tmux 101: Sessions, Windows & Panes

Introduction

Whether you’re managing remote servers, working on long-running tasks, or just want a more efficient terminal workflow, tmux can be a game-changer.

This guide is a simple walkthrough of the basics — sessions, windows, panes — and how to navigate them. No fluff, just what you need to get started and feel more at home inside your terminal.

Let’s dive in 🧠💻

Getting Started

First, check if tmux is installed on your system using:

which tmux
tmux -V

If it’s not installed, use one of the following commands depending on your operating system:

Platform	Install Command
Arch Linux	sudo pacman -S tmux
Debian or Ubuntu	sudo apt install tmux
Fedora	sudo dnf install tmux
RHEL or CentOS	sudo yum install tmux
macOS (using Homebrew)	brew install tmux
macOS (using MacPorts)	sudo port install tmux
openSUSE	sudo zypper install tmux

To quickly get started with tmux, just run:

tmux

This will launch a new shell session managed by tmux. You can think of it like opening a new terminal window or starting a new SSH session on the server.

You’ll notice a status line at the bottom of the screen. This line displays useful session and window information. For example:

• [0]: The tmux session number — useful when multiple sessions exist.
• 0: The window number — this is the active tmux window you’re in.
• bash: The active shell or process running in the current window (* = active pane).
• "ubuntu": The window name or title — often derived from hostname or manually set.

You can type in this session any command you normally would.

To exit the session, just run exit. This will close the tmux session and return you to your base terminal session. You’ll see the message [exited] from tmux.

Open a New Named Session

If you want to open a new tmux session and give it a meaningful name (e.g., Backups), you can run either of these two commands:

tmux new -s Backups
tmux new-session -s Backups

tmux Prefix Key

• ctrl-b is the default prefix in tmux.
• The prefix tells tmux that the next key is a tmux command and should not be delivered to the shell.
• You can change the default prefix by editing the configuration file: ~/.tmux.conf.

Create a New Window

• A window in tmux is a full-screen terminal inside a session.
• Think of a window like a tab in a terminal emulator. Each window runs its own shell (or program). You can have multiple windows inside one session.
• To create a new window inside the current session, type ctrl-b and then c.

• Notice the status bar now shows two windows (0:bash and 1:bash) belonging to the Backups session.
• The M indicates the main window in the session (the first one).
• The * indicates the current active window.

Set the Window Name

• By default, the name of a window is the same as the shell it launches. However, this name changes dynamically depending on the running program.
• In this example, I had 4 windows running different programs. Notice how the window name reflects the active program. Window 1 shows bash as the default.

• To set a custom name for a window, use ctrl-b and then ,.
• The prompt in the status line will show the current window name and allow you to change it.

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Moving Between Windows in the Same Session

To move between windows, you can use:

• ctrl-b then n → move to the next window
• ctrl-b then p → move to the previous window
• ctrl-b then a number (e.g. 0, 1, 2) → move to a specific window

Detach the Current Session

To detach a session, press ctrl-b then d. This will return you to your regular terminal session, and you’ll see the message [detached].

Detaching means that the session is still active, and anything running will continue in the background until you re-attach.

List the Current Sessions

You can list available tmux sessions with:

tmux list-sessions
# or simply
tmux ls

Example output:

Backups: 2 windows (created Fri May 23 07:47:36 2025)
coding: 1 window (created Fri May 23 19:22:48 2025)

Attach to a Specific Session

To re-attach to a specific session (e.g., coding), run:

tmux a -t coding

To re-attach to the most recent session:

tmux a

The full command is tmux attach-session, but you can shorten it to tmux attach or just tmux a.

When you re-attach to a session, you’ll return to where you left off.

Switch Between Sessions

You can switch between sessions without detaching and re-attaching manually. Use ctrl-b and then s.

• This will display a list of sessions and their windows.
• Navigate with the arrow keys and press Enter to select one.

😎 Cool, isn’t it?

Looking for Help

• To list all key bindings, use ctrl-b then ?.
• You can also check the manual with:

man tmux

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Splitting the Screen with Panes

Another cool feature of tmux is the use of panes. A pane is a subdivision of a window — like a split view inside your terminal.

Each pane runs its own shell and is fully interactive. You can run different commands or programs in each one, all side-by-side within the same window.

Sometimes, instead of creating new windows, you may want to split your current window into multiple panes. This is useful when you want to monitor logs in one pane, edit files in another, and maybe run commands in a third — all in the same window.

You can split the screen either vertically or horizontally:

• To split vertically (side by side), press: ctrl-b then %
• To split horizontally (top and bottom), press: ctrl-b then "

You can also combine these splits to create your own custom setup. 🤓

Each pane behaves like an independent terminal — you can run commands, change directories, and even launch editors or scripts in each one.

Moving Between Panes

To move between panes, use:

• ctrl-b then arrow keys (← ↑ ↓ →)

You can also use:

• ctrl-b then o → cycle through panes in order
• ctrl-b then ; → switch to the last active pane

TIP

If you’re working on macOS, make sure that the ctrl + arrow key bindings are not already used by the system.
In my case (macOS Sequoia 15.5), those keys were being used by Mission Control, so I had to disable them — as shown in the following image:

Resize Panes

You can resize the panes to give more space to one or another.

• Press ctrl-b, then hold ctrl and use the arrow keys to resize.

This allows you to enlarge your main work area and keep side panes for monitoring or logs.

Close a Pane

To close a pane, simply type exit in that pane — it will disappear, and the remaining panes will adjust automatically.

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External Resources

• Video: Tmux Tutorial for Begineers