Tmux Setup
My personal tmux.conf configs and keybindings โ inspired by Byobu keybindings (a Tmux wrapper)
You can view source code here
๐ฅ Quick script to setup Tmuxโ
Follow steps below to run a script that will install tmux, tpm and setup your configs to match mine ๐
Scripts to setup Tmux
I currently only have created scripts for MacOS, Mariner and Linux
Example using MacOS script
# 1. Clone repo
$ git clone https://github.com/kevinreber/tmux-configs.git
# 2. Change directory
$ cd tmux-configs
# 3. Make sure script is executable
tmux-configs $ chmod +x setup_tmux.sh
# 4. Run script
tmux-configs $ ./setup_tmux.sh
# 5. Select OS to run
๐ Please select your operating system:
Use โ/โ arrows to move, Enter to select
> ๐ MacOS
๐ง Linux (yum)
๐ข CBL-Mariner
๐จ DISCLAIMERโ
My local setup
Some disclaimers before blindly copy/pasting my .tmux.conf file below
-
I have overridden my "Caps Locks" button to be "Ctrl". Why do I do this?
- I rarely use my "Caps Locks" button to toggle character casing
- It feels more ergonomically friendly when setting prefixes and using specific keybindings in Tmux (and if you're a Vim user ๐)
-
For my terminal and shell I am using iTerm + zsh (see iTerm)
๐ป Installing Tmuxโ
Linux (CentOS)
sudo yum install tmux
Mac (Homebrew)
brew install tmux
๐ My .tmux.conf fileโ
Note: A lot of these keybindings are very similar to Byobu's default settings
tmux.conf
.tmux.conf
# Global Variables
# This is for TPM
set-environment -g TMUX_PLUGIN_MANAGