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Overview

tmux maintains a set of named paste buffers. Each buffer may be either explicitly or automatically named. Buffers can be created from copy mode or by loading content from files.

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Buffer Naming

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Automatic Names

Automatically named buffers are given names like buffer0001, buffer0002, etc. When the buffer-limit option is reached, the oldest automatically named buffer is deleted.

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Explicit Names

Buffers can be explicitly named when created with set-buffer or load-buffer, or by renaming with set-buffer -n. Explicitly named buffers are not subject to buffer-limit and must be deleted manually with delete-buffer.

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copy-mode

copy-mode [-eHMqu] [-s src-pane] [-t target-pane]
Enter copy mode, which allows a section of a window or its history to be copied to a paste buffer.
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-e
flag
Scroll to bottom when reaching the end in copy mode.
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-H
flag
Hide the position indicator in the top right.
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-M
flag
Begin a mouse drag (only valid if bound to a mouse key binding).
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-q
flag
Cancel copy mode and any other modes.
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-u
flag
Scroll one page up immediately after entering copy mode.
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-s
string
Copy from src-pane instead of target-pane.
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-t
string
The target pane to enter copy mode in.

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Copy Mode Key Bindings

Copy mode uses one of two key tables depending on the mode-keys option:
  • copy-mode for emacs-style bindings
  • copy-mode-vi for vi-style bindings
Key tables can be viewed with list-keys -T copy-mode or list-keys -T copy-mode-vi.

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Copy Mode Commands

Commands are sent to copy mode using send-keys -X. Common commands include:
  • begin-selection: Start selecting text
  • cancel: Exit copy mode
  • copy-selection: Copy the current selection
  • copy-selection-and-cancel: Copy selection and exit
  • cursor-down, cursor-up, cursor-left, cursor-right: Move cursor
  • halfpage-down, halfpage-up: Scroll half page
  • history-top, history-bottom: Jump to top/bottom of history
  • search-forward, search-backward: Search

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paste-buffer

Alias: pasteb 
paste-buffer [-dpr] [-b buffer-name] [-s separator] [-t target-pane]
Insert the contents of a paste buffer into the specified pane.
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-d
flag
Also delete the paste buffer after pasting.
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-p
flag
Paste bracket control codes are sent before and after the buffer if the application has requested bracketed paste mode.
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-r
flag
Do not replace line feeds (LF) with carriage returns (CR) when pasting.
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-b
string
Name of the buffer to paste. If not specified, the most recently added automatically named buffer is used.
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-s
string
Separator to replace LF characters with. Default is carriage return (CR). Ignored with -r.
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-t
string
The target pane. If not specified, paste into the current pane.

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Examples

# Paste the most recent buffer
paste-buffer

# Paste a specific buffer
paste-buffer -b mybuffer

# Paste and delete buffer
paste-buffer -d

# Paste without LF to CR conversion
paste-buffer -r

# Paste to a specific pane
paste-buffer -t 0

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list-buffers

Alias: lsb 
list-buffers [-r] [-F format] [-f filter] [-O sort-order]
List the global paste buffers.
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-r
flag
Reverse the sort order.
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-F
string
Specify the format of each line. Available format variables:
  • #{buffer_name}: Name of buffer
  • #{buffer_size}: Size in bytes
  • #{buffer_sample}: Sample of start of buffer
  • #{buffer_created}: Time buffer was created
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-f
string
Only show buffers for which the filter is true.
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-O
string
Specify sort order: name, size, or creation (time).

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Examples

# List all buffers
list-buffers

# List with custom format
list-buffers -F "#{buffer_name}: #{buffer_size} bytes"

# List sorted by size
list-buffers -O size

# List in reverse order
list-buffers -r -O creation

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set-buffer

Alias: setb 
set-buffer [-aw] [-b buffer-name] [-t target-client] [-n new-buffer-name] [data]
Set the contents of a paste buffer or rename it.
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-a
flag
Append to the buffer instead of replacing.
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-w
flag
Send the buffer to the clipboard for target-client using the xterm escape sequence.
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-b
string
Name of the buffer. If not specified, a new automatically named buffer is created.
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-t
string
Target client for sending to clipboard (with -w).
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-n
string
Rename the buffer to new-buffer-name.
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data
string
Data to set in the buffer. If not specified and -n is used, renames the buffer.

