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Overview

The tmux server manages clients, sessions, windows, and panes. Clients are attached to sessions to interact with them. Each session has one or more windows linked into it.

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attach-session

Alias: attach 
attach-session [-dErx] [-c working-directory] [-f flags] [-t target-session]
Attach to an existing session. If run from outside tmux, attach to target-session in the current terminal. If used from inside tmux, switch the currently attached session.
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-d
flag
Detach any other clients attached to the session.
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-E
flag
Do not apply the update-environment option.
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-r
flag
Alias for -f read-only,ignore-size. Makes the client read-only.
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-x
flag
Send SIGHUP to the parent process of the client as well as detaching, typically causing it to exit.
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-c
string
Set the session working directory (used for new windows) to working-directory.
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-f
string
Comma-separated list of client flags:
  • active-pane - client has an independent active pane
  • ignore-size - client does not affect the size of other clients
  • no-detach-on-destroy - do not detach when session is destroyed if other sessions exist
  • no-output - client does not receive pane output in control mode
  • pause-after=seconds - output is paused once pane is seconds behind in control mode
  • read-only - client is read-only
  • wait-exit - wait for empty line input before exiting in control mode
Prefix with ! to turn a flag off if client is already attached.
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-t
string
The target session. Must already exist.

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Target Session Selection

When tmux needs to select the most recently used session, it prefers the most recently used unattached session.

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new-session

Alias: new 
new-session [-AdDEPX] [-c start-directory] [-e environment] [-f flags] 
            [-F format] [-n window-name] [-s session-name] [-t group-name] 
            [-x width] [-y height] [shell-command [argument ...]]
Create a new session with name session-name.
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-A
flag
If session-name already exists, behave like attach-session. When combined with -D, behaves like -d to attach-session, and with -X, behaves like -x to attach-session.
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-d
flag
Do not attach the new session to the current terminal (create in detached mode).
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-D
flag
With -A, detach other clients when attaching (like -d to attach-session).
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-E
flag
Do not apply the update-environment option.
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-P
flag
Print information about the new session after it has been created. Default format is #{session_name}: but can be changed with -F.
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-X
flag
With -A, send SIGHUP to parent process when attaching (like -x to attach-session).
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-c
string
Specify the working directory for the new session.
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-e
string
Set an environment variable for the newly created session in the form VARIABLE=value. May be specified multiple times.
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-f
string
Comma-separated list of client flags (see attach-session).
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-F
string
Format for output when -P is used.
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-n
string
Name for the initial window.
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-s
string
Name for the new session.
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-t
string
Specify a session group. Sessions in the same group share the same set of windows. The argument may be:
  • Name of an existing group
  • Name of an existing session (new session joins same group)
  • Name for a new group containing only the new session
Cannot be used with -n or shell-command.
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-x
number
Width for the session. Use - for the size of the current client.
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-y
number
Height for the session. Use - for the size of the current client.
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shell-command
string
Shell command to execute in the initial window.

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Initial Size

With -d, the initial size comes from the default-size option. Use -x and -y to specify a different size. If -x or -y is given, the default-size option is set for the session.

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detach-client

Alias: detach 
detach-client [-aP] [-E shell-command] [-s target-session] [-t target-client]
Detach the current client if bound to a key, the client specified with -t, or all clients currently attached to the session specified by -s.
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-a
flag
Kill all clients except the client given with -t.
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-P
flag
Send SIGHUP to the parent process of the client, typically causing it to exit.
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-E
string
Run shell-command to replace the client.
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-s
string
Detach all clients attached to target-session.
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-t
string
The target client to detach.

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has-session

Alias: has 
has-session [-t target-session]
Report an error and exit with 1 if the specified session does not exist. If it does exist, exit with 0.
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-t
string
The target session to check.

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kill-session

kill-session [-aC] [-t target-session]
Destroy the given session, closing any windows linked to it and no other sessions, and detaching all clients attached to it.
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-a
flag
Kill all sessions except the specified one.
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-C
flag
Clear alerts (bell, activity, or silence) in all windows linked to the session.
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-t
string
The target session to destroy.

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list-sessions

Alias: ls 
list-sessions [-r] [-F format] [-f filter] [-O sort-order]
List all sessions managed by the server.
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-r
flag
Reverse the sort order.
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-F
string
Specify the format of each line. See the FORMATS section.
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-f
string
Only show sessions for which the filter is true.
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-O
string
Specify sort order: index, name, creation (time), or activity (time).

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rename-session

Alias: rename 
rename-session [-t target-session] new-name
Rename the session to new-name.
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-t
string
The target session to rename.
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new-name
string
required
The new name for the session.

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lock-session

Alias: locks 
lock-session [-t target-session]
Lock all clients attached to target-session.
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-t
string
The target session to lock.

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kill-server

kill-server
Kill the tmux server and clients and destroy all sessions.

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switch-client

Alias: switchc 
switch-client [-ElnprZ] [-c target-client] [-t target-session] [-T key-table]
Switch the current client to another session or manipulate its key table.
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-E
flag
Do not apply the update-environment option.
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-l
flag
Move to the last session.
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-n
flag
Move to the next session.
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-p
flag
Move to the previous session.
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-r
flag
Toggle the client read-only flag.
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-Z
flag
Keep the window zoomed if it was zoomed.
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-c
string
Specify the target client.
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-t
string
The target session.
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-T
string
Set the client’s key table to key-table. The next key will be looked up in this table. Useful for creating custom key bindings.