Tmux: A Journey from Beginner to Advanced User

Tmux: A Journey from Beginner to Advanced User

Welcome to your tmux journey! Whether you’re tired of losing work when your terminal closes or want to boost your productivity with multiple terminal sessions, tmux is your gateway to a more powerful command-line experience. This guide will take you from complete beginner to advanced user, building your skills step by step.

What is Tmux?

Tmux (Terminal Multiplexer) is a tool that allows you to:

• Run multiple terminal sessions within a single window
• Detach from sessions and reattach later (even after rebooting)
• Split your terminal into multiple panes
• Create multiple windows within a session
• Customize your terminal workflow extensively

Think of it as a window manager for your terminal.

Level 1: Installation and First Steps

Installing Tmux

On macOS (assuming you’re using Homebrew):

brew install tmux

On Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install tmux

Verify installation:

tmux -V

Your First Tmux Session

Start tmux:

tmux

You’ll see a green bar at the bottom - that’s the tmux status bar. You’re now in a tmux session!

To exit, type:

exit

Or use the tmux command: Ctrl-b d (we’ll explain this soon).

Level 2: Understanding the Basics

Tmux has three main concepts:

• Sessions: A collection of windows
• Windows: Like tabs in a browser
• Panes: Splits within a window

The default prefix key is Ctrl-b. All tmux commands start with this.

Basic Commands

• Ctrl-b ? - Show help (press q to exit)
• Ctrl-b d - Detach from session
• Ctrl-b : - Enter command mode

Try this: Start tmux, run ls, then detach with Ctrl-b d. Your command is still running!

Reattach with:

tmux attach

Level 3: Working with Windows

Windows are like browser tabs. Create your first window:

tmux

Now create a new window:

Ctrl-b c

Switch between windows:

Ctrl-b n # next window Ctrl-b p # previous window Ctrl-b 0 # window 0 Ctrl-b 1 # window 1

Rename a window:

Ctrl-b ,

List windows:

Ctrl-b w

Level 4: Mastering Panes

Panes let you split your terminal. This is where tmux shines!

Start tmux and split vertically:

Ctrl-b %

Split horizontally:

Ctrl-b "

Navigate between panes:

Ctrl-b ←/→/↑/↓ # arrow keys

Or:

Ctrl-b h/j/k/l # vim-style navigation

Resize panes:

Ctrl-b :resize-pane -R 10 # resize right by 10 Ctrl-b :resize-pane -L 10 # resize left by 10 Ctrl-b :resize-pane -U 10 # resize up by 10 Ctrl-b :resize-pane -D 10 # resize down by 10

Close a pane:

Ctrl-b x

Level 5: Session Management

Sessions are the top-level container. Create named sessions:

tmux new -s mysession

Detach: Ctrl-b d

List sessions:

tmux ls

Attach to a specific session:

tmux attach -t mysession

Kill a session:

tmux kill-session -t mysession

Rename session:

Ctrl-b $

Level 6: Copy Mode and Scrolling

Tmux has its own copy mode for scrolling and copying text.

Enter copy mode:

Ctrl-b [

Navigate with arrow keys or vim keys (h,j,k,l).

To copy:

1. Navigate to start
2. Press Space to start selection
3. Navigate to end
4. Press Enter to copy

Paste:

Ctrl-b ]

Exit copy mode: q or Esc

Level 7: Customization - Making Tmux Your Own

Create a config file:

touch ~/.tmux.conf

Basic Customizations

Change prefix to Ctrl-a (screen style):

# In ~/.tmux.conf unbind C-b set -g prefix C-a bind C-a send-prefix

Better colors and status bar:

# Enable 256 colors set -g default-terminal "screen-256color" # Status bar set -g status-bg black set -g status-fg white set -g status-left '#[fg=green]#S '

Reload config:

tmux source ~/.tmux.conf

Useful Keybindings

Vim-style pane navigation:

# Smart pane switching with awareness of Vim splits bind -n C-h run "(tmux display-message -p '#{pane_current_command}' | grep -iq vim && tmux send-keys C-h) || tmux select-pane -L" bind -n C-j run "(tmux display-message -p '#{pane_current_command}' | grep -iq vim && tmux send-keys C-j) || tmux select-pane -D" bind -n C-k run "(tmux display-message -p '#{pane_current_command}' | grep -iq vim && tmux send-keys C-k) || tmux select-pane -U" bind -n C-l run "(tmux display-message -p '#{pane_current_command}' | grep -iq vim && tmux send-keys C-l) || tmux select-pane -R"

Mouse support:

set -g mouse on

Level 8: Advanced Techniques

Window and Pane Layouts

Save and restore layouts:

Ctrl-b :select-layout even-horizontal Ctrl-b :select-layout even-vertical Ctrl-b :select-layout main-vertical

Scripting Tmux

Create a development environment script:

#!/bin/bash # dev-setup.sh # Create new session tmux new-session -d -s dev # Create windows tmux new-window -t dev:1 -n 'editor' tmux new-window -t dev:2 -n 'server' tmux new-window -t dev:3 -n 'logs' # Split panes in editor window tmux select-window -t dev:1 tmux split-window -h tmux select-pane -t 0 tmux send-keys 'vim' C-m # Start server in server window tmux select-window -t dev:2 tmux send-keys 'cd /path/to/project && npm start' C-m # Attach to session tmux attach -t dev

Tmux Plugins

Install Tmux Plugin Manager (TPM):

git clone https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tpm ~/.tmux/plugins/tpm

Add to ~/.tmux.conf:

# List of plugins set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tpm' set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-sensible' set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-resurrect' # Save sessions across reboots # Initialize TMUX plugin manager run '~/.tmux/plugins/tpm/tpm'

Install plugins: Ctrl-b I

Level 9: Power User Tips

Nested Tmux Sessions

When you need tmux inside tmux:

# In inner tmux, use Ctrl-b twice Ctrl-b Ctrl-b <command>

Pair Programming

Share sessions with others:

# Start session tmux new -s pair # Others join tmux attach -t pair

Integration with Other Tools

Tmux + Vim:

# In vim, run commands in tmux panes :terminal # Open terminal in vim :!tmux send-keys -t <pane> '<command>' C-m

Tmux + SSH:

# SSH with tmux ssh user@host -t tmux attach

Conclusion

You’ve completed your tmux journey! From basic session management to advanced scripting and plugins, you now have the tools to supercharge your terminal workflow.

Quick Reference

Command	Description
tmux	Start new session
Ctrl-b d	Detach
tmux attach	Reattach
Ctrl-b c	New window
Ctrl-b %	Vertical split
Ctrl-b "	Horizontal split
Ctrl-b ?	Help

Next Steps

• Experiment with different layouts
• Set up your ideal development environment
• Explore more plugins at tmux-plugins
• Read the official tmux manual

Remember, mastery comes with practice. Start using tmux daily, and you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it!

Happy multiplexing! 🚀