Keyboard Shortcuts

Fresh

Complete keyboard shortcut reference for tmux.

Prefix Key

The default prefix is Ctrl+b. Press the prefix, release, then press the action key. Example: Ctrl+b c means press Ctrl+b, release, press c.

Sessions

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+b d	Detach from session
Ctrl+b $	Rename session
Ctrl+b s	List/switch sessions
Ctrl+b (	Previous session
Ctrl+b )	Next session
Ctrl+b L	Switch to last session

Windows

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+b c	Create new window
Ctrl+b ,	Rename current window
Ctrl+b &	Close current window
Ctrl+b w	List windows (all sessions)
Ctrl+b n	Next window
Ctrl+b p	Previous window
Ctrl+b 0-9	Go to window number
Ctrl+b l	Toggle last active window
Ctrl+b '	Select window by number
Ctrl+b .	Move window to another index
Ctrl+b f	Find window by name

Panes

Creating Panes

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+b %	Split vertically (left/right)
Ctrl+b "	Split horizontally (top/bottom)

Navigating Panes

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+b arrow	Move to pane in direction
Ctrl+b o	Next pane (cycle)
Ctrl+b ;	Toggle last active pane
Ctrl+b q	Show pane numbers
Ctrl+b q 0-9	Go to pane number

Managing Panes

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+b z	Toggle pane zoom (fullscreen)
Ctrl+b x	Close pane (with confirm)
Ctrl+b !	Convert pane to window
Ctrl+b {	Move pane left
Ctrl+b }	Move pane right
Ctrl+b Space	Cycle through layouts
Ctrl+b Ctrl+o	Rotate panes
Ctrl+b Alt+1-5	Select layout preset

Resizing Panes

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+b Ctrl+arrow	Resize (1 cell)
Ctrl+b Alt+arrow	Resize (5 cells)

Hold for Continuous Resize

Hold Ctrl while pressing arrow keys repeatedly for smooth resizing.

Copy Mode

Entering/Exiting

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+b [	Enter copy mode
Ctrl+b PgUp	Enter copy mode + page up
q	Exit copy mode
Esc	Exit copy mode

Navigation (Vi Mode)

Key	Action
h j k l	Move cursor
w / b	Word forward/backward
0 / $	Line start/end
g / G	Buffer top/bottom
Ctrl+u / Ctrl+d	Page up/down
Ctrl+b / Ctrl+f	Page up/down (alt)

Searching

Key	Action
/	Search forward
?	Search backward
n	Next match
N	Previous match

Selecting and Copying

Key	Action
Space	Start selection
v	Start selection (vi)
V	Select line
Ctrl+v	Rectangle select
Enter	Copy selection
y	Copy selection (vi)
Esc	Clear selection

Pasting

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+b ]	Paste buffer
Ctrl+b =	Choose buffer to paste

Command Mode

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+b :	Enter command mode
Ctrl+b ?	List all key bindings

Help

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+b ?	Show key bindings
Ctrl+b :list-keys	List all keys
Ctrl+b :list-commands	List all commands

Layout Presets

Shortcut	Layout
Ctrl+b Alt+1	Even horizontal
Ctrl+b Alt+2	Even vertical
Ctrl+b Alt+3	Main horizontal
Ctrl+b Alt+4	Main vertical
Ctrl+b Alt+5	Tiled

Printable Quick Reference Card

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║              TMUX QUICK REFERENCE                      ║
║              Prefix: Ctrl+b                            ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ SESSIONS          │ WINDOWS           │ PANES          ║
║ d  Detach         │ c  New            │ %  Split vert  ║
║ s  List           │ n  Next           │ "  Split horiz ║
║ $  Rename         │ p  Previous       │ →  Navigate    ║
║ (  Previous       │ 0-9 Jump to       │ z  Zoom        ║
║ )  Next           │ w  List all       │ x  Close       ║
║                   │ ,  Rename         │ Space Layout   ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ COPY MODE (Ctrl+b [)                                   ║
║ /  Search    Space  Select    Enter  Copy              ║
║ ?  Search←   hjkl   Navigate  q      Exit              ║
║                                                        ║
║ PASTE: Ctrl+b ]                                        ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ : Command mode    ? Help/keys    Ctrl+arrow Resize     ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Custom Key Bindings

Common customizations for ~/.tmux.conf:

# Change prefix to Ctrl+a
unbind C-b
set -g prefix C-a
bind C-a send-prefix

# Better splits
bind | split-window -h
bind - split-window -v

# Vim-style pane navigation
bind h select-pane -L
bind j select-pane -D
bind k select-pane -U
bind l select-pane -R

# Reload config
bind r source-file ~/.tmux.conf \; display "Reloaded!"

See Also

• Commands Reference
• SOP: Configuration
• SOP: Copy Mode