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Window Options

Window options control the behavior and appearance of individual windows. Set with set-window-option or set -w. Use -g for global window options that apply to all windows.

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Window Behavior

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aggressive-resize

Type: Flag | Default: off When window-size is smallest, this controls whether the maximum size is the smallest attached session where it’s current (on), or the smallest session it’s linked to (off).
tmux.conf
set -g aggressive-resize on

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automatic-rename

Type: Flag | Default: on Whether windows are automatically renamed based on the running program.
tmux.conf
# Disable automatic window renaming
set -g automatic-rename off

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automatic-rename-format

Type: String (format) | Default: Complex format Format used to automatically rename windows. 
set -g automatic-rename-format "#{pane_current_command}"
Default: 
#{?pane_in_mode,[tmux],#{pane_current_command}}#{?pane_dead,[dead],}

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window-size

Type: Choice | Default: latest | Choices: largest, smallest, manual, latest How window size is calculated:
  • latest: Size of most recently used client
  • largest: Size of largest client
  • smallest: Size of smallest client
  • manual: Size set by resize-window command
set -g window-size latest

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monitor-activity

Type: Flag | Default: off Whether to trigger an alert when activity occurs in the window. 
# Monitor activity in specific window
set -w -t:1 monitor-activity on

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monitor-bell

Type: Flag | Default: on Whether to trigger an alert on terminal bell. 
set -g monitor-bell on

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monitor-silence

Type: Number (seconds) | Default: 0 | Range: 0 to INT_MAX Time after which an alert is triggered by silence. Zero means no alert. 
# Alert after 30 seconds of silence
set -w monitor-silence 30

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Copy Mode

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mode-keys

Type: Choice | Default: emacs | Choices: emacs, vi Key bindings used in copy mode.
tmux.conf
# Use vi key bindings in copy mode
set -g mode-keys vi

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mode-style

Type: Style | Default: "noattr,bg=yellow,fg=black" Style of indicators and highlighting in modes (copy mode, choose mode). 
set -g mode-style "bg=cyan,fg=black"

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copy-mode-match-style

Type: Style | Default: "bg=cyan,fg=black" Style of search matches in copy mode. 
set -g copy-mode-match-style "bg=yellow,fg=black"

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copy-mode-current-match-style

Type: Style | Default: "bg=magenta,fg=black" Style of the current (active) search match in copy mode. 
set -g copy-mode-current-match-style "bg=red,fg=white,bold"

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copy-mode-mark-style

Type: Style | Default: "bg=red,fg=black" Style of the marked line in copy mode. 
set -g copy-mode-mark-style "bg=green,fg=white"

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copy-mode-selection-style

Type: Style | Default: "#{E:mode-style}" Style of text selection in copy mode. 
set -g copy-mode-selection-style "bg=blue,fg=white"
Type: Flag | Default: on Whether searching in copy mode wraps at top or bottom. 
set -g wrap-search on

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Clock Mode

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clock-mode-colour

Type: Colour | Default: 4 (blue) Color of the clock in clock mode (clock-mode command). 
set -g clock-mode-colour green

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clock-mode-style

Type: Choice | Default: 24 | Choices: 12, 24, 12-with-seconds, 24-with-seconds Time format of the clock. 
set -g clock-mode-style 12

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Pane Borders

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pane-border-style

Type: Style | Default: "default" Style of inactive pane borders. 
set -g pane-border-style "fg=white"

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pane-active-border-style

Type: Style | Default: Complex format Style of the active pane border.
tmux.conf
set -g pane-active-border-style "fg=green"
Default: 
#{?pane_in_mode,fg=yellow,#{?synchronize-panes,fg=red,fg=green}}

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pane-border-lines

Type: Choice | Default: single | Choices: single, double, heavy, simple, number, spaces Type of characters used to draw pane borders. Some require UTF-8 support. 
set -g pane-border-lines double

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pane-border-indicators

Type: Choice | Default: colour | Choices: off, colour, arrows, both How to indicate the active pane:
  • off: No indication
  • colour: Use different color (via pane-active-border-style)
  • arrows: Display arrow markers
  • both: Both color and arrows
set -g pane-border-indicators arrows

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pane-border-status

Type: Choice | Default: off | Choices: off, top, bottom Position of pane status lines. 
set -g pane-border-status top

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pane-base-index

Type: Number | Default: 0 | Range: 0 to USHRT_MAX Starting index for pane numbers in each window. 
set -g pane-base-index 1

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Pane Scrollbars

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pane-scrollbars

Type: Choice | Default: off | Choices: off, modal, on Scrollbar display state:
  • off: No scrollbars
  • modal: Show only in copy mode
  • on: Always show
set -g pane-scrollbars modal

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pane-scrollbars-position

Type: Choice | Default: right | Choices: right, left Position of pane scrollbars. 
set -g pane-scrollbars-position left

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Window Status Line

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window-status-style

Type: Style | Default: "default" Style of windows in the status line (except current and last). 
set -g window-status-style "fg=white"

