There are a couple of great tmux resources out there, like tmuxcheatsheet, and a lot of resources that are covered in AI generated ads for wrinkle cream. I think the best way to present this information is to start with the very minimum, and then build up.

Custom Config

This is my tmux config that I got from somewhere a couple of years ago. The default way to use tmux commands is to use the key combination CTRL-b, but I find CTRL-SPACE more ergonomic on my keyboard, so I configured that here.

set -g mouse on

set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tpm'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-sensible' 
set -g @plugin 'christoomey/vim-tmux-navigator'

set -g default-terminal "screen-256color"

unbind C-b
set -g prefix C-Space
bind C-Space send-prefix

unbind %
bind | split-window -h

unbind '"'
bind - split-window -v

# Initialize TMUX plugin manager (keep this line at the very bottom of tmux.conf)
run '~/.tmux/plugins/tpm/tpm'

Sessions

The main idea is that you have on-going sessions. Then each session can have one or more windows, and each window can have one or more panes.

See all sessions like this,

tmux ls

Create a new (named) session from the terminal, outside of tmux,

tmux new
tmux new -s <session-name>

From inside tmux, you can create a (named) session as,

CTRL-SPACE : new
CTRL-SPACE : new -s <session-name>

Detach from a session like this,

CTRL-SPACE d

Then re-attach to a session like this,

tmux a -t <session-name>

If you’re in a session, and you want to switch to another session, then you can bring up a list of sessions with,

CTRL-SPACE s

And then navigate via mouse, or hit a number, and RETURN to go to that session.

Panes

Panes are created in Windows. Using the config above, you can split a window into side-by-side panes as,

CTRL-SPACE |

And into panes above and below as,

CTRL-SPACE -

And then you can navigate between panes by using CTRL-SPACE <arrow>.

Kill a pane using,

CTRL-SPACE x

This will come up with a y/n prompt to confirm.

Windows

If panes are not enough in your session, and you need to add another window, then you can add one like this,

CTRL-SPACE c

And you can rename the window with,

CTRL-SPACE ,

You cycle to the previous and next windows with,

CTRL-SPACE p
CTRL-SPACE n

You can name a window, and list all windows, with,

CTRL-SPACE ,
CTRL-SPACE w

When you list all of the windows, you can open any one of them by using your arrow key and hitting return. You can also switch to a window directly by number,

CTRL-SPACE b <number>

Finally, you can close the current window by using,

CTRL-SPACE b &