Tmux Cheat Sheet: Complete Keyboard Shortcut Guide

This is a complete reference guide for tmux based on my actual configuration. Everything you need to know about sessions, windows, panes, and navigation in one place.

Understanding the Prefix

Prefix Key: Ctrl+s

Almost every tmux command starts with the prefix. Press Ctrl+s, release, then press the next key.

Visual Indicator: When you press the prefix, the session name in the status bar turns red.

Session Management

Creating Sessions

# Create new session
tmux

# Create named session
tmux new -s myproject

# Create session with specific window name
tmux new -s myproject -n editor

Listing Sessions

# From terminal
tmux ls

# From inside tmux
Ctrl+s then s

Attaching to Sessions

# Attach to last session
tmux attach

# Attach to specific session
tmux attach -t myproject

# Attach to session (short form)
tmux a -t myproject

Detaching from Sessions

# Keyboard shortcut
Ctrl+s then d

# Detach all clients from session
tmux detach -a

Renaming Sessions

# From inside tmux
Ctrl+s then $

# From terminal
tmux rename-session -t oldname newname

Killing Sessions

# Kill specific session
tmux kill-session -t myproject

# Kill all sessions except current
tmux kill-session -a

# Kill all sessions
tmux kill-server

Switching Between Sessions

# Interactive session list
Ctrl+s then s
# Use arrow keys or j/k to navigate, Enter to select

# Switch to last session
Ctrl+s then L

# Switch to next session
Ctrl+s then (

# Switch to previous session
Ctrl+s then )

Window Management

Creating Windows

# Create new window
Ctrl+s then c

Switching Between Windows

# Next window (repeatable)
Ctrl+s then Ctrl+l

# Previous window (repeatable)
Ctrl+s then Ctrl+h

# Jump to window by number
Ctrl+s then 0-9

# Last used window
Ctrl+s then l

# Interactive window list
Ctrl+s then w

# Find window by name
Ctrl+s then f

Renaming Windows

Ctrl+s then ,

Killing Windows

# Kill current window (with confirmation)
Ctrl+s then &

# Kill window without confirmation
Ctrl+s then : then type "kill-window"

Moving Windows

# Move current window to position 5
Ctrl+s then : then type "move-window -t 5"

# Swap window with next
Ctrl+s then : then type "swap-window -t +1"

# Swap window with previous
Ctrl+s then : then type "swap-window -t -1"

Pane Management

Creating Panes

# Split horizontally (top/bottom)
Ctrl+s then "

# Split vertically (left/right)
Ctrl+s then %

Navigating Between Panes

# Vim-style navigation
Ctrl+s then h    # Move left
Ctrl+s then j    # Move down
Ctrl+s then k    # Move up
Ctrl+s then l    # Move right

# With vim-tmux-navigator plugin
Ctrl+h    # Move left (no prefix needed)
Ctrl+j    # Move down
Ctrl+k    # Move up
Ctrl+l    # Move right

# Cycle through panes
Ctrl+s then o

# Go to last active pane
Ctrl+s then ;

# Show pane numbers (then press number to jump)
Ctrl+s then q

Resizing Panes

# With mouse (enabled in config)
# Just drag the pane borders

# With keyboard
Ctrl+s then : then type "resize-pane -D 5"    # Down 5 lines
Ctrl+s then : then type "resize-pane -U 5"    # Up 5 lines
Ctrl+s then : then type "resize-pane -L 5"    # Left 5 columns
Ctrl+s then : then type "resize-pane -R 5"    # Right 5 columns

Zooming Panes

# Toggle zoom (fullscreen current pane)
Ctrl+s then z

# Status bar shows "zoom" indicator when active

Moving Panes

# Swap with next pane
Ctrl+s then }

# Swap with previous pane
Ctrl+s then {

# Rotate panes forward
Ctrl+s then Ctrl+o

# Move pane to new window
Ctrl+s then !

# Break pane into new window
Ctrl+s then : then type "break-pane"

# Join pane from another window
Ctrl+s then : then type "join-pane -s 2.1"    # Join pane 1 from window 2

Pane Layouts

# Cycle through preset layouts
Ctrl+s then Space

# Available layouts:
# - even-horizontal
# - even-vertical
# - main-horizontal
# - main-vertical
# - tiled

Killing Panes

# Kill current pane (with confirmation)
Ctrl+s then x

# Kill pane without confirmation
exit    # or Ctrl+d in the shell

Copy Mode (Scrollback)

Entering Copy Mode

# Custom keybinding
Alt+k

# Default keybinding
Ctrl+s then [

# Vim-style movement
h, j, k, l         # Left, down, up, right
w, b               # Next word, previous word
0, $               # Start of line, end of line
g, G               # Top of buffer, bottom of buffer
Ctrl+u, Ctrl+d     # Page up, page down

