Buffer Commands

Commands for managing paste buffers and copy mode in tmux

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.

Buffer Naming

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.

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.

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.

-e · flag

Scroll to bottom when reaching the end in copy mode.

-H · flag

Hide the position indicator in the top right.

-M · flag

Begin a mouse drag (only valid if bound to a mouse key binding).

-q · flag

Cancel copy mode and any other modes.

-u · flag

Scroll one page up immediately after entering copy mode.

-s · string

Copy from src-pane instead of target-pane.

-t · string

The target pane to enter copy mode in.

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.

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

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.

-d · flag

Also delete the paste buffer after pasting.

-p · flag

Paste bracket control codes are sent before and after the buffer if the application has requested bracketed paste mode.

-r · flag

Do not replace line feeds (LF) with carriage returns (CR) when pasting.

-b · string

Name of the buffer to paste. If not specified, the most recently added automatically named buffer is used.

-s · string

Separator to replace LF characters with. Default is carriage return (CR). Ignored with -r.

-t · string

The target pane. If not specified, paste into the current pane.

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

list-buffers

Alias: lsb

list-buffers [-r] [-F format] [-f filter] [-O sort-order]

List the global paste buffers.

-r · flag

Reverse the sort order.

-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

-f · string

Only show buffers for which the filter is true.

-O · string

Specify sort order: name, size, or creation (time).

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

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.

-a · flag

Append to the buffer instead of replacing.

-w · flag

Send the buffer to the clipboard for target-client using the xterm escape sequence.

-b · string

Name of the buffer. If not specified, a new automatically named buffer is created.

-t · string

Target client for sending to clipboard (with -w).

-n · string

Rename the buffer to new-buffer-name.

data · string

Data to set in the buffer. If not specified and -n is used, renames the buffer.

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

delete-buffer

Alias: deleteb

delete-buffer [-b buffer-name]

Delete the specified paste buffer.

-b · string

Name of the buffer to delete. If not specified, deletes the most recently added automatically named buffer.

Examples

# Delete the most recent buffer
delete-buffer

# Delete a specific buffer
delete-buffer -b mybuffer

load-buffer

Alias: loadb

load-buffer [-w] [-b buffer-name] [-t target-client] path

Load the contents of a file into a paste buffer.

-w · flag

Send the buffer to the clipboard for target-client using the xterm escape sequence.

-b · string

Name for the buffer. If not specified, creates a new automatically named buffer.

-t · string

Target client for sending to clipboard (with -w).

path · string · required

Path to the file to load. Use - to read from stdin.

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

save-buffer

Alias: saveb

save-buffer [-a] [-b buffer-name] path

Save the contents of a paste buffer to a file.

-a · flag

Append to the file instead of overwriting.

-b · string

Name of the buffer to save. If not specified, uses the most recently added automatically named buffer.

path · string · required

Path to save to. Use - to write to stdout.

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 -

show-buffer

Alias: showb

show-buffer [-b buffer-name]

Display the contents of a paste buffer.

-b · string

Name of the buffer to show. If not specified, shows the most recently added automatically named buffer.

Examples

# Show most recent buffer
show-buffer

# Show specific buffer
show-buffer -b mybuffer

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.

-N · flag

Start without the preview.

-r · flag

Reverse the sort order.

-y · flag

Disable any confirmation prompts.

-Z · flag

Zoom the pane.

-F · string

Format for each item in the list.

-f · string

Initial filter (as a format expression).

-K · string

Format for each shortcut key.

-O · string

Initial sort order: creation (time), name, or size.

-t · string

Target pane.

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 '%%'

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

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

clear-history

Alias: clearhist

clear-history [-H] [-t target-pane]

Remove and free the history for the specified pane.

-H · flag

Also remove all hyperlinks.

-t · string

The target pane.

Examples

# Clear history in current pane
clear-history

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

# Clear history and hyperlinks
clear-history -H