(C-x means ctrl+x, M-x means alt+x)
The default prefix is C-b. If you (or your muscle memory) prefer C-a, you need to add this to ~/.tmux.conf:
# remap prefix to Control + a
set -g prefix C-a
# bind 'C-a C-a' to type 'C-a'
bind C-a send-prefix
unbind C-b
I'm going to assume that C-a is your prefix.
Session is a set of windows, plus a notion of which window is current.
Window is a single screen covered with panes. (Once might compare it to a ‘virtual desktop’ or a ‘space’.)
Pane is a rectangular part of a window that runs a specific command, e.g. a shell.
Display a list of keyboard shortcuts:
C-a ?
Navigate using Vim or Emacs shortcuts, depending on the value of mode-keys. Emacs is the default, and if you want Vim shortcuts for help and copy modes (e.g. j, k, C-u, C-d), add the following line to ~/.tmux.conf:
setw -g mode-keys vi
Any command mentioned in this list can be executed as tmux something or C-a :something (or added to ~/.tmux.conf).
Creating a session:
tmux new-session -s work
Create a new session that shares all windows with an existing session, but has its own separate notion of which window is current:
tmux new-session -s work2 -t work
Attach to a session:
tmux attach -t work
Detach from a session: C-a d.
Switch between sessions:
C-a ( previous session
C-a ) next session
C-a L ‘last’ (previously used) session
C-a s choose a session from a list
Other:
C-a $ rename the current session
C-a
Create a window:
C-a c create a new window
Switch between windows:
C-a 1 ... switch to window 1, ..., 9, 0
C-a 9
C-a 0
C-a p previous window
C-a n next window
C-a l ‘last’ (previously used) window
C-a w choose window from a list
Switch between windows with a twist:
C-a M-n next window with a bell, activity or
content alert
C-a M-p previous such window
Other:
C-a , rename the current window
C-a & kill the current window
Creating a new pane by splitting an existing one:
C-a " split vertically (top/bottom)
C-a % split horizontally (left/right)
Switching between panes:
C-a left go to the next pane on the left
C-a right (or one of these other directions)
C-a up
C-a down
C-a o go to the next pane (cycle through all of them)
C-a ; go to the ‘last’ (previously used) pane
Moving panes around:
C-a { move the current pane to the previous position
C-a } move the current pane to the next position
C-a C-o rotate window ‘up’ (i.e. move all panes)
C-a M-o rotate window ‘down’
C-a ! move the current pane into a new separate
window (‘break pane’)
C-a :move-pane -t :3.2
split window 3's pane 2 and move the current pane there
Resizing panes:
C-a M-up, C-a M-down, C-a M-left, C-a M-right
resize by 5 rows/columns
C-a C-up, C-a C-down, C-a C-left, C-a C-right
resize by 1 row/column
Applying predefined layouts:
C-a M-1 switch to even-horizontal layout
C-a M-2 switch to even-vertical layout
C-a M-3 switch to main-horizontal layout
C-a M-4 switch to main-vertical layout
C-a M-5 switch to tiled layout
C-a space switch to the next layout
Other:
C-a x kill the current pane
C-a q display pane numbers for a short while
Force a reload of the config file on C-a r:
unbind r
bind r source-file ~/.tmux.conf
Some other settings that I use:
setw -g xterm-keys on
Assuming tmux prefix of C-b and emacs style key bindings
# enter copy mode
C-b [
# mark selection start
C-space
# Navigate with emacs keys
C-a
C-f
C-n
# etc to select region
# copy region
Alt+w
# Paste selecton
C-b ]
# see all paster buffers
C-b #
In the terminal, working with tmux copy buffers:
# show tmux clipboard contents
tmux show-buffer
# save to a file
tmux save-buffer foo.txt
# list all buffers
tmux list-buffers
# or show a particular buffer
tmux show-buffer -b n
# dump buffer n to file
tmux save-buffer -b n foo.txt