Learn how to - How To Install and Use Tmux on Linux

Felix Williams How to Linux Tutorials January 11, 2023

Learn how to – How To Install and Use Tmux on Linux.

Tmux is a terminal multiplexer which enables a number of terminals to be created, accessed, and controlled from a single screen. Tmux may be detached from a screen and will continue to run in the background, then later re-attached.

Whenever tmux is started it creates a new session with a single window and displays it on screen. A status line at the bottom of the screen shows information on the current session and is used to enter interactive commands.

In this guide, I’m going to share with you Tmux cheat sheet to help you get started with tmux on Linux or Unix box. Before the cheat sheet section, let’s first have a look at how to install tmux on Linux.

How To Install tmux on Linux

We’ll consider installation of Tmux on Arch Linux, Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora, and Gentoo.

Install tmux on Arch Linux

Just run one of the following commands:

sudo pacman -S tmux --noconfirm

Install tmux on Ubuntu / Debian

To install tmux on Ubuntu or Debian system, use:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install tmux

Install tmux on Fedora / CentOS

For Fedora / CentOS system, use dnf and yum package managers respectively.

# Fedora
sudo dnf -y install tmux

# CentOS
sudo yum -y install tmux

Using tmux on Linux – CentOS, Fedora, Ubuntu, and Debian

After the installation, you can start using tmux. The following tips will give you heads on how to use tmux.

Start tmux

$ tmux

Detach from tmux

To detach from active tmux session, type control+b followed by d

$ ctrl-b d

Restore tmux session

To attach to detached tmux session, use:

$ tmux attach

Create new tmux session with name

Use the new sub-command with -s session to give it a name.

$ tmux new -s test

Attach to named detached tmux session

If you detach tmux session, you can always re-attach using a command with -t option.

$ tmux a -t test

Display tmux sessions

Show all active tmux sessions using the command.

$ tmux ls

Rename session

The following command is used to rename an active session.

$ Ctrl-b $

Provide session name and press enter key.

Switch session

Use this key combination to switch session.

$ Ctrl-b s

Show tmux help screen (Q to quit)

Tmux help screen can be checked with:

$ Ctrl-b ?

Press q key to exit.

Tmux Window management

Create a new window.

$ Ctrl-b c

Destroy tmux window:

$ Ctrl-b x

Switch between windows:

$ Ctrl-b [0-9] or Ctrl-b Arrows

Split windows horizontally:

$ Ctrl-b %

Split windows vertically:

$ Ctrl-b "

These are the most common tmux operations and commands you’ll need when working with tmux sessions. If you know of tmux commands not here, you can share on the comments section.

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Learn how to – How To Install and Use Tmux on Linux