tmux
Keeps terminal sessions alive on a server after you disconnect, and splits one window into many.
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1 more ways to get tmux
Package managers
- Snap Store
snap install tmux
About tmux
tmux runs a server that owns your shells. Detach and the programs keep running; log in from anywhere and attach again to exactly the state you left, which is why it is standard on any machine you reach over SSH. A dropped connection stops being an interrupted job.
Within a session it splits the window into panes, holds several windows per session, and is driven entirely by a prefix key and a letter. Configuration is a plain text file and scriptable, so a whole working layout can be recreated with one command.
Strengths
- Sessions survive a dropped SSH connection
- Splits and windows without needing the terminal emulator to support them
- Scriptable, so a full working layout is one command
- Available in every distribution's package repository
Limitations
- The prefix-key model takes a while to become automatic
- Configuration is terse and the manual page is dense
- No official Windows build; use WSL
- Copy and paste between tmux and the system clipboard needs setting up
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source under the ISC licence.
- License
- ISC
- Developer
- tmux
- Platforms
- macOS, Linux, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Any long-running job on a server you reach over SSH
- Categories
- Terminals
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Selected from the TechWalrus downloads catalog (SSH / Terminal); facts checked against the developer's own pages, 2 sources on file.
Alternatives to tmux
Compare allSoftware that can replace tmux for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
GNU Screen
A terminal multiplexer that runs several shell sessions in one window and keeps them alive after disconnecting.
GNU Screen offers the same detach and reattach sessions and is long established on Unix servers, with a keyboard-driven interface that also takes time to learn.
Zellij
A terminal multiplexer that tells you its own shortcuts on screen, so you can use it on day one.
Zellij shows its key hints on screen, adds floating and stacked panes and WebAssembly plugins, but is usually not preinstalled on servers the way tmux is.
Byobu
Friendly configuration layer over tmux or GNU Screen.
Byobu runs on top of tmux or GNU Screen and gives a status bar and function-key bindings from first launch, at the cost of an extra abstraction layer.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Alacritty
A deliberately minimal OpenGL terminal that leaves multiplexing and tabs to other programs and just draws text fast.
WezTerm
A GPU-accelerated terminal that is also a multiplexer, configured in Lua and the same on every platform.
Windows Terminal
Microsoft’s tabbed terminal for Windows, hosting Command Prompt, PowerShell and WSL in one GPU-rendered window.
tmux Plugin Manager
Installs and updates tmux plugins from a line in the config file.
iTerm2
macOS terminal replacement with split panes, search and session restore.
Ghostty
A GPU-accelerated terminal that uses the real native interface of the platform instead of drawing its own.
