Tmux (TM) is an acronym that stands for Terminal Multiplexing. It is a free and open-source tool that allows you to open many terminals in a single desktop window by adding more than one terminal window. A “tabbed” interface (without actual tabs) is the result, allowing for tab flipping between windows without using the mouse.
Before diving into the cheat sheet, you must ensure that Tmux is installed on your Linux OS. We shall brush through this article, but if you need a detailed report on how to install and use Tmux on Linux, check this comprehensive article.
Installing Tmux
For this guide, we shall be using Ubuntu 20.04LTS. Therefore, if you are using the same operating system as we are, don’t shy off from running the commands provided as they have been tried and tested.
Run the line of code below to install Tmux
sudo apt-get install tmux
Launch Tmux
Once Tmux has been successfully installed on your Linux machine, then proceed and launch it using the command line below:
tmux
When you execute the command above, the apparent result is that Tmux will launch a new shell with a status bar at the bottom. Now that Tmux is up and running let us look at its triggers and commands.
The Tmux commands and triggers
The Tmux trigger is the Ctrl+B keyboard shortcut. When you press it, it tells Tmux to “listen” for the following key combination in a Tmux session. As a result, Ctrl+B is prefixed to all Tmux shortcuts.
Additionally, you may run Tmux commands by name from the command line. Ctrl+B followed by “:” can be used to enter the command line to create a new window. To open a new window, type a new window and hit Enter. This is precisely the same as hitting Ctrl+B and C simultaneously.
Simplified FOSSLinux’s Tmux Cheat Sheet
Tmux Windows commands
| Function | Command |
|---|---|
| This command will initiate a new session with the name "fosssession" and window "fosstuts." | tmux new -s fosssession-n fosstuts |
| Create a new window | Ctrl + b c |
| Rename current window | Ctrl + b , |
| Close current window | Ctrl + b & |
| Previous window | Ctrl + b p |
| Move to the next window | Ctrl + b n |
| Switch/select the window by the number | Ctrl + b 0 ... 9 |
| Toggle the last active window | Ctrl + b l |
| Reorder window | : swap-window -s 2 -t 1 |
| Move the current window to the left by one position | : swap-window -t -1 |
Tmux Sessions commands
| Function | Command |
|---|---|
| Start a new session | tmux |
| tmux new | |
| tmux new-session | |
| : new | |
| Start a new session with the name fosssession | tmux new -s fosssession |
| : new -s fosssession | |
| Attach to the last session | tmux a |
| tmux at | |
| tmux attach | |
| tmux attach-session | |
| Show all sessions | tmux ls |
| tmux list-sessions | |
| Ctrl + b s | |
| kill/delete session fosssession | tmux kill-ses -t fosssession |
| tmux kill-session -t fosssession | |
| kill/delete all sessions except the current one | tmux kill-session -a |
| kill/delete all sessions except fosssession | tmux kill-session -a -t fosssession |
| Rename session | Ctrl + b $ |
| Detach from session | Ctrl + b d |
| Detach others during the session | attach -d |
| Session and Window Preview | Ctrl + b w |
| Move to the previous session | Ctrl + b ( |
| Move to the next session | Ctrl + b ) |
Tmux Panes commands
| Function | Command |
|---|---|
| Show pane numbers | Ctrl + b q |
| Switch/select pane by number | Ctrl + b q 0 ... 9 |
| Toggle pane zoom | Ctrl + b z |
| Convert pane into a window | Ctrl + b ! |
| Resize current pane height (it is optional to hold the second key) | Ctrl + b + Up Arrow |
| Ctrl + b Ctrl + Down Arrow | |
| Ctrl + b + Down Arrow | |
| Ctrl + b Ctrl + Up Arrow | |
| Toggle the last active pane | Ctrl + b ; |
| Split pane with horizontal layout | Ctrl + b % |
| Toggle between pane layouts | Ctrl + b Spacebar |
| Split pane with vertical layout | Ctrl + b " |
| Move the current pane left | Ctrl + b { |
| Switch to the next pane | Ctrl + b o |
| Move the current pane right | Ctrl + b } |
| Switch to pane to the direction | Ctrl + b Up Arrow |
| Ctrl + b Down Arrow | |
| Ctrl + b Right Arrow | |
| Ctrl + b Left Arrow | |
| Toggle synchronize-panes (send command to all panes) | : setw synchronize-panes |
| Resize current pane width (it is optional to hold the second key) | Ctrl + b + Right Arrow |
| Ctrl + b Ctrl + Right Arrow | |
| Ctrl + b + Left Arrow | |
| Ctrl + b Ctrl + Left Arrow | |
| Horizontal divides that are even | Ctrl+B Alt+1 |
| Vertical divides that are even | Ctrl+B Alt+2 |
| Horizontal span for the primary pane, vertical divides for the secondary panes | Ctrl+B Alt+3 |
| Vertical span for the primary pane, horizontal divides for the secondary panes | Ctrl+B Alt+3 |
| Layout in tiles | Ctrl+B Alt+5 |
| Close current pane | Ctrl + b x |
Tmux Help commands
| Function | Command |
|---|---|
| List key bindings(shortcuts) | tmux list-keys |
| : list-keys | |
| Ctrl + b ? | |
| Show every session, window, and pane | tmux info |
Tmux Search/Copy Mode commands
| Function | Command |
|---|---|
| Use vi keys in the buffer | : setw -g mode-keys vi |
| Enter copy mode | Ctrl + b [ |
| Switch to copy mode and go one-page higher | Ctrl + b PgUp |
| Quit mode | q |
| Go to the top line | g |
| Go to the bottom line | G |
| Scroll up | Arrow Up |
| Scroll down | Arrow Down |
| Move cursor left | h |
| Move cursor down | j |
| Move cursor up | k |
| Move cursor right | l |
| Navigate the cursor one word at a time. | w |
| One word at a time, go backwards with the cursor | b |
| Search forward | / |
| Search backward | ? |
| Next keyword occurrence | n |
| Previous keyword occurrence | N |
| Start selection | Spacebar |
| Clear selection | Esc |
| Copy selection | Enter |
| Paste contents of buffer_0 | Ctrl + b ] |
| display buffer_0 contents | : show-buffer |
| copy whole visible contents of the pane to a buffer | : capture-pane |
| Show all buffers | : list-buffers |
| Show all buffers and paste selected | : choose-buffer |
| Save buffer contents to buf.txt | : save-buffer buf.txt |
| delete buffer_1 | : delete-buffer -b 1 |
Tmux Misc commands
| Function | Command |
|---|---|
| Enter command mode | Ctrl + b : |
| Set OPTION for all sessions | : set -g OPTION |
| Set OPTION for all windows | : setw -g OPTION |
| Enable mouse mode | : set mouse on |
Conclusion
Ctrl+B is a simple shortcut for launching Tmux, but the following keys can be a bit more challenging. By typing Ctrl+B followed by “?”, you may access all of Tmux’s keyboard shortcuts, or you can exit the help screen with the “Q” key. The help screen, on the other hand, has a lot of alternatives that aren’t structured in any way. Tmux has numerous sophisticated capabilities you cannot cram; to help you remember them, we’ve created this FOSSLinux cheatsheet for Tmux.