tmux Cheatsheet - Terminal Multiplexer Command Reference

Running tmux on a server is insurance for your SSH session: the network drops, the laptop lid closes, you reconnect, and tmux attach puts everything back, with long-running jobs surviving a SIGHUP. The model has three levels — session, window, pane — and once that nesting is understood the key table becomes predictable: after Ctrl-b, c creates a window, n and p switch, % splits left and right, " splits top and bottom. The detail worth memorising is that tmux prefixes are composable: a bare prefix press is remembered, so e means expand-to-size — e then space fills the window, e then % splits it evenly. Copy mode is the second stumbling block: q to enter, arrows to select, Enter to copy — into tmux's own buffer rather than the system clipboard, unless you enable set-clipboard and the terminal cooperates. The configuration group covers remapping the prefix, mouse support, automatic window renaming and history depth. The screen comparison lives in the previous sheet: tmux wins on plugins and shareable sessions, and costs you an install first.