tmux: a modern replacement for screen

Source: Dev.to

Overview

Tmux is a terminal multiplexer. It lets you run multiple programs in a single terminal, detach them (so they keep running in the background), and later reattach from another terminal.

• Session – groups one or more windows together.
• Window – groups one or more panes; a session can have multiple windows.
• Pane – a split area inside a window that contains a terminal with a running program.

Sessions

Creating a session

If you don’t specify a name, tmux will assign one automatically:

tmux

Create a session with a custom name:

tmux new -s session_name

After creating a session, tmux attaches you to it automatically.

Detaching and exiting

• Detach from a session (leaves it running in the background):

  Ctrl+b d

• Exit the shell; the session will be destroyed if no windows remain:

  Ctrl+D

Managing sessions

• List all running sessions:

  tmux ls

• Attach to the only (or last used) session:

  tmux attach

• Attach to a specific session by name:

  tmux attach -t session_name

Windows

A window in tmux is similar to a tab in a terminal emulator.

Creating and navigating windows

• Create a new window:

  Ctrl+b c

• Switch to the next or previous window:

  Ctrl+b n (next)
  Ctrl+b p (previous)

• Switch to a window by number (e.g., 0, 1, 2):

  Ctrl+b 0 Ctrl+b 1 Ctrl+b 2

• Show the window list:

  Ctrl+b w

Panes

A pane is a split area inside a tmux window. Each pane runs its own shell or program.

Splitting panes

• Split the current window vertically:

  Ctrl+b %

• Split the current window horizontally:

  Ctrl+b "

Moving between panes

• Move to the next pane:

  Ctrl+b o

• Switch to a specific pane using arrow keys:

  Ctrl+b ← Ctrl+b → Ctrl+b ↑ Ctrl+b ↓

Resizing panes

Ctrl+b Ctrl+←   # shrink left
Ctrl+b Ctrl+→   # enlarge right
Ctrl+b Ctrl+↑   # enlarge up
Ctrl+b Ctrl+↓   # shrink down

Closing a pane

Close the current pane by exiting the shell:

Ctrl+D