Tmux Fundamentals

A special mode that allows external programs to control tmux programmatically, sending commands and receiving output.

Your terminal that connects to the tmux server to interact with sessions.

External script or tool that extends tmux functionality (e.g., TPM for managing them).

Connect your terminal to an existing tmux session to view and interact with it.

Leave the session running in the background while disconnecting your terminal.

A full‑screen container inside a session, typically holding one or more panes.

A split region inside a window running a shell or program; multiple panes share a window.

A key sequence that tells tmux the next keystrokes are tmux commands (default: Ctrl-b).

The line (usually at the bottom) showing session/window info, time, and custom data.

A mode that lets you scroll history and select/copy text within a pane.

Saved arrangements of panes (e.g., even‑horizontal, even‑vertical, tiled).

Temporarily make a pane full‑screen within its window; toggle to restore layout.

Send the same keystrokes to all panes in a window simultaneously.

Settings that control behavior/appearance; can be global, per‑session, per‑window, or per‑pane.

Startup config file where you set options, key bindings, and plugins.

Named sets of key bindings that tmux switches between (e.g., root, copy-mode).

Points a command at a specific session, window, or pane (e.g., -t session:window.pane).

Numeric identifiers for panes and windows used in commands and the status line.

Temporary storage for copied text within tmux; can paste into panes.

Option that enables clicking to select windows/panes and dragging to resize.

Interactive prompt (opened via a key binding) to run tmux commands.

Navigable tree UI to quickly jump between sessions, windows, and panes.

Notifications when a pane has activity, a bell event, or prolonged silence.

Triggers that run commands when events occur (e.g., client-attached, pane-died).

Placeholders used to display tmux metadata in messages, status lines, and scripts.

A workspace containing one or more windows; you attach/detach from sessions.

The background process that manages all sessions, windows, and panes.