tmux Cheatsheet - Terminal Multiplexer Command Reference
Essential tmux commands for remote development. Organized by session, window, pane, copy mode, and configuration — keep sessions alive when connections drop.
Back to SysOpsSession 7
tmux new -s myworkCreate a named session
tmux lsList all sessions
tmux attach -t myworkAttach to a specific session
tmux kill-session -t myworkKill a specific session
Ctrl+b dDetach from current session (session keeps running)
Ctrl+b $Rename current session
tmux kill-serverKill all sessions and the tmux server
Window 6
Ctrl+b cCreate a new window
Ctrl+b ,Rename current window
Ctrl+b n / pSwitch to next / previous window
Ctrl+b 0-9Switch to window by number
Ctrl+b &Close current window (confirms)
Ctrl+b wInteractive window list selection
Pane 7
Ctrl+b %Split pane horizontally
Ctrl+b "Split pane vertically
Ctrl+b arrowMove focus between panes
Ctrl+b zToggle pane zoom fullscreen/restore
Ctrl+b xClose current pane (confirms)
Ctrl+b { / }Swap pane positions
Ctrl+b SpaceCycle through layouts
Copy Mode 5
Ctrl+b [Enter copy mode, scroll and select text
qExit copy mode
SpaceStart selection (vi mode)
EnterCopy selected text
Ctrl+b ]Paste most recently copied text
Config ~/.tmux.conf 5
set -g mouse onEnable mouse scrolling and pane dragging
set -g base-index 1Start window numbering at 1 (default 0)
setw -g mode-keys viUse vi key bindings in copy mode
set -g default-terminal "screen-256color"Enable 256 colors, fix display issues
bind r source-file ~/.tmux.conf \; display "Reloaded!"Bind r to reload config
💡 Tips
- tmux sessions survive SSH disconnects — reattach with tmux attach after reconnecting, essential for remote development.
- Ctrl+b is the default prefix key — change it to Ctrl+a in .tmux.conf if it conflicts with terminal shortcuts.
- Text selected in copy mode goes to the tmux buffer — extra configuration is needed to sync with the system clipboard.