tmux is a terminal multiplexer. It lets you switch easily between several programs in one terminal, detach them (they keep running in the background) and reattach them to a different terminal. Within one terminal window you can open multiple windows and split-views (called “panes” in tmux lingo). Each pane will contain its own, independently running terminal instance.

Installation

sudo apt-get install tmux

Starting a session

Running the command tmux will create a new tmux session with a status bar at the bottom. he status bar is an important part of tmux, showing amongst other information, the currently opened windows (on the left).

Panes

tmux will by default start with one window and a single panel inside. All commands in tmux are triggered by a prefix key followed by a command key. By default, tmux uses C-b as prefix key (Ctrl+B).

C-b %               # Split the screen into a left and a right pane
C-b <arrow key>     # Switching to a different pane
exit / C-d          # Close pane