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coder7475
coder7475

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The Only tmux Cheat Sheet You'll Need as a Developer

#linux #productivity

If you spend time working on remote servers, running long-lived processes, or managing multiple terminals, tmux is one of the most valuable tools you can learn.

It allows you to keep terminal sessions alive even after disconnecting from SSH, split your terminal into multiple panes, organize work into windows, and switch between projects without opening dozens of terminal tabs.

This article is a practical cheat sheet covering the commands I use every day.

What is tmux?

tmux (Terminal Multiplexer) lets you create persistent terminal sessions.

Instead of opening multiple terminal windows, you can organize everything inside a single terminal.

Typical use cases:

  • Remote server administration
  • Backend development
  • Running long-lived processes
  • Docker and Kubernetes management
  • DevOps workflows
  • Multiple SSH connections

Sessions

A session is your workspace.

Think of it as a project that contains multiple windows and panes.

List sessions 

tmux ls
# or
tmux list-sessions
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Example:

backend: 2 windows
devops: 4 windows
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Create a session 

tmux new -s backend
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Create a detached session

Useful for starting background services.

tmux new -d -s backend
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Attach to a session 

tmux attach -t backend

## Short version
tmux a -t backend
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Detach from a session

Press

Ctrl+b d
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Everything continues running.

Create or attach (my favorite)

Instead of remembering whether the session already exists:

tmux new -As backend
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This creates the session if needed or attaches to it if it already exists.

Rename a session 

tmux rename-session -t backend api
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Or inside tmux:

Ctrl+b $
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Kill a session 

tmux kill-session -t backend
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Kill every session:

tmux kill-server
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Windows

A window is similar to a browser tab.

One session can contain many windows.

Create a new window 

Ctrl+b c
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List windows 

Ctrl+b w
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Next / Previous window 

Ctrl+b n
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Ctrl+b p
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Jump directly 

Ctrl+b 0
Ctrl+b 1
Ctrl+b 2
...
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Rename window 

Ctrl+b ,
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Close window 

Ctrl+b &
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Panes (Split Terminals)

Panes let you divide a window into multiple terminals.

Vertical split

Creates left/right panes.

Ctrl+b %
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+-----------+-----------+
|           |           |
|           |           |
+-----------+-----------+
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Horizontal split

Creates top/bottom panes.

Ctrl+b "
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+-----------------------+
|                       |
+-----------------------+
|                       |
+-----------------------+
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Navigate Between Panes

Arrow keys:

Ctrl+b ←
Ctrl+b →
Ctrl+b ↑
Ctrl+b ↓
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Cycle through panes:

Ctrl+b o
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Show pane numbers:

Ctrl+b q
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Resize Panes

Using the keyboard:

Ctrl+b Alt+Arrow
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Or command mode:

Ctrl+b :

resize-pane -L 10
resize-pane -R 10
resize-pane -U 5
resize-pane -D 5
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Zoom a Pane

Need temporary full-screen?

Ctrl+b z
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Press again to restore.

Change Layout

Cycle through built-in layouts.

Ctrl+b Space
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Very useful when several panes become cluttered.

Close a Pane

Simply exit the shell.

exit
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or

Ctrl+d
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Enable Mouse Support

Add this to your ~/.tmux.conf

set -g mouse on
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Reload:

tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf
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Now you can:

  • Click panes
  • Resize panes
  • Scroll normally
  • Select windows with the mouse

Run Commands in Background

Launch a process without attaching.

tmux new -d -s api "npm run dev"
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or

tmux new -d -s server "python app.py"
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Perfect for servers and CI scripts.

A Typical Development Workflow

Suppose you're working on a backend application.

Session: backend
│
├── Window 0: Editor
│   ├── Neovim
│   ├── npm run dev
│   └── Logs
│
├── Window 1: Database
│   ├── PostgreSQL
│   └── Redis
│
└── Window 2: Monitoring
    ├── htop
    └── Docker logs
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Everything stays organized inside a single tmux session.

Disconnect from SSH?

No problem.

Reconnect later:

tmux attach -t backend
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Everything is exactly where you left it.

Daily Cheat Sheet

Action Shortcut / Command
New session tmux new -s name
Attach tmux a -t name
Create or attach tmux new -As name
List sessions tmux ls
Detach Ctrl+b d
New window Ctrl+b c
Window list Ctrl+b w
Next window Ctrl+b n
Previous window Ctrl+b p
Vertical split Ctrl+b %
Horizontal split Ctrl+b "
Switch panes Ctrl+b + Arrow Keys
Next pane Ctrl+b o
Zoom pane Ctrl+b z
Change layout Ctrl+b Space
Show pane numbers Ctrl+b q
Close pane Ctrl+d
Close window Ctrl+b &
Kill session tmux kill-session -t name

Final Thoughts

Learning tmux takes a little practice, but once it becomes part of your workflow, it's hard to imagine working without it—especially when developing on remote servers or juggling multiple services.

Start with just a few shortcuts:

  • Ctrl+b d
  • Ctrl+b c
  • Ctrl+b %
  • Ctrl+b "
  • Ctrl+b z
  • Ctrl+b o

Master those, and you'll already be more productive than constantly opening and switching between terminal tabs.

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