50+ tmux cheat sheet and shortcut commands

In this tutorial, we'll explore tmux, covering essential commands, session management, window and pane operations, and customization techniques to enhance your command-line efficiency.

tmux is a terminal multiplexer, an essential tool for command-line users, especially developers, system administrators, and power users. It allows for multiple terminal sessions to be created, accessed, and controlled from a single screen. tmux sessions are persistent, meaning they continue to run even when not actively connected, which is particularly useful for remote work. Inside tmux, users can split the view horizontally or vertically, creating multiple panes within a single window. This feature facilitates multitasking and enhances productivity by enabling users to monitor and manage several tasks simultaneously. With customization options, users can tailor tmux to fit their workflow, making it a versatile tool for a wide range of command-line activities.

1. Installing tmux

Below are the commands for installing tmux on various Linux distributions, as well as for Mac and BSD systems:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt-get install tmux

# Fedora
sudo dnf install tmux

# CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum install tmux

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S tmux

# openSUSE
sudo zypper install tmux

# Gentoo
sudo emerge tmux

# Slackware
sudo slackpkg install tmux

# FreeBSD
sudo pkg install tmux

# OpenBSD
sudo pkg_add tmux

# Mac (using Homebrew)
brew install tmux

2. Starting and Managing Sessions

Here's a table summarizing key commands for starting and managing sessions in tmux:

This table covers the basic operations for handling tmux sessions, including creating, listing, attaching to, detaching from, and killing sessions. Remember, Ctrl+b is the default prefix key in tmux, which you press before entering any command keybindings.

3. Working with Windows

Here's a table with commands for managing windows in tmux:

4. Managing Panes

Here's a table for pane management commands in tmux:

5. Advanced Features

Here's a table with advanced tmux commands for more sophisticated operations:

6. Customizing tmux configuration

Below is a table outlining commands for customizing tmux to tailor it to your preferences:

7. Keybindings Cheat Sheet

Here's a tmux keybindings cheat sheet that provides quick references for commonly used shortcuts:

These keybindings are the default settings in tmux and can be customized in the tmux configuration file. For more detailed information and additional keybindings, the tmux manual page (man page for tmux) is a comprehensive resource.