How to search the scrollback in tmux
Enter copy mode, then search like less/vim:
keysprefix + [ then ? (search up) · n / N (repeat)
The flow
You're almost always looking for something that already scrolled past, so ? (search upward) is the one to remember. Type the pattern, Enter, then n for the next hit and N for the previous. Matches are highlighted. * searches for the word under the cursor.
Related
Verified against tmux 3.6 · updated July 2026 · back to the full cheat sheet