Tmux Tutorial: Getting Started

Inspired by another post here -> https://lemmy.run/post/46724

Introduction to Tmux

Tmux is a terminal multiplexer that allows you to run multiple terminal sessions within a single window. It enhances your productivity by enabling you to create and manage multiple panes and windows, detach and reattach sessions, and more. In this tutorial, we'll cover the basic usage of Tmux.

Installation

To install Tmux, follow the instructions below:

macOS

brew install tmux

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt-get install tmux

CentOS/Fedora

sudo dnf install tmux

Starting a Tmux Session

To start a new Tmux session, open your terminal and enter the following command:

tmux new-session

This will create a new Tmux session with a single window.

Key Bindings

Tmux uses key bindings to perform various actions. By default, the prefix key is Ctrl + b, which means you need to press Ctrl + b before executing any command.

For example, to split the current window vertically, you would press Ctrl + b followed by %.

Panes

Panes allow you to split the current window into multiple sections, each running its own command. Here are some commonly used pane commands:

• Split the window vertically: Ctrl + b followed by %
• Split the window horizontally: Ctrl + b followed by "
• Switch between panes: Ctrl + b followed by an arrow key (e.g., Ctrl + b followed by Left Arrow)
• Resize panes: Ctrl + b followed by Ctrl + arrow key

Windows

Windows in Tmux are like tabs in a web browser or editor. They allow you to have multiple terminal sessions within a single Tmux session. Here are some window commands:

• Create a new window: Ctrl + b followed by c
• Switch between windows: Ctrl + b followed by a number key (e.g., Ctrl + b followed by 0 to switch to window 0)
• Close the current window: Ctrl + b followed by &

Session Management

Tmux allows you to detach and reattach sessions, which is useful when you need to switch between different machines or disconnect from your current session.

• Detach from the current session: Ctrl + b followed by d
• List all sessions: tmux list-sessions
• Reattach to a detached session: tmux attach-session -t <session-name>

Configuration

Tmux can be customized by creating a .tmux.conf file in your home directory. You can modify key bindings, customize the status bar, and more. Here's an example of how to change the prefix key to Ctrl + a:

1. Create or edit the .tmux.conf file in your home directory.
2. Add the following line to the file: set-option -g prefix C-a
3. Save the file and exit.

After making changes to your configuration file, you can either restart Tmux or reload the configuration by running the following command within a Tmux session:

tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've learned the basics of using Tmux. With Tmux, you can work more efficiently by managing multiple terminal sessions within a single window. Explore more features and commands by referring to the Tmux documentation.