- Ubuntu and Debian:
sudo apt-get install mux - CentOS and Fedora:
sudo yum install tmux - macOS:
brew install tmux - Windows: a good workaround for windows is using Ubuntu WSL which can be installed from the Microsoft store.
3 Major things in MUX:
-
Sessionsdefine the general task at hand. Example: If you are testing something, stick to a single session for all activities related to your test. -
Windowsare for specific activities or projects within a session. -
Paneshelp you create multiple views within one window. Example: You might be working something in one pane, and using the other to track error logs.
TMUX is controlled by pressing CRTL+b, followed by a hotkey.
tmux
tmux new -s <session-name>
Horizontally: CTRL+b "
Vertical: CTRL+b %
exit ⏎ / CTRL+d
Current pane is highlighted in green.
Toggle between panes: CTRL+b o
TMUX assigns a number to each pane.
We can quickly press the number of a pane to switch to it.
Example: CTRL+b q -> gives the numbers -> quickly press -> 1/2/3/.....
You can change the size of each pane.
To do so, press CTRL+b : bottom bar changes from green to yellow.
Now use these commands to resize the panes!
resize-pane -D: moves the boundary line for the pane downward.
resize-pane -U: Up.
resize-pane -R: Right.
resize-pane -L: Left.
We can also specify number of cells to move the boundary line.
Ex., resize-pane -U 10: Moves the boundary line up 10 cells.
We can specify a different cell than the ones you are working in.
Ex., To resize cell 2 (lower right):
resize-pane -t 2 --R 5 -> Moves the boundary line 5 cells to the right.
Resizing has a couple of considerations:
-
Resizing only works on the boundary line between cells. If the cell doesn't have a boundary line, the command won't work. Example: Trying to resize the upper cell right won't work, because it's already the full width of the screen.
-
Resizing a shared boundary line can change the size of another cell. Example: moving the upper boundary line of cell 1 will also change the size of cell 2.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
CTRL+b+↑ |
Resize current pane height(holding second key is optional) |
CTRL+b CTRL + ↑ |
-do- |
CTRL+b ↓ |
-do- |
CTRL+b CTRL + ↓ |
-do- |
CTRL+b → |
Resize current pane width(holding second key is optional) |
CTRL+b CTRL + → |
-do- |
CTRL+b ← |
-do- |
CTRL+b CTRL + ← |
-do- |
resize-pane -D |
Resizes the current pane down |
resize-pane -U |
Resizes the current pane up |
resize-pane -L |
Resizes the current pane left |
resize-pane -R |
Resizes the current pane right |
resize-pane -D 20 |
Resizes the current pane down by 20 cells |
resize-pane -U 20 |
Resizes the current pane upward by 20 cells |
resize-pane -L 20 |
Resizes the current pane left by 20 cells |
resize-pane -R 20 |
Resizes the current pane right by 20 cells |
resize-pane -t 2 20 |
Resizes the pane with the id of 2 down by 20 cells |
resize-pane -t -L 20 |
Resizes the pane with the id of 2 left by 20 cells |
CTRL+b : -> resize-pane -Z
This will expand the current pane.
Use the same command to set it back to normal.
Detaching: tmux detach OR CTRL+b d
TMUX can be used to keep a process working in the background. You can detach from a current session and return to your normal shell by typing.
tmux detach OR CTRL+b d
There will be a output which will read [detached(from session X)].
Re-attaching: tmux attach -t <session-name> OR tmux attach-session -t <session-name> OR tmux a -t <session-name> OR tmux at -t <session-name>
To attach to a session first, you need to find the name of the session. To get a list of the currently running sessions type:
$ tmux ls
The name of the session is the first column of the output.
0: 1 windows (created XXX XXX XX XX:XX:XX XXXX)
my_named_session: 1 windows (created XXX XXX XX XX:XX:XX XXXX)
As we can see from the output there are 2 running tmux sessions. The first one is name 0 and the second one my_named_session.
