The Basics¶
What is Tmux?¶
Tmux is a terminal multiplexer. It means that you can access multiple terminal sessions in a single window! In short: You only need to open one terminal instead of many.
It can easily become your IDE on the command line while running on every unix system wheather local or a server. Tmux is also scriptable!
How to Use¶
For starters: Tmux can create multiple sessions. Each session can have multiple windows and each window can have multiple panes. For more details watch my recording.
Note
You can read the manual page at any time with
man tmux
The Most Important Commands¶
tmux // Start a new session
tmux a // Attatch to most recent session
tmux ls // List all active sessions
The Most Important Shortcuts¶
In tmux you have a prefix key (Default: Ctrl-b) which has to be pressed before any of these keys:
? // List all shortcuts
c // Create a new window
d // Detatch (Exit back to normal teminal but don't quit this session)
l // Switch to last window
w // Select window from list
0 to 9 // Switch to window x
( or ) // Switch to previous or next session
p or n // Switch to previous or next window
% or " // Split pane horizonally or vertically
q and 0 to 9 // Switch to pane
z // Fullscreen pane
! // Convert pane into a window
$ // Rename current session
, // Rename current window
: // Enter message-box
When you are using the recommended tmux.conf:
Ctrl-hjkl // (Without prefix) Switch to pane
Ctrl-hjkl // (With prfix) Resize pane
The copy mode is an easy way to navigate your history. You have to enable the Vim bindings
by putting setw -g mode-keys vi inside your tmux.conf (The default are Emacs
bindings).
[ or PgUp // Enter copy mode
Space // Start selection
Enter // Copy selection
] // Paste from buffer_0
# // List all buffers
= // Choose which buffer to paste
Note
These were only the commands and shortcuts I find the most important. There are many more. Take a look at this cheatsheet.