TMUX(1)                     General Commands Manual                    TMUX(1)

NAME
     tmux – terminal multiplexer

SYNOPSIS
     tmux [-vV] [-c client-tty] [-S socket-path] [-s session-name] command
          [arguments]

DESCRIPTION
     tmux is a terminal multiplexer; it enables a number of terminals (or
     windows) to be accessed and controlled from a single terminal.

     tmux runs as a server-client system. A server is created automatically
     when necessary and holds a number of sessions, each of which may have a
     number of windows linked to it. Any number of clients may connect to a
     session, or the server may be controlled by issuing commands with tmux.
     Communication takes place through a socket, by default placed in /tmp.

     The options are as follows:

     -c client-tty
                   Apply command to the client on the given tty.  Clients may
                   be listed with the list-clients command (see below).  This
                   option does not apply to all commands.

     -S socket-path
                   Specify an alternative path to the server socket.  The
                   default is /tmp/tmux-UID, where UID is the uid of the user
                   who invoked tmux.

     -s session-name
                   Apply command to the session named session-name.  This
                   option does not apply to all commands.  If it is omitted
                   and tmux is invoked from a running tmux client, the session
                   the containing client is connected to will be used;
                   otherwise, if only one session exists, it is chosen, or if
                   multiple sessions exist, an error is generated.

     -v            Request verbose logging.  This option may be specified
                   multiple times for increasing verbosity.  Log messages will
                   be saved into tmux-client-PID.log and tmux-server-PID.log
                   files in the current directory, where PID is the pid of the
                   server or client process.

     command [arguments]
                   This specifies one of a set of commands used to control
                   tmux, and described in the following sections.

KEY BINDINGS
     tmux may be controlled from an attached client by using a key combination
     of a prefix, ‘^B’ (ctrl-B) by default, followed by a command key.

     Some of the default key bindings include:

     ‘d’     Detach current client.
     ‘c’     Create new window.
     ‘n’     Change to next window in the current session.
     ‘p’     Change to previous window in the current session.
     ‘l’     Move to last (previously selected) window in the current session.
     ‘?’     List current key bindings.

     A complete list may be obtained with the list-keys command (bound to ‘?’
     by default). Key bindings may be changed with the bind-key and unbind-key
     commands.

HISTORY
     tmux maintains a configurable history buffer for each window.  By
     default, up to 2000 lines are kept, this can be altered with the
     history-limit option (see the set-option command below).

MODES
     A tmux window may be in one of several modes.  The default permits direct
     access to the terminal attached to the window.  The others are:

     output mode
             This is entered when a command which produces output, such as
             list-keys, is executed from a key binding.  The ‘up’, ‘down’,
             ‘page-up’ and ‘page-down’ keys or vi(1) style ‘j’, ‘k’, keys may
             be used to scroll the output up and down.  The ‘q’ key will exit
             output mode.

     scroll mode
             This is entered with the scroll-mode command (bound to ‘=’ by
             default) and permits the window history buffer to be inspected.
             In addition to the commands supported by output mode, the left
             and right arrow keys, or ‘h’ and ‘l’, will scroll left and right.

     copy mode
             This is permits a section of a window or its history to be copied
             to the paste buffer for later insertion into another window.  The
             navigation keys move the cursor around the window, scrolling as
             necessary.  In addition, ‘^A’ and ‘^E’ move to the start and end
             of the line; the space key begins a selection; and the enter key
             or ‘^W’ copies the selection to the paste buffer and exits copy
             mode.

             This mode is entered with the copy-mode command, bound to [‘’ by
             default.

