tmux essentials for persistent terminal sessions | TIL

tmux keeps your terminal sessions alive when you disconnect.

Install#

# macOS
brew install tmux

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install tmux

Core concepts#

Session: A collection of windows, persists after disconnect
Window: A full-screen tab within a session
Pane: A split within a window

Essential commands#

All tmux commands start with the prefix Ctrl+b, then a key.

Action	Command
New session	`tmux new -s myproject`
Detach	`Ctrl+b d`
List sessions	`tmux ls`
Attach	`tmux attach -t myproject`
Kill session	`tmux kill-session -t myproject`

Window management#

Action	Command
New window	`Ctrl+b c`
Next window	`Ctrl+b n`
Previous window	`Ctrl+b p`
Rename window	`Ctrl+b ,`

Pane splitting#

Action	Command
Split vertical	`Ctrl+b %`
Split horizontal	`Ctrl+b "`
Navigate panes	`Ctrl+b arrow`
Close pane	`Ctrl+d` or `exit`

Typical workflow#

# Start a named session
tmux new -s dev

# Run your process (e.g., a build server)
npm run dev

# Detach with Ctrl+b d
# Log out, go home, whatever

# Later, reattach
tmux attach -t dev
# Your process is still running