tmux cheatsheet

Start a new session

# New session named "dev"
tmux new -s dev

# New session and run a command inside it
# (session ends when the command exits)
tmux new -s oneoff "npm run dev"

List, attach, detach

# List sessions
tmux ls

# Attach to a session by name
tmux attach -t dev

# Attach to the most recent session
tmux attach

Detach from the current session:

• Press Prefix then d (default Prefix is Ctrl-b), i.e. Ctrl-b d

Scroll in a tmux session (copy mode)

• Enter copy mode: Prefix then [ (Ctrl-b [)
• Move: Arrow keys, PageUp/PageDown; vi-style keys also work (h/j/k/l)
• Search forward/backward: / and ?
• Exit copy mode: q

Select and copy text (optional):

• Start selection: Space
• End selection (copy to tmux buffer): Enter
• Paste: Prefix then ] (Ctrl-b ])

Enable mouse scrolling (temporary):

tmux set -g mouse on

Persist mouse in your ~/.tmux.conf:

set -g mouse on

Restore a session (reattach)

If you detached or got disconnected:

# Reattach by name
tmux attach -t dev

# Or attach to the last session
tmux attach

Notes:

• Sessions live as long as the tmux server runs. If the server stops (e.g., reboot), sessions end.
• For automatic save/restore across reboots, consider plugins like tmux-resurrect (optional).