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Tmux Basics

Benhcmark Administrator

29/08/2025

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Mastering the Command Line: A Beginner’s Guide to Tmux Basics

If you work extensively in the command line, you’ve likely faced the frustration of a dropped SSH connection erasing your progress or the chaos of managing dozens of terminal tabs. There is a powerful solution that can revolutionize your workflow: Tmux.

Tmux, short for Terminal Multiplexer, is a tool that allows you to create, manage, and persist multiple terminal sessions from a single window. It acts as a window manager directly inside your terminal, giving you capabilities that are essential for modern developers, system administrators, and data scientists.

What is a Terminal Multiplexer and Why Do You Need One?

Imagine you’re working on a remote server, running a long-running script. If your internet connection drops, your SSH session terminates, and the script is killed. With Tmux, your work runs inside a session that persists on the server, completely independent of your connection. You can simply reconnect and re-attach to your session, finding everything exactly as you left it.

Here are the primary benefits of integrating Tmux into your workflow:

• Persistent Sessions: Your sessions stay alive on the server even if you disconnect. This is a game-changer for long-running tasks, remote work, and unstable connections.
• Efficient Window and Pane Management: Instead of juggling multiple terminal windows, you can create “windows” (like browser tabs) and “panes” (split-screen views) all within a single Tmux session.
• Session Sharing: Multiple users can connect to the same Tmux session, making it an excellent tool for pair programming and remote collaboration.
• Improved Productivity: By keeping your entire workflow for a project—such as a text editor, a server log, and a command prompt—visible in one organized screen, you eliminate constant context switching.

Understanding the Tmux Hierarchy: Sessions, Windows, and Panes

To use Tmux effectively, it’s crucial to understand its three-level structure:

1. Session: The outermost container. You can think of a session as a dedicated workspace for a specific project. For example, you might have one session for “api-development” and another for “database-maintenance.”
2. Window: Inside each session, you can have multiple windows. These are like tabs in a web browser, allowing you to organize different tasks within the same project (e.g., one window for your code editor, another for running tests).
3. Pane: Each window can be split into multiple panes, both horizontally and vertically. This allows you to view and interact with several command prompts simultaneously within a single window.

Getting Started: The Most Essential Tmux Commands

All commands in Tmux are triggered using a prefix key, followed by a command key. The default prefix is Ctrl-b. To send a command, you press Ctrl-b, release it, and then press the desired key.

Session Management

These commands are typed directly into your shell to start and manage Tmux sessions.

• Start a new named session:
  tmux new -s <session-name>
• List all running sessions:
  tmux ls
• Attach to the last session:
  tmux attach or tmux a
• Attach to a specific named session:
  tmux attach -t <session-name>
• Detach from your current session (inside Tmux):
  Ctrl-b then d

Security Tip: Detaching is not the same as logging out. Always remember that a detached session remains active on the server. Ensure your server is secure and avoid leaving sessions with sensitive information running indefinitely.

Window Management

Once inside a Tmux session, use these commands to manage your windows.

• Create a new window:
  Ctrl-b then c
• Navigate to the next window:
  Ctrl-b then n
• Navigate to the previous window:
  Ctrl-b then p
• Go to a specific window by its number (0, 1, 2…):
  Ctrl-b then 0
• See a list of all windows to choose from:
  Ctrl-b then w

Pane Management

Use these commands to split your windows and manage panes.

• Split the current pane vertically (side-by-side):
  Ctrl-b then %
• Split the current pane horizontally (top-and-bottom):
  Ctrl-b then "
• Navigate between panes:
  Ctrl-b then Arrow Key (Up, Down, Left, or Right)
• Close the current pane:
  Ctrl-b then x (you will be asked to confirm)

A Practical Workflow Example

Let’s see how this all comes together.

1. You start work on a new web project. You SSH into your server and start a new Tmux session: tmux new -s web-project.
2. In the first window, you start your development server.
3. You need to edit a file, so you split the pane vertically: Ctrl-b then %. In the new pane, you open the file with vim.
4. Now you need to monitor logs. You create a new window: Ctrl-b then c. In this window, you run tail -f logs/development.log.
5. Your workday is over. Instead of stopping everything, you simply detach from the session: Ctrl-b then d.
6. The next day, you SSH back into the server and attach to your session: tmux attach -t web-project. Your server, editor, and log monitor are all still running exactly where you left them.

Final Thoughts: A Fundamental Upgrade to Your Workflow

Learning Tmux may seem daunting at first, but mastering these basic commands is a small investment for a massive return in productivity and peace of mind. The ability to organize your workspace and protect your work from disconnections makes it an indispensable tool for anyone who takes the command line seriously.

Start by integrating session management into your daily routine, then gradually introduce windows and panes as you become more comfortable. Before you know it, Tmux will become a core part of your development toolkit, and you’ll wonder how you ever worked without it.

Source: https://linuxhandbook.com/tmux/