# Arrow keys also work
↑, ↓, ←, →

Searching in Copy Mode

/          # Search forward
?          # Search backward
n          # Next match
N          # Previous match

Copying Text

Space      # Start selection
Enter      # Copy selection and exit copy mode
Esc        # Cancel selection
q          # Exit copy mode

Pasting Text

Ctrl+s then ]      # Paste most recent buffer
Ctrl+s then =      # List all buffers and choose

Configuration Management

Reloading Config

# Custom keybinding
Ctrl+s then r

# Manual reload
Ctrl+s then : then type "source-file ~/.tmux.conf"

Viewing Current Settings

# Show all options
Ctrl+s then : then type "show-options -g"

# Show all key bindings
Ctrl+s then ?

Command Mode

Entering Command Mode

Ctrl+s then :

Useful Commands

:setw synchronize-panes on     # Type in all panes simultaneously
:setw synchronize-panes off    # Disable synchronized typing
:set mouse off                 # Disable mouse
:set mouse on                  # Enable mouse
:list-keys                     # Show all keybindings
:list-commands                 # Show all commands

Status Bar Information

My config shows:

Left Side:

Session name (red when prefix active, green otherwise)
Current command running
Current directory (shortened)
Zoom indicator

Center:

Window list with numbers
Current window highlighted in peach

Right Side:

Battery percentage (red if ≤10%)
Online/offline status
Date and time

Quick Reference Card

Sessions

Action	Command
New session	`tmux new -s name`
List sessions	`tmux ls` or `Ctrl+s` `s`
Attach	`tmux a -t name`
Detach	`Ctrl+s` `d`
Rename	`Ctrl+s` `$`
Kill	`tmux kill-session -t name`

Windows

Action	Command
New window	`Ctrl+s` `c`
Next window	`Ctrl+s` `Ctrl+l`
Previous window	`Ctrl+s` `Ctrl+h`
Jump to window	`Ctrl+s` `0-9`
Rename window	`Ctrl+s` `,`
Kill window	`Ctrl+s` `&`
List windows	`Ctrl+s` `w`

Panes

Action	Command
Split horizontal	`Ctrl+s` `"`
Split vertical	`Ctrl+s` `%`
Navigate	`Ctrl+s` `h/j/k/l`
Zoom toggle	`Ctrl+s` `z`
Kill pane	`Ctrl+s` `x`
Swap panes	`Ctrl+s` `{` or `}`
Rotate panes	`Ctrl+s` `Ctrl+o`
Cycle layouts	`Ctrl+s` `Space`

Copy Mode

Action	Command
Enter copy mode	`Alt+k`
Search forward	`/`
Search backward	`?`
Start selection	`Space`
Copy selection	`Enter`
Paste	`Ctrl+s` `]`
Exit	`q`

System

Action	Command
Reload config	`Ctrl+s` `r`
Command mode	`Ctrl+s` `:`
List keys	`Ctrl+s` `?`
Show time	`Ctrl+s` `t`

Common Workflows

Basic Development Setup

# 1. Create session
tmux new -s myproject

# 2. Split for editor and terminal
Ctrl+s then "

# 3. Navigate to bottom pane
Ctrl+s then j

# 4. Split for logs
Ctrl+s then %

# Result: Editor (top), terminal (bottom-left), logs (bottom-right)

Multiple Projects

# Create sessions for each project
tmux new -s frontend
Ctrl+s then d

tmux new -s backend
Ctrl+s then d

tmux new -s database
Ctrl+s then d

# Switch between them
Ctrl+s then s    # Interactive list

Monitoring Multiple Services

# 1. Create session
tmux new -s monitoring

# 2. Create window for each service
Ctrl+s then c    # Repeat for each service

# 3. Rename windows
Ctrl+s then ,    # Name: "nginx"
Ctrl+s then n    # Next window
Ctrl+s then ,    # Name: "postgres"
# etc.

# 4. Switch between windows
Ctrl+s then Ctrl+h/l

Pair Programming

# Person 1: Create session
tmux new -s pairing

# Person 2: Attach to same session
tmux attach -t pairing

# Both see and control the same session

Tips

Mouse is enabled - Use it while learning, gradually switch to keyboard
Prefix indicator - Session name turns red when prefix is active
Zoom is your friend - Ctrl+s z to focus on one pane
Name everything - Named sessions and windows are easier to find
Detach freely - Sessions persist, you can always reattach
Copy mode - Alt+k to scroll and search history
Synchronized panes - Type in multiple panes at once with :setw synchronize-panes on

Plugins

Installed via TPM (Tmux Plugin Manager):

catppuccin/tmux - Mocha theme
vim-tmux-navigator - Seamless Vim/tmux navigation
tmux-battery - Battery status
tmux-online-status - Network status

TPM auto-installs on first run.