How to use the tmux command prompt
Open the prompt — every tmux command lives here:
keysprefix + :
The escape hatch from memorization
Can't remember the key for something? Type the command: :split-window -h, :rename-window logs, :setw synchronize-panes. Tab completes command names. Everything a keybinding can do, the prompt can do — keys are just shortcuts defined with bind-key.
Discoverability trio
prefix ? lists all keybindings, prefix / describes what a single key does, and tmux list-commands prints every command with its flags. Between these three, tmux is fully self-documenting.
Related
Verified against tmux 3.6 · updated July 2026 · back to the full cheat sheet