To re-attach to session 0:
$ tmux attach -t 0 OR tmux attach-session -t 0
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
CTRL+b w |
Sessions and window preview |
CTRL+b ( |
Move to previous session |
CTRL+b ) |
Move to next session |
CTRL+b $ |
Rename session |
CTRL+b d |
Detach from session |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
tmux |
Start tmux |
tmux new -s <session-name> |
Start a new named TMUX session |
tmux ls |
Shows the list of sessions |
tmux detach OR CTRL+b d |
Detaching a session |
tmux attach -t <session-name> OR tmux attach-session -t <session-name> |
Re-attaching a detached session |
tmux a <session-name> OR tmux a -t <session-name> |
Re-attaching a detached session <session-name> |
tmux kill-session –t <session-name> |
kill the session named <session-name> |
tmux kill-server |
kill the tmux server |
tmux info |
Show every session, window, pane, etc... |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
r |
reload .tmux.conf file |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
s |
list sessions |
$ |
rename sessions |
d |
detach sessions |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
w |
list windows and select one |
, |
rename window |
c or N |
create new window |
n |
go to next window |
p |
go to previous window |
f |
find window |
& |
kill/close current window |
0-9 |
go to window 0-9 |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
% |
vertical split |
" |
horizontal split |
; |
toggle last active pane |
{ |
Move to the current pane left |
} |
Move to the current pane right |
x |
kill pane |
o |
go to next pane |
(space) |
toggle between pane layouts |
h, j, k, l |
go to next pane in vim-style |
← ↓ ↑ → (arrow keys) |
switching with arrow keys |
z |
toggle full-screen mode for current pane |
q |
show pane numbers |
! |
convert pane into a window |
+ |
break pane into window (ex., to select text by mouse to copy) |
- |
restore pane from window |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
: |
go to command mode |
Next the commands mentioned below can be used:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
list-keys |
shows all the commands |
list-panes |
shows the names of all panes |
resize-pane -D 20 |
resize down |
resize-pane -U 20 |
resize up |
resize-pane -L 20 |
resize left |
resize-pane -R 20 |
resize right |
swap-pane -s 3 -t 1 |
swap pane 1 with pane 3 |
'Vim' mode is set in the .tmux.conf file and Esc is used to enter into the copy mode.
OR
:setw -g mode-keys vi: use vi keys in buffer
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
Esc OR CTRL+b [ |
go to copy mode |
Following commands can be used WITHOUT using CTRL+b
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
q |
quit mode |
h, j, k, l |
left, down, up, right |
J or K |
scroll down or up |
F or B |
go to next or previous page |
$ |
go to end of line |
0 |
go to beginning of line |
w or b |
go to next or previous word (one word at a time) |
/ |
search forward |
? |
search backward |
n |
search next (use after above commands) |
n |
Next keyword occurrence |
N |
Previous keyword occurrence |
space |
start selection |
Esc |
clear selection |
y OR Enter |
copy section |
g |
Go to Top line |
G |
Go to bottom line |
L |
Cursor to bottom line |
M |
Cursor to middle line |
H |
Cursor to top line |
k |
Cursor up |
d |
Delete entire line |
D |
Delete to the end of line |
p |
paste buffer |
CTRL+Down OR J |
Scroll down |
CTRL+Up OR K |
Scroll up |
Following command can be used WITH CTRL+b for paste operation.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
p OR ] |
paste selection |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
: |
go to command mode |
:show-buffer |
display buffer_0 contents |
:capture-pane |
copy entire visible content of pane to a buffer |
:list buffers |
Show all buffers |
:choose-buffer |
Show all buffers and paste selected |
:save-buffer buf.txt |
Save buffer contents to buf.txt |
:delete-buffer -b 1 |
delete buffer_1 |
CTRL+b ] |
Paste contents of buffer_0 |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
:set -g <OPTION> |
Set <OPTION> for all sessions |
:setw -g <OPTION> |
Set <OPTION for all windows |
:set -g mouse on |
Enable mouse mode, if you wanna use the mouse |
CTRL+b + :setw synchronize-panes |
Sync panes |
When Tmux is started, it reads its configuration parameters from ~/.tmux.conf if the file is present.
NOTE: First, create a dot file
.tmux.confin the ‘home’ folder by doingtouch .tmux.config.
Here is a sample ~/.tmux.conf configuration with customized status line and few additional options:
# ~/.tmux.conf
# make delay shorter
set -sg escape-time 0
# key bindings
# reload config file
bind r source-file ~/.tmux.conf \; display ".tmux.conf reloaded!"
# quickly open a new window
bind N new-window
# synchronize all panes in a window
bind y setw synchronize-panes
# pane movement shortcuts (same as vim)
bind h select-pane -L
bind j select-pane -D
bind k select-pane -U
bind l select-pane -R
# enable mouse support for switching panes/windows
set -g mouse-utf8 on
set -g mouse on
# copy mode : vim
# set vi mode for copy mode
setw -g mode-keys vi
# copy mode using 'Esc'
unbind [
bind Escape copy-mode
# start selection with 'space' and copy using 'y'
bind -t vi-copy 'y' copy-selection
# paste using 'p'
unbind p
bind p paste-buffer
# Improve color
set -g default-terminal 'screen-256color'
# Customize the status line
set -g status-fg green
set -g status-bg black
Learn more about TMUX on the manual pages.
man tmux in your terminal to visit the manual pages .
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
CTRL+b ? |
show the list of commands |
:list-keys OR tmux list-keys |
listing keys |
tmux info |
Show every session, window, pane, etc... |
Future work: Need to group commands into similar categories!