COMMANDS
     tmux supports the following commands:

     attach-session [-d]
                   (alias: attach)
             Create a new client in the current terminal and attach it to a
             session.  If -d is specified, any other clients attached to the
             session are detached.

     bind-key key command [arguments]
                   (alias: bind)
             Bind key key to command.

     copy-mode
             Enter copy mode.  This command does nothing unless bound to a
             key.

     detach-client
                   (alias: detach)
             Detach the current client if bound to a key, or the specified
             client with -c.

     has-session
                   (alias: has)
             Report an error and exit with 1 if the specified session does not
             exist. If it does exist, exit with 0.

     kill-session
             Destroy the given session, closing any windows linked to it and
             no other sessions, and detaching all clients attached to it.

     kill-window [-i index]
                   (alias: killw)
             Kill the current window or the window at index, removing it from
             any sessions to which it is linked.

     last-window
                   (alias: last)
             Select the last (previously selected) window.

     link-window [-dk] [-i destination-index] source-name source-index
                   (alias: linkw)
             Link the window at source-index in session source-name into the
             specified session. If destination-index is specified and no
             window exists with that index, the window is linked at that
             index.  If -k is given and a window exists at destination-index,
             it is killed, otherwise an error is generated.  If -d is given,
             the newly linked window is not selected.

     list-clients
                   (alias: lsc)
             List all clients attached to the server.

     list-keys
                   (alias: lsk)
             List all key bindings.

     list-sessions
                   (alias: ls)
             List all sessions managed by the server.

     list-windows
                   (alias: lsw)
             List all windows.

     new-session [-d] [-s session-name] [-n window-name] [command]
                   (alias: new)
             Create a new session with name session-name.  The new session is
             attached to the current terminal unless -d is given.  window-name
             and command are the name of and command to execute in the initial
             window.

     new-window [-d] [-i index] [-n name] [command]
                   (alias: neww)
             Create a new window. If -d is given, the session does not make
             the new window the current window.  index and name are the index
             of the new window in the session and the name of the new window.
             command is the command to execute.  If index is not specified,
             the first free index is used.  If command is not specified, the
             default command is used.

             The TERM environment variable must be set to “screen” for all
             program running inside tmux.  New windows will automatically have
             “TERM=screen” added to their environment, but care must be taken
             not to reset this in shell start-up files.

     next-window
                   (alias: next)
             Move to the next window in the session.

     paste-buffer
                   (alias: paste)
             Insert the contents of the paste buffer into the current window.
             Ignored unless executed via a key binding.

     previous-window
                   (alias: prev)
             Move to the previous window in the session.

     refresh-client
                   (alias: refresh)
             Refresh the current client if bound to a key, or a single client
             if one given with -c.

     rename-session new-name
                   (alias: rename)
             Rename the session to new-name.

     rename-window [-i index] new-name
                   (alias: renamew)
             Rename the current window, or the window at index if specifed, to
             new-name.

     scroll-mode
             Enter scroll mode.  This command works only if bound to a key.

     select-window index
                   (alias: selectw)
             Select the window at index.

     send-prefix
             Send the prefix key to a window as if it was pressed.  This is
             ignored unless bound to a key.

     set-option option value
                   (alias: set)
             Set an option. Possible options are:

             prefix key
                     Set the current prefix key.

             history-limit lines
                     Set the maximum number of lines held in window history.
                     This setting applies only to new windows - existing
                     window histories are not resized and retain the limit at
                     the point they were created.

             status [on | off]
                     Show or hide the status line.

             status-fg colour
                     Set status line foreground colour, where colour is one
                     of: black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white
                     or default.

             status-bg colour
                     Set status line backgroun colour.

             bell-action [any | none | current]
                     Set action on window bell.  any means a bell in any
                     window linked to a session causes a bell in the current
                     window of that session, none means all bells are ignored
                     and current means only bell in windows other than the
                     current window are ignored.

             default-command command
                     Sets the command used for new windows (if not specified
                     when the window is created) to command.  The default is
                     “exec $SHELL”.

     swap-window [-i destination-index] source-name source-index
                   (alias: swapw)
             This is similar to link-window, except the source and destination
             windows are swapped.  It is an error if no window exists at
             destination-index.

     unbind-key key
                   (alias: unbind)
             Unbind the key bound to key.

     unlink-window [-i index]
                   (alias: unlinkw)
             Unlink the window at index.  A window may be unlinked only if it
             is linked to multiple sessions - windows may not be linked to no
             sessions.

SEE ALSO
     pty(4)

AUTHORS
     Nicholas Marriott ⟨nicm@users.sourceforge.net⟩

BSD                            November 9, 2007                            BSD