$ man tmux, but useful

tmux cheat sheet

Every default keybinding and command — searchable, copyable, and honest about the gotchas. Press / to search anything. Press Ctrl+b then ? — this site speaks tmux.

verified against tmux 3.6 defaultsnew to tmux? start with the tutorial →build your .tmux.conf →

your prefix:

or paste your whole config →

paste your .tmux.conf →

┤ Sessions ├

A session is a workspace that survives disconnects. Detach, go home, reattach — everything is still running.

C-bthendDetach from sessiondetach-client→C-bthen$Rename sessioncommand-prompt -I "#S" { rename-session "%%" }→

C-bthensPick a session from a listchoose-tree -Zs

C-bthen)Next sessionswitch-client -n

C-bthen(Previous sessionswitch-client -p

C-bthenLJump to last-used sessionswitch-client -l

C-bthenDPick a client to detachchoose-client -Z

$ tmux new -s nameStart a new named session

$ tmux new -s name -dStart a session without attaching

$ tmux attach -t nameAttach to a session

$ tmux new -As nameAttach if it exists, create if not

$ tmux lsList sessions

$ tmux kill-session -t nameKill a session

$ tmux kill-session -aKill every session except the current one

$ tmux kill-serverKill the tmux server and all sessions

$ tmux detachDetach (from the command prompt)

$ tmux rename-session -t old newRename a session

┤ Windows ├

Windows are like browser tabs inside a session. The status bar at the bottom lists them.

C-bthencCreate new windownew-window→C-bthen,Rename windowcommand-prompt -I "#W" { rename-window "%%" }→

C-bthennNext windownext-window

C-bthenpPrevious windowprevious-window

C-bthen0–9Jump to window number Nselect-window -t :=N

C-bthenlToggle to last-used windowlast-window

C-bthen&Kill window (asks to confirm)confirm-before kill-window→

C-bthenfSearch windows by name/contentcommand-prompt { find-window -Z "%%" }

C-bthenwPick a window from a listchoose-tree -Zw

C-bthen'Prompt for a window index to jump tocommand-prompt { select-window }

C-bthen.Move window to a new indexTip: `move-window -r` from the command prompt renumbers all windows to close gaps.command-prompt { move-window -t "%%" }→

C-bthenM-nNext window with activity alertnext-window -a

C-bthenM-pPrevious window with activity alertprevious-window -a

$ tmux neww -n nameCreate a named window

$ swap-window -s 2 -t 1Swap two windows by index

$ move-window -rRenumber windows to close gaps

$ link-window -s other:1Share a window from another session

┤ Panes ├

Panes split one window into multiple terminals, side by side or stacked.

C-bthen%Split pane left / rightsplit-window -h

C-bthen"Split pane top / bottomsplit-window

C-bthen↑↓←→Move between panesselect-pane -U/-D/-L/-R

C-bthenoCycle to next paneselect-pane -t :.+

C-bthen;Toggle to last-used panelast-pane

C-bthenzZoom pane to full window (toggle)resize-pane -Z→

C-bthenxKill pane (asks to confirm)confirm-before kill-pane

C-bthen!Break pane out into its own windowThe reverse is `join-pane -s <window>` from the command prompt — it has no default key.break-pane→

C-bthenqShow pane numbers (press one to jump)display-panes

C-bthen{Swap pane with the previous oneswap-pane -U

C-bthen}Swap pane with the next oneswap-pane -D

C-bthenC-oRotate all panes in the windowrotate-window

C-bthenmMark pane (M clears)select-pane -m

$ join-pane -s :2Pull window 2 in as a pane here

$ setw synchronize-panesType into every pane at once (toggle)

$ capture-pane -p -S -1000Dump the last 1000 lines of a pane

$ pipe-pane -o 'cat >> ~/pane.log'Log all pane output to a file (toggle)

$ respawn-pane -kRestart the command in a dead pane

┤ Resize & layouts ├

Resize panes by hand or snap every pane into one of tmux's preset layouts.

