Mnemonic Cheat Sheet
This page documents the tmux keybindings currently registered on this server from ~/.tmux.conf and confirmed with tmux list-keys.
Prefix
Modified
Ctrl+Space tmux prefix
Ctrl+Space Ctrl+Space Send literal prefix to nested tmux
Default
Ctrl+b tmux default prefix on a standard setup
Sessions
Modified
Prefix N New named session
Prefix k Kill current session (prompted)
Prefix L Toggle to last session
Alt+Home Previous session
Alt+End Next session
Session Persistence
These bindings are provided by tmux-resurrect on this server. Use them before maintenance, rebooting, or testing restore behavior.
Ctrl+Space Ctrl+s Save tmux sessions, windows, panes, layouts, and commands
Ctrl+Space Ctrl+r Restore the last saved tmux state
The hourly systemd timer also saves automatically, but Ctrl+Space Ctrl+s is the fastest manual checkpoint from inside tmux.
Default
Prefix s Open session chooser / session overview
Prefix d Detach client
Prefix $ Rename current session
Prefix ( Previous session
Prefix ) Next session
Windows
Modified
Prefix W New window
Prefix X Kill current window (prompted)
Alt+PageUp Previous window
Alt+PageDown Next window
Alt+1 Go to window 1
Alt+2 Go to window 2
Alt+3 Go to window 3
Default
Prefix w Open searchable session/window/pane tree
Prefix c New window
Prefix l Last window
Prefix n Next window
Prefix p Previous window
Prefix & Kill current window (default binding)
Prefix , Rename current window
Prefix ' Jump to window by index prompt
Prefix . Move current window to another index
Prefix 0-9 Go to window by number
Panes
Modified
Prefix - Split vertically (top/bottom)
Prefix | Split horizontally (left/right)
Prefix S Enter pane-swap table
Alt+z Zoom / unzoom current pane (no prefix)
Alt+Left Focus pane left
Alt+Right Focus pane right
Alt+Up Focus pane up
Alt+Down Focus pane down
Alt+h Focus pane left
Alt+j Focus pane down
Alt+k Focus pane up
Alt+l Focus pane right
Prefix Alt+Up/Down/Left/Right Resize pane by 5 cells
Prefix Ctrl+Up/Down/Left/Right Resize pane by 1 cell
Default
Prefix q Show pane numbers
Prefix z Zoom / unzoom current pane
Prefix x Kill current pane (prompted)
Prefix ! Break pane into a new window
Prefix ; Jump to last pane
Prefix o Cycle to next pane
Prefix m Mark / unmark current pane
Prefix { Swap pane upward
Prefix } Swap pane downward
Prefix Up/Down/Left/Right Move to pane by arrows
Rename
Modified
Press Prefix e, then:
w Rename current window
s Rename current session
p Set current pane title
Default
Prefix $ Rename current session
Prefix , Rename current window
Swap
Modified
Press Prefix S, then:
Left / h Swap with left pane
Right / l Swap with right pane
Up / k Swap with upper pane
Down / j Swap with lower pane
Default
Prefix { Swap pane upward
Prefix } Swap pane downward
Copy Mode
Modified
Shift+Arrow Start selection and extend by character
Ctrl+Shift+Left Start selection and extend by previous word
Ctrl+Shift+Right Start selection and extend by next word end
h / j / k / l Start selection and move
Ctrl+h/j/k/l Start selection and move
Default
These bindings are active in both copy-mode and copy-mode-vi.
Prefix [ Enter copy mode
Prefix ] Paste from buffer
Prefix PageUp Enter copy mode and page up
Miscellaneous
Modified
Prefix a Toggle mouse on/off
Default
Prefix ? Show key bindings
Prefix / Describe a binding by key
Prefix : Command prompt
Prefix Space Cycle layout
Prefix E Spread panes evenly
Prefix M-1 Even-horizontal layout
Prefix M-2 Even-vertical layout
Prefix M-3 Main-horizontal layout
Prefix M-4 Main-vertical layout
Prefix M-5 Tiled layout
Prefix i Show current pane info
Prefix t Clock mode
Prefix ~ Show tmux messages
Fast Navigation Habit
Use Prefix w as the main tmux navigator. It opens the interactive tree for sessions, windows, and panes, and / can search/filter it quickly.
Prefix s is still useful as a simple session overview, but it does not need to be the primary navigation habit.
Prefix w Open searchable tree
/ Search/filter inside the tree
Enter Switch to highlighted item
q / Esc Close chooser
Mnemonic Memory Aids
| Default Shortcut | Modification Shortcut | Memory aid |
|---|---|---|
Ctrl+b " | Prefix - | A horizontal dash makes a top/bottom split line. |
Ctrl+b % | `Prefix | ` |
Ctrl+b c | Prefix W | W for new window. |
| — | Prefix N | N for new named session. |
Ctrl+b & | Prefix X | X for kill current window. |
| — | Prefix k | k for kill current session. |
Ctrl+b q | Prefix q | q for quickly revealing pane numbers. |
| — | Prefix e | e for edit names. |
Ctrl+b {/} | Prefix S | S for swap mode. |
Ctrl+b s | Prefix s | s for session chooser. |
Ctrl+b w | Prefix w | w for window chooser. |
Ctrl+b arrows | Alt+h/j/k/l | Vim-style pane movement without prefix. |
Ctrl+b (/ ) | Alt+Home/End | Move to previous/next session like beginning/end. |
Ctrl+b z | Alt+z | Zoom/unzoom pane - fast no-prefix shortcut. |
Notes
- This server does not use the default tmux prefix
Ctrl+b. - The live prefix is
Ctrl+Space. - This mnemonic page reflects the current server state, not generic tmux defaults.