tmux Cheatsheet

Windows

Use this tmux reference while you build software engineering projects, review code, or refresh the syntax you reach for most.

Window Bindings

A window is a tab. Each window fills the client's screen and holds one or more panes.

Keys	Action
`prefix c`	Create a window
`prefix ,`	Rename this window
`prefix &`	Kill this window (asks to confirm)
`prefix n` / `prefix p`	Next / previous window
`prefix 0`…`9`	Select window by index
`prefix '`	Prompt for a window index
`prefix l`	Last used window (toggle)
`prefix w`	Interactive tree of sessions and windows
`prefix f`	Find a window by name or content
`prefix .`	Move this window to another index
`prefix M-n` / `prefix M-p`	Next / previous window with activity

Windows From the Command Line

tmux new-window                       # in the current session
tmux new-window -n logs               # named
tmux new-window -c ~/src              # with a starting directory
tmux new-window -t work:5             # at a specific index
tmux new-window -d -n build           # create without switching to it
tmux new-window 'tail -f app.log'     # run a command in it
tmux rename-window logs
tmux kill-window -t logs
tmux select-window -t 3
tmux move-window -t 1                 # renumber this window
tmux move-window -s work:2 -t dev:4   # move between sessions
tmux swap-window -s 2 -t 4
tmux list-windows

Windows are addressed as session:window, and panes as session:window.pane. work:2.1 means session work, window 2, pane 1.

Naming and Numbering

set -g base-index 1              # windows start at 1, not 0
setw -g pane-base-index 1        # panes too
set -g renumber-windows on       # close a window, no gaps left behind
setw -g automatic-rename on      # name windows after the running program
setw -g automatic-rename-format '#{b:pane_current_path}'
set -g allow-rename off          # stop programs from renaming your windows

base-index 1 is worth setting on day one: the 0 key is at the far end of the row, so a session that starts at 1 matches your fingers.

Activity and Alerts

setw -g monitor-activity on      # flag a window when output appears
setw -g monitor-bell on
set -g visual-activity off       # do not print a message, just flag it
set -g visual-bell off
set -g bell-action any
setw -g monitor-silence 0        # flag after N seconds of no output

Keys	Action
`prefix M-n`	Next window with an alert
`prefix M-p`	Previous window with an alert

monitor-silence is the useful inverse: flag a window when a long build has stopped producing output, which usually means it finished.

Linking Windows

A window can appear in more than one session, sharing the same panes and processes.

tmux link-window -s work:2 -t dev:5     # same window in both sessions
tmux unlink-window -t dev:5             # remove it from this session
tmux move-window -s work:2 -t dev:5     # link then unlink, in one step

Killing a linked window in one session leaves it in the other. It is only destroyed when the last link goes away.

Window Targeting Quick Reference

Target	Means
`-t 3`	Window index 3 in the current session
`-t name`	The window whose name matches
`-t =name`	Exact name match, no prefix matching
`-t work:3`	Window 3 of session `work`
`-t !`	The last window
`-t ^` / `-t $`	First / last window
`-t +` / `-t -`	Next / previous window
`-t @7`	A window by its unique id