tmux

Original：🇺🇸 English
Translated

Complete tmux terminal multiplexer management: sessions, windows, panes, layouts, scripting, and configuration. Auto-activates on: "tmux", "session", "window", "pane", "split", "attach", "detach", "multiplexer".

1installs
Sourcebntvllnt/agent-skills
Added on

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add bntvllnt/agent-skills tmux

Tags

Translated version includes tags in frontmatter
tmux-managementterminal-multiplexingsession-managementpane-configurationscripting-automation

SKILL.md Content

View Translation Comparison →

tmux

Complete tmux management for terminal multiplexing.

Core Concepts

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SERVER (one per socket)                                     │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │ SESSION ($0, $1, ...)                                 │  │
│  │  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐            │  │
│  │  │ WINDOW (@0)     │  │ WINDOW (@1)     │  ...       │  │
│  │  │  ┌────┬────┐   │  │  ┌────────────┐ │            │  │
│  │  │  │PANE│PANE│   │  │  │   PANE     │ │            │  │
│  │  │  │ %0 │ %1 │   │  │  │    %2      │ │            │  │
│  │  │  └────┴────┘   │  │  └────────────┘ │            │  │
│  │  └─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘            │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  • Server: Background process managing all state
  • Session (
    $id
    ): Named container of windows, persists after detach
  • Window (
    @id
    ): Tab-like container of panes within a session
  • Pane (
    %id
    ): Individual terminal within a window
  • Client: Terminal attached to a session

Router

User saysLoad referenceDo
list sessions / status
references/session-management.md
inspect sessions
new session / create session
references/session-management.md
create session
attach / detach
references/session-management.md
attach/detach
kill session
references/session-management.md
terminate session
new window / create window
references/window-management.md
create window
rename window
references/window-management.md
rename window
kill window / close window
references/window-management.md
close window
switch window
references/window-management.md
navigate windows
split / new pane
references/pane-management.md
split pane
resize pane
references/pane-management.md
resize pane
move pane / swap pane
references/pane-management.md
rearrange panes
kill pane / close pane
references/pane-management.md
close pane
layout
references/layouts.md
apply/manage layouts
copy / paste / buffer
references/copy-mode.md
copy mode operations
config / tmux.conf / settings
references/configuration.md
configure tmux
keybind / bind / unbind
references/keybindings.md
key bindings
script / automate / send-keys
references/scripting.md
scripting/automation
capture / log / output
references/scripting.md
capture pane content
help / keys / cheatsheetinlineshow key reference

Default Key Bindings (Prefix: 
C-b
)

Session

KeyAction
d
Detach from session
s
List/switch sessions
$
Rename session
(
/ 
)
Previous/next session

Window

KeyAction
c
Create window
&
Kill window (confirm)
,
Rename window
0-9
Switch to window N
n
/ 
p
Next/previous window
l
Last window
w
List windows
f
Find window

Pane

KeyAction
%
Split horizontally (left/right)
"
Split vertically (top/bottom)
x
Kill pane (confirm)
o
Cycle panes
q
Show pane numbers
z
Toggle zoom
{
/ 
}
Swap pane left/right
!
Break pane to window
ArrowsNavigate panes
Space
Cycle layouts
C-o
Rotate panes

Copy Mode

KeyAction
[
Enter copy mode
]
Paste buffer
=
Choose paste buffer
#
List buffers

Quick Reference

bash
# Session
tmux new -s name              # Create named session
tmux attach -t name           # Attach to session
tmux ls                       # List sessions
tmux kill-session -t name     # Kill session

# Window
tmux new-window -n name       # Create named window
tmux select-window -t :N      # Go to window N
tmux rename-window name       # Rename current window

# Pane
tmux split-window -h          # Split horizontal
tmux split-window -v          # Split vertical
tmux select-pane -t :.N       # Go to pane N
tmux resize-pane -D 5         # Resize down 5 lines

# Info
tmux list-keys                # All key bindings
tmux info                     # Server info

Safety Rules

  • Confirm before kill: Always confirm before 
    kill-session
    , 
    kill-window
    , 
    kill-pane
  • Check attachments: Before killing, check if session has active clients
  • Preserve work: Warn if panes have running processes
  • Config backup: Before editing 
    ~/.tmux.conf
    , suggest backup

Confirmation Policy

Read-only (always OK):
  • tmux ls
    , 
    list-sessions
    , 
    list-windows
    , 
    list-panes
  • tmux info
    , 
    show-options
    , 
    display-message
  • tmux list-keys
    , 
    list-buffers
Requires confirmation:
  • kill-session
    , 
    kill-window
    , 
    kill-pane
  • kill-server
  • Editing 
    ~/.tmux.conf
  • send-keys
    to panes (can affect running processes)

Environment Variables

VariableDescription
TMUX
Socket path (set inside tmux)
TMUX_PANE
Current pane ID
Check if inside tmux: 
[ -n "$TMUX" ]

Troubleshooting

IssueSolution
"no server running"Start with 
tmux
or 
tmux new
"sessions should be nested"Unset 
$TMUX
or use 
tmux -u
Detached session lostCheck 
tmux ls
, attach with 
tmux attach
Colors not workingSet 
TERM=xterm-256color
or 
set -g default-terminal "tmux-256color"
Mouse not working
set -g mouse on
in config