Basics

• Start an unnamed session: tmux
• Start a named session: tmux new -s <name>
• Attach: tmux a #
• Attach to named session: tmux a -t <name>
• Detach from session: Ctrl + b (or your custom <prefix>), then d
• List all sessions: tmux ls
• Kill a named session: tmux kill-ses -t <name>
• Kill the server: tmux kill-server

Shortcuts

Shortcuts for Sessions

<prefix>, d       # detach from session
<prefix>, s       # select from sessions
<prefix>, $       # rename session

<prefix>, (       # previous session
<prefix>, )       # next session
<prefix>, L       # last session

Shortcuts for Windows

<prefix>, c       # create new window
<prefix>, w       # select from windows
<prefix>, ,       # rename window
<prefix>, &       # kill window

<prefix>, p       # previous window
<prefix>, n       # next window
<prefix>, l       # last window
<prefix>, [0-9]   # go to [0-9]th window

Shortcuts for Panes

<prefix>, %         # vertical split
<prefix>, "         # horizontal split
<prefix>, q         # show pane numbers (when numbers are show,
                      press number to select pane)
<prefix>, x         # kill pane
<prefix>, o         # swap panes
<prefix>, {         # (Move the current pane left)
<prefix>, }         # (Move the current pane right)
<prefix>, z         # toggle pane zoom
<prefix>, <space>   # toggle b/w layouts

Useful Commands

Entering the <prefix> gets you into the command mode, then

:new-window -a          # insert new window right next to current
:swap-window -t [pos]   # move curr window

Miscellaneous

Customizing <prefix>

If you wish to change the prefix from Ctrl + b to something like Ctrl + a, which some people prefer, you could create a file ~/.tmux.conf with the following:

# Remap tmux Prefix
unbind C-b
set-option -g prefix C-a
bind-key C-a send-prefix

1-indexing Windows

And if you don’t want the 0-indexing for your windows, since 1 is easier to press when switching, add the following as well:

# 1-index Windows
set -g base-index 1

When you are done, be sure

:source-file ~/.tmux.conf