tmux_cheatsheet.markdown

tmux setup & cheatsheet

My personal tmux configuration — Catppuccin Mocha theme, vim-style navigation, session persistence, and QoL tweaks.

Prefix

C-Space  (rebound from C-b)

.tmux.conf

set-option -sa terminal-overrides ",xterm*:Tc"
set -g mouse on

unbind C-b
set -g prefix C-Space
bind C-Space send-prefix

# Vim style pane selection
bind h select-pane -L
bind j select-pane -D 
bind k select-pane -U
bind l select-pane -R

# Start windows and panes at 1, not 0
set -g base-index 1
set -g pane-base-index 1
set-window-option -g pane-base-index 1
set-option -g renumber-windows on

# Use Alt-arrow keys without prefix key to switch panes
bind -n M-Left select-pane -L
bind -n M-Right select-pane -R
bind -n M-Up select-pane -U
bind -n M-Down select-pane -D

# Shift arrow to switch windows
bind -n S-Left  previous-window
bind -n S-Right next-window

# Shift Alt vim keys to switch windows
bind -n M-H previous-window
bind -n M-L next-window

set -g @catppuccin_flavour 'mocha'

set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tpm'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-sensible'
set -g @plugin 'christoomey/vim-tmux-navigator'
set -g @plugin 'dreamsofcode-io/catppuccin-tmux'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-yank'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-resurrect'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-continuum'

# Resurrect: restore development services with their arguments
set -g @resurrect-processes '\
  lazygit \
  claude \
  "~pnpm->pnpm *" \
  "~stripe->stripe *" \
  "~codex->codex *" \
  "~gemini" \
'

# Continuum: automatically restore last session when tmux starts
set -g @continuum-restore 'on'

run '~/.tmux/plugins/tpm/tpm'

# set vi-mode
set-window-option -g mode-keys vi
# keybindings
bind-key -T copy-mode-vi v send-keys -X begin-selection
bind-key -T copy-mode-vi C-v send-keys -X rectangle-toggle
bind-key -T copy-mode-vi y send-keys -X copy-selection-and-cancel

bind '"' split-window -v -c "#{pane_current_path}"
bind % split-window -h -c "#{pane_current_path}"

##### QoL toggles & speed #############################################

# Reload config + notify
bind r source-file ~/.tmux.conf \; display-message 'tmux.conf reloaded'

# Toggle mouse quickly (you start with mouse on)
bind m set -g mouse \; display-message "mouse: #{?mouse,ON,OFF}"

# Toggle synchronized typing across panes (for clustered commands)
bind S setw synchronize-panes \; display-message "sync-panes: #{?synchronize-panes,ON,OFF}"

# Make Esc feel snappy but keep function keys reliable
set -sg escape-time 10

# Bigger scrollback
set -g history-limit 200000

# Focus events help editors/REPLs react to focus changes
set -g focus-events on

# Quick tree switcher (browse sessions/windows/panes; Enter to jump, x to kill)
bind Space choose-tree -Zw

# Rapid pane resize with prefix + H/J/K/L (hold to repeat)
bind -r H resize-pane -L 5
bind -r J resize-pane -D 5
bind -r K resize-pane -U 5
bind -r L resize-pane -R 5

# Last pane fast toggle
bind Tab last-pane

##### Colors & Clipboard ##############################################

# Prefer tmux's own terminfo when available
set -g default-terminal "tmux-256color"

# Advertise truecolor to tmux (RGB == Tc)
set -ag terminal-overrides ",*:RGB"

# Integrate with terminal/system clipboard (OSC-52 / external clipboards)
set -s set-clipboard external

##### Sensible window behavior ########################################

set -g renumber-windows on

# Resist apps auto-renaming windows
setw -g allow-rename off

##### Pane Titles #####################################################

# Show pane titles in the border (top of each pane)
set -g pane-border-status top
set -g pane-border-format " #{pane_index}: #{pane_title} "

# Set pane title: prefix + t
unbind -T prefix t
bind -T prefix t command-prompt -p "Pane title:" 'select-pane -T "%%"'

Plugins

Plugin	Purpose
tpm	Plugin manager — prefix + I to install, prefix + U to update
tmux-sensible	Universal sane defaults
vim-tmux-navigator	Seamless C-h/j/k/l between vim and tmux panes
catppuccin-tmux	Catppuccin Mocha status bar theme
tmux-yank	System clipboard integration in copy mode
tmux-resurrect	Save/restore sessions across restarts (prefix + C-s / prefix + C-r)
tmux-continuum	Auto-save every 15min + auto-restore on tmux start

Plugin install

# Install tpm
git clone https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tpm ~/.tmux/plugins/tpm

# Then inside tmux:
# prefix + I  (install plugins)
# prefix + U  (update plugins)
# prefix + alt + u  (uninstall removed plugins)

Quick reference

Navigation (no prefix needed)

Keys	Action
Alt + ←/→/↑/↓	Switch panes
Shift + ←/→	Previous/next window
Alt + H/L	Previous/next window (vim-style)
C-h/j/k/l	Navigate across vim + tmux panes (vim-tmux-navigator)

With prefix (C-Space)

Keys	Action
h/j/k/l	Select pane (vim-style)
H/J/K/L	Resize pane by 5 (repeatable)
Tab	Toggle last pane
Space	Tree switcher (sessions/windows/panes)
"	Split vertical (keeps cwd)
%	Split horizontal (keeps cwd)
t	Set pane title
r	Reload tmux.conf
m	Toggle mouse on/off
S	Toggle synchronized panes
v	Begin selection (copy mode)
C-v	Rectangle toggle (copy mode)
y	Yank selection (copy mode)
C-s	Save session (resurrect)
C-r	Restore session (resurrect)
I	Install plugins (tpm)
U	Update plugins (tpm)

Session management

tmux                          # new session
tmux new -s myname            # new named session
tmux a -t myname              # attach to named
tmux ls                       # list sessions
tmux kill-session -t myname   # kill session

Tips & tricks

Session persistence for dev tools

The @resurrect-processes setting preserves long-running dev processes across restarts:

• lazygit, claude, gemini — restored as-is
• "~pnpm->pnpm *" — restores any pnpm command with its original arguments (dev servers, watchers, etc.)
• Same pattern for stripe (webhooks) and codex

Combined with @continuum-restore 'on', tmux auto-restores your last session layout + processes on start.

Synchronized panes

prefix + S toggles typing into all panes simultaneously — useful for running the same command across multiple servers or directories.

Pane titles

prefix + t lets you label panes (shown in the border). Helpful when running multiple agents/services to keep track of what's where.

Copy mode (vi-style)

Enter copy mode with prefix + [, then:

• v to start selection, C-v for block selection
• y to yank (copies to system clipboard via tmux-yank + OSC-52)
• / to search forward, ? to search backward
• q to exit

200K scrollback

history-limit is set to 200,000 lines — generous enough to scroll through long build logs without losing output.

Tree switcher

prefix + Space opens a zoomable tree view of all sessions, windows, and panes. Press Enter to jump, x to kill.

Window/pane surgery

# Move window 2 into a pane in the current window
:joinp -s :2

# Move the current pane into window 1
:joinp -t :1

# Swap windows
:swap-window -s 3 -t 1