C-bthenM-↑M-↓M-←M-→Resize pane by 5 cellsresize-pane -U/-D/-L/-R 5

C-bthenC-↑C-↓C-←C-→Resize pane by 1 cellresize-pane -U/-D/-L/-R

C-bthenSpaceCycle through preset layoutsnext-layout

C-bthenM-1Layout: even columnsselect-layout even-horizontal

C-bthenM-2Layout: even rowsselect-layout even-vertical

C-bthenM-3Layout: big pane on topselect-layout main-horizontal

C-bthenM-4Layout: big pane on the leftselect-layout main-vertical

C-bthenM-5Layout: tiled gridselect-layout tiled

C-bthenESpread panes out evenlyselect-layout -E

┤ Copy mode & scrolling ├

Copy mode freezes the screen so you can scroll, search, and copy text with the keyboard (vi-style keys shown).

C-bthen[Enter copy mode (scroll & copy)copy-mode

C-bthenPgUpEnter copy mode one page upcopy-mode -u

SpaceStart selecting textbegin-selection

EnterCopy selection and exit copy modeWith vi keys enabled, `y` is the binding everyone adds; the default vi table uses Enter.copy-pipe-and-cancel

qExit copy modecancel

hjklMove the cursor (vi keys / arrows both work)cursor-left/down/up/right

C-uScroll half a page uphalfpage-up

C-dScroll half a page downhalfpage-down

C-b/PgUpScroll a full page uppage-up

C-f/PgDnScroll a full page downpage-down

gJump to the top of scrollbackhistory-top

GJump to the bottom (newest output)history-bottom

/Search downsearch-forward

?Search up (through older output)search-backward

n/NNext / previous search matchsearch-again / search-reverse

VSelect the whole lineselect-line

vToggle rectangle (block) selectionSurprise: in the default vi table, `v` toggles rectangle select — it does not start a selection like in vim. Space starts selection.rectangle-toggle

wbeMove by wordnext-word / previous-word / next-word-end

0$^Start / end of linestart-of-line / end-of-line / back-to-indentation

:Go to line numbergoto-line

*/#Search for the word under the cursorsearch word under cursor

oJump to the other end of the selectionother-end

AAppend selection to the last bufferappend-selection-and-cancel

┤ Paste buffers ├

Everything you copy in tmux lands in a paste buffer — tmux keeps a history of them.

C-bthen]Paste the most recent bufferpaste-buffer -p

C-bthen#List paste bufferslist-buffers

C-bthen=Pick a buffer to paste from historychoose-buffer -Z

C-bthen-Delete the most recent bufferdelete-buffer

$ tmux lsbList paste buffers

$ tmux showbPrint the newest buffer to stdout

$ tmux saveb file.txtSave the newest buffer to a file

$ tmux loadb file.txtLoad a file into a buffer

┤ Command prompt & misc ├

The command prompt, built-in help, and everything that doesn't fit elsewhere.

C-bthen:Open the tmux command promptcommand-prompt→C-bthen?List all keybindingslist-keys -N→

C-bthen/Describe what a key doescommand-prompt -k { list-keys -1N }

C-bthenC-bSend a literal Ctrl-b to the programsend-prefix

C-bthentShow a big clockAny key dismisses it. Yes, it's real. Yes, it's someone's favorite feature.clock-mode

C-btheniShow info about the current windowdisplay-message

C-bthen~Show the server message logshow-messages

C-bthenCBrowse & edit options interactivelycustomize-mode -Z

C-bthenrRedraw the screenrefresh-client

C-bthenC-zSuspend the tmux clientSends tmux itself to the shell background — bring it back with `fg`. If your tmux ever "disappears", you probably pressed this.suspend-client

$ tmux source ~/.tmux.confReload your config

$ tmux send-keys -t name 'cmd' EnterType into a session from outside

$ tmux <any command>Every tmux command works from the shell

$ tmux lsk -N | lessBrowse all keybindings with notes

$ tmux customize-modeInteractive options browser

$ tmux wait-for channelSynchronize scripts with tmux events

The stuff cheat sheets can't fix

The keys are the easy part. These guides fix the things people actually fight with: