Add to ~/.tmux.conf
set -g default-command "reattach-to-user-namespace -l $SHELL"

Performance Optimization

# Reduce escape time for faster key response
set -sg escape-time 0

# Limit history size if experiencing slowdowns
set -g history-limit 10000

# Disable automatic window renaming if not needed
setw -g automatic-rename off

# Reduce status bar update frequency
set -g status-interval 60

Command Reference

Most Used Commands

Command	Description
tmux new -s name	Create named session
tmux a -t name	Attach to session
tmux ls	List sessions
tmux kill-session -t name	Kill session
Ctrl+a d	Detach from session
Ctrl+a c	New window
Ctrl+a "	Split horizontal
Ctrl+a %	Split vertical
Ctrl+a z	Toggle zoom
Ctrl+a [	Copy mode

Less Common but Useful

Command	Description
tmux display-message	Show current session info
tmux list-keys	Show all key bindings
tmux info	Show server information
tmux capture-pane -p	Capture pane content
tmux respawn-pane	Restart dead pane

Conclusion

Tmux is an incredibly powerful tool that can transform your terminal workflow. Start with the basics and gradually incorporate more advanced features as you become comfortable. The key to mastering tmux is consistent practice and customization to fit your specific needs.

Remember to:

• Start with a simple configuration and expand gradually
• Create automation scripts for common workflows
• Use plugins to enhance functionality
• Practice keyboard shortcuts until they become muscle memory
• Customize your setup based on your daily tasks

{: .notice–success} Next Steps: Try creating your own tmux session script for your current project. Start with basic window and pane setup, then add more automation as you become comfortable with the workflow.

---

Resources and Further Reading

• Official Tmux Documentation
• Tmux Plugin Manager
• Awesome Tmux
• Tokyo Night Tmux Theme
• Vim-Tmux Navigator

Download: PDF Cheat Sheet | Config Templates