Tmux stands for Terminal Multiplexer. It allows you to run multiple programs in the same terminal, detach from the terminal (while the programs continue to run) and re attach from a different terminal.
tmux
Program name in the bottom left corner, bottom right corner has hostname, date, time. Besides that, it's just a regular terminal.
Try running top:
top
Now disconnect from the tmux session:
prefix d
Now let's re-attach:
tmux a
Let's create a new window
prefix c
Notice we now have two "tabs" in the bottom left. One for top and one for bash. We can switch between them using:
prefix Tab
Let's create yet another window:
prefix c
Now we have three windows. To switch to any window, use
prefix <num>
Where num is the number of the window. We can also use
prefix p and prefix n
To switch to the previous window, and the next window, respectively.
To close a window, exit like it's a normal shell. Alternatively you can kill a window using:
prefix &
I find it useful to rename windows to something other than the currently running program. To rename a window:
prefix ,
You can also move a window to a different number:
prefix .
Now the fun begins. Lets split our window vertically into 2 panes:
prefix v
We can then split or new pane horizontally:
prefix h
Notice how the borders are highlighted to show you which pane you are on.
To change panes, we can use the arrow keys:
prefix up prefix down prefix left prefix right
To go to the last used pane (like alt-tab):
prefix ;
You can move pans around by using:
prefix { prefix }
Resize panes using:
prefix Alt+up prefix Alt+down prefix Alt+right prefix Alt+left
Or switch between predefined layouts:
prefix Alt+<num>
I've made some modifications to the stock tmux.conf to make it both easier to use and look nicer.
The default prefix of Ctrl+b is annoying. Let rebind it to `:
unbind C-b
set-option -g prefix `
bind-key ` send-preifx
The last line let's us still type a `, you just have to hit it twice.
The defauly keys " and % are pretty WTF for splitting windows. Let's
rebind thos to v and h. Also tmux has weird definition of vertial and
horizontal. I've switched them. YMMV.
bind h split-window -v
bind v split-window -h
unbind '"'
unbind %
Switching panes using the arrow keys. If you like vim you could chage these to hjkl:
bind Left select-pane -L
bind Right select-pane -R
bind Up select-pane -U
bind Down select-pane -D
Let's bind Tab to last-window so we get alt+tab like behavior. If you use panes more you could change this to last-pane:
bind Tab last-window
Enable mouse support. Controversial. Allows you to switch windows, panes and resize panes using the mouse. But then you must hold shift to select text using the terminal. Comment if you don't want these features:
set -g mouse on
The rest of the config changes the look of tmux. Trust me, it doesn't look this good without makeup.
This launches the tmux-resurrect plugin, which I will demo for you now:
run-shell ~/Downloads/tmux-resurrect/resurrect.tmux
Installing it is left as an excercize for the reader.