tmux Cheatsheet

Copy Mode and Buffers

Use this tmux reference while you build software engineering projects, review code, or refresh the syntax you reach for most.

Copy Mode

Copy mode is how you scroll back and select text without the mouse. Entering it freezes the pane and gives you a cursor.

Keys	Action
`prefix [`	Enter copy mode
`prefix ]`	Paste the most recent buffer
`prefix PageUp`	Enter copy mode and scroll up one page
`q` or `Esc`	Leave copy mode

Set vi keys once and copy mode behaves like a read-only Vim buffer, which is one fewer set of bindings to remember.

setw -g mode-keys vi

Copy Mode Navigation (vi keys)

Key	Action
`h` `j` `k` `l`	Move the cursor
`w` `b` `e`	Word motions
`0` `^` `$`	Start of line, first non-blank, end of line
`g` / `G`	Top / bottom of the history
`Ctrl-u` / `Ctrl-d`	Half page up / down
`Ctrl-b` / `Ctrl-f`	Full page up / down
`H` `M` `L`	Top, middle, bottom of the screen
`/` / `?`	Search forward / backward
`n` / `N`	Next / previous match
`space`	Start a selection
`v`	Start a character selection
`V`	Select whole lines
`Ctrl-v`	Rectangle (block) selection
`y` or `Enter`	Copy the selection and exit
`Escape`	Clear the selection
`{` / `}`	Previous / next paragraph
`:`	Go to a line number

Buffers

tmux keeps its own stack of copy buffers, separate from the system clipboard.

Keys	Action
`prefix ]`	Paste the most recent buffer
`prefix =`	Choose a buffer from a list and paste it
`prefix -`	Delete the most recent buffer

tmux list-buffers
tmux show-buffer                       # print the newest buffer
tmux show-buffer -b 2                  # print a specific one
tmux save-buffer out.txt               # write a buffer to a file
tmux load-buffer in.txt                # load a file as a buffer
tmux set-buffer "some text"            # set one directly
tmux paste-buffer                      # paste into the active pane
tmux paste-buffer -t work:1.2
tmux delete-buffer -b 0
echo "text" | tmux load-buffer -        # pipe stdin into a buffer

System Clipboard

Getting y in copy mode to reach the OS clipboard depends on the platform.

# macOS
bind -T copy-mode-vi y send -X copy-pipe-and-cancel 'pbcopy'

# Linux with X11
bind -T copy-mode-vi y send -X copy-pipe-and-cancel 'xclip -in -selection clipboard'

# Linux with Wayland
bind -T copy-mode-vi y send -X copy-pipe-and-cancel 'wl-copy'

# Also copy on mouse drag release
bind -T copy-mode-vi MouseDragEnd1Pane send -X copy-pipe-and-cancel 'pbcopy'

On tmux 2.6 and newer, set -g set-clipboard on lets tmux use the OSC 52 terminal escape to set the clipboard directly, which works even over SSH if your terminal supports it.

set -g set-clipboard on

That last point is the reason OSC 52 is worth enabling: copying from a remote tmux to your local clipboard otherwise requires forwarding a clipboard tool.

Mouse Support

set -g mouse on

With mouse on: click to select a pane, drag dividers to resize, scroll to enter copy mode and scroll back, click a window name in the status bar to switch, and double-click or triple-click to select a word or line.

# Scroll wheel enters copy mode instead of sending arrow keys to the shell
bind -n WheelUpPane if -Ft= '#{mouse_any_flag}' 'send-keys -M' \
  'if -Ft= "#{pane_in_mode}" "send-keys -M" "select-pane -t=; copy-mode -e; send-keys -M"'

Mouse mode changes how terminal-native selection works: to select text with the mouse for your terminal's clipboard rather than tmux's, hold Shift (on most terminals) while dragging.

Scrollback History

set -g history-limit 50000        # lines kept per pane

tmux clear-history                          # drop this pane's scrollback
tmux clear-history -t work:1.0
tmux capture-pane -p                        # print the visible pane
tmux capture-pane -pS -                     # print the entire history
tmux capture-pane -pS -3000                 # the last 3000 lines
tmux capture-pane -pS - > pane.log          # save it to a file
tmux pipe-pane -o 'cat >> ~/tmux.log'       # log everything from now on
tmux pipe-pane                              # stop logging

capture-pane -pS - is the answer to "the output I need scrolled past and I want it in a file". pipe-pane is the answer to "log this session from here forward".

Searching Output

prefix [        enter copy mode
/error          search forward
?error          search backward
n / N           next / previous match

tmux capture-pane -pS - | grep -n "ERROR"    # search without copy mode
tmux find-window "text"                      # find a window containing text

Sending Keys

You can type into a pane from outside it, which is what makes tmux scriptable.

tmux send-keys 'ls -la' Enter                # type and run
tmux send-keys -t work:1.0 'npm test' Enter
tmux send-keys -t api C-c                    # send Ctrl-C
tmux send-keys -t api 'clear' Enter
tmux send-keys -l 'literal text'             # do not interpret key names
tmux send-keys -t api Up Enter                # rerun the last command
tmux respawn-pane -k -t api 'npm run dev'    # restart a pane's command

Key name	Sends
`Enter`	Return
`C-c`	Ctrl-C
`C-d`	Ctrl-D
`M-x`	Alt-X
`Escape`	Escape
`Tab` `Space` `BSpace`	The obvious keys
`Up` `Down` `Left` `Right`	Arrows

Displaying Output

tmux display-message "hello"           # show in the status line
tmux display-message -p '#{pane_id}'   # print to stdout instead
tmux display-panes                     # show pane numbers
tmux display-popup -E 'htop'           # a floating popup (tmux 3.2+)
tmux display-popup -w 80% -h 80% -E 'lazygit'
tmux confirm-before -p "kill? (y/n)" kill-session
tmux command-prompt -p "name:" "rename-window '%%'"

display-popup is a recent addition that covers a real need: run a scratch command (a git UI, a calculator, a quick shell) without disturbing your layout.