Tmux - Terminal Multiplexer

If you’re like me then you use a terminal a lot. If you were me 20 minutes ago then you would also have multiple terminal tabs open with various applications running. I had heard of an application from some of my peers before about the ability to open multiple terminal panes within the same terminal window. For a while I didn’t look into it, but then (about 20 minutes ago) I had enough of swapping between terminal tabs and the editor I had been using (vscode). The software that I was told about was called screen, which is what is called a terminal multiplexer. After doing some research I found another terminal multiplexer (called tmux) that seemed to be a good contender to screen. I decided that I would try out tmux and see how it goes. With a quick and easy yay tmux the software was installed. The next thing to do is look for a cheatsheet, which after a quick search I found one.

I have to say, after using tmux for only about 10 - 15 minutes, I am already finding myself absolutely loving it. Not only do I feel more comfortable using Vim as my primary editor now, but I also feel more effective/productive. The commands for using tmux aren’t even that difficult. To start, we create a new tmux session, this is done by entering the command tmux. The next thing from here is either create a new window (which is done via ctrl + b ~ c) or split the pane (vertically -> ctrl + b ~ % or horizontially -> ctrl + b ~ "). To swap between windows, the command is ctrl + b ~ n (for next) or p (for previous). To swap between panes, the command is ctrl + b ~ arrow key direction. For the icing on the cake there is an ability to detach from the session, which to explain in simple terms, it essentially suspends the session. To re-activate the session, simply enter the command tmux attach. One thing that tripped me up when using tmux was scrolling. A quick glance at the cheatsheet showed that you can scroll by entering copy mode (ctrl + b ~ [), then using the arrow keys.