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Examples

# Create a new buffer with data
set-buffer "Hello, World!"

# Create a named buffer
set-buffer -b mybuffer "Some text"

# Append to a buffer
set-buffer -a -b mybuffer " more text"

# Rename a buffer
set-buffer -b buffer0001 -n mybuffer

# Send buffer to clipboard
set-buffer -w -b mybuffer

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delete-buffer

Alias: deleteb 
delete-buffer [-b buffer-name]
Delete the specified paste buffer.
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-b
string
Name of the buffer to delete. If not specified, deletes the most recently added automatically named buffer.

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Examples

# Delete the most recent buffer
delete-buffer

# Delete a specific buffer
delete-buffer -b mybuffer

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load-buffer

Alias: loadb 
load-buffer [-w] [-b buffer-name] [-t target-client] path
Load the contents of a file into a paste buffer.
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-w
flag
Send the buffer to the clipboard for target-client using the xterm escape sequence.
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-b
string
Name for the buffer. If not specified, creates a new automatically named buffer.
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-t
string
Target client for sending to clipboard (with -w).
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path
string
required
Path to the file to load. Use - to read from stdin.

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Examples

# Load from file
load-buffer /path/to/file.txt

# Load into named buffer
load-buffer -b mybuffer /path/to/file.txt

# Load from stdin
echo "test" | tmux load-buffer -

# Load and send to clipboard
load-buffer -w /path/to/file.txt

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save-buffer

Alias: saveb 
save-buffer [-a] [-b buffer-name] path
Save the contents of a paste buffer to a file.
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-a
flag
Append to the file instead of overwriting.
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-b
string
Name of the buffer to save. If not specified, uses the most recently added automatically named buffer.
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path
string
required
Path to save to. Use - to write to stdout.

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Examples

# Save to file
save-buffer /path/to/file.txt

# Save specific buffer
save-buffer -b mybuffer /path/to/file.txt

# Append to file
save-buffer -a /path/to/file.txt

# Write to stdout
save-buffer -

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show-buffer

Alias: showb 
show-buffer [-b buffer-name]
Display the contents of a paste buffer.
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-b
string
Name of the buffer to show. If not specified, shows the most recently added automatically named buffer.

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Examples

# Show most recent buffer
show-buffer

# Show specific buffer
show-buffer -b mybuffer

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choose-buffer

choose-buffer [-NryZ] [-F format] [-f filter] [-K key-format] 
              [-O sort-order] [-t target-pane] [template]
Put a pane into buffer mode, where a buffer may be chosen interactively from a list.
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-N
flag
Start without the preview.
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-r
flag
Reverse the sort order.
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-y
flag
Disable any confirmation prompts.
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-Z
flag
Zoom the pane.
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-F
string
Format for each item in the list.
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-f
string
Initial filter (as a format expression).
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-K
string
Format for each shortcut key.
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-O
string
Initial sort order: creation (time), name, or size.
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-t
string
Target pane.
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template
string
After a buffer is chosen, %% is replaced by the buffer name and the result is executed as a command. Default: paste-buffer -p -b '%%'

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Buffer Mode Keys

  • Enter: Paste selected buffer
  • Up/Down: Navigate
  • C-s: Search
  • n/N: Repeat search forward/backward
  • t: Toggle tag
  • T/C-t: Tag none/all
  • p/P: Paste selected/tagged buffers
  • d/D: Delete selected/tagged buffers
  • e: Open buffer in editor
  • f: Enter filter
  • O: Change sort order
  • r: Reverse sort
  • v: Toggle preview
  • q: Exit

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Examples

# Choose buffer interactively
choose-buffer

# Choose with custom action
choose-buffer "save-buffer -b '%%' /tmp/buffer.txt"

# Choose sorted by size
choose-buffer -O size

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clear-history

Alias: clearhist 
clear-history [-H] [-t target-pane]
Remove and free the history for the specified pane.
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-H
flag
Also remove all hyperlinks.
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-t
string
The target pane.

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Examples

# Clear history in current pane
clear-history

# Clear history in specific pane
clear-history -t 0

# Clear history and hyperlinks
clear-history -H