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window-status-current-style

Type: Style | Default: "default" Style of the current window in the status line.
tmux.conf
set -g window-status-current-style "fg=yellow,bold"

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window-status-last-style

Type: Style | Default: "default" Style of the last window in the status line. 
set -g window-status-last-style "fg=cyan"

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window-status-format

Type: String (format) | Default: "#I:#W#{?window_flags,#{window_flags}, }" Format of windows in the status line (except current). 
set -g window-status-format "#I:#W"

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window-status-current-format

Type: String (format) | Default: "#I:#W#{?window_flags,#{window_flags}, }" Format of the current window in the status line. 
set -g window-status-current-format "#I:#W#F"

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window-status-separator

Type: String | Default: " " (space) Separator between windows in the status line. 
set -g window-status-separator " | "

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window-status-activity-style

Type: Style | Default: "reverse" Style of windows with activity alerts in the status line. 
set -g window-status-activity-style "fg=red"

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window-status-bell-style

Type: Style | Default: "reverse" Style of windows with bell alerts in the status line. 
set -g window-status-bell-style "fg=yellow,bold"

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Layouts

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main-pane-width

Type: String | Default: "80" Width of the main pane in main-vertical layout. Can be a percentage. 
set -g main-pane-width "50%"

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main-pane-height

Type: String | Default: "24" Height of the main pane in main-horizontal layout. Can be a percentage. 
set -g main-pane-height "60%"

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other-pane-width

Type: String | Default: "0" Width of other panes in main-vertical layout. Can be a percentage. 
set -g other-pane-width "20%"

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other-pane-height

Type: String | Default: "0" Height of other panes in main-horizontal layout. Can be a percentage. 
set -g other-pane-height "20%"

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tiled-layout-max-columns

Type: Number | Default: 0 | Range: 0 to USHRT_MAX Maximum number of columns in the tiled layout. Zero means no limit. 
set -g tiled-layout-max-columns 4
Type: Style | Default: "default" Default style of menus. 
set -g menu-style "bg=black,fg=white"
Type: Style | Default: "bg=yellow,fg=black" Style of selected menu items. 
set -g menu-selected-style "bg=blue,fg=white"
Type: Style | Default: "default" Style of menu borders. 
set -g menu-border-style "fg=cyan"
Type: Choice | Default: single | Choices: single, double, heavy, simple, rounded, padded, none Type of characters for menu borders. 
set -g menu-border-lines rounded

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Popups

Type: Style | Default: "default" Default style of popup windows. 
set -g popup-style "bg=black,fg=white"
Type: Style | Default: "default" Style of popup borders. 
set -g popup-border-style "fg=green"
Type: Choice | Default: single | Choices: single, double, heavy, simple, rounded, padded, none Type of characters for popup borders. 
set -g popup-border-lines rounded

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Display

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fill-character

Type: String | Default: "" Character used to fill unused parts of window. 
set -g fill-character "."

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Status Lines

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pane-status-style

Type: Style | Default: "default" Style of panes in multi-pane status line (except current). 
set -g pane-status-style "fg=white"

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pane-status-current-style

Type: Style | Default: "default" Style of the current pane in multi-pane status line. 
set -g pane-status-current-style "fg=green,bold"

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session-status-style

Type: Style | Default: "default" Style of sessions in multi-session status line (except current). 
set -g session-status-style "fg=white"

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session-status-current-style

Type: Style | Default: "default" Style of current session in multi-session status line. 
set -g session-status-current-style "fg=yellow,bold"

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Example Configuration

tmux.conf
# Window behavior
set -g automatic-rename on
set -g automatic-rename-format "#{pane_current_command}"
set -g aggressive-resize on
set -g renumber-windows on

# Copy mode
set -g mode-keys vi
set -g mode-style "bg=black,fg=yellow"

# Pane borders
set -g pane-border-style "fg=colour238"
set -g pane-active-border-style "fg=green"
set -g pane-border-lines heavy
set -g pane-border-status top
set -g pane-border-format " #{pane_index} #{pane_title} "

# Status line windows
set -g window-status-style "fg=white"
set -g window-status-current-style "fg=yellow,bold"
set -g window-status-format "#I:#W"
set -g window-status-current-format "#I:#W*"

# Clock
set -g clock-mode-style 24
set -g clock-mode-colour cyan

# Layouts
set -g main-pane-width "60%"
set -g main-pane-height "60%"

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Example from example_tmux.conf

From the tmux source repository:
tmux.conf
# Some tweaks to the status line
set -g window-status-current-style "underscore"

# Keys to toggle monitoring activity in a window
bind m set monitor-activity

# Create windows with specific settings
set -t0:0 monitor-activity on
set -t0:0 aggressive-resize on
setw -t0:1 aggressive-resize on
setw -t0:2 aggressive-resize on

Pane Options

Per-pane specific options

Session Options

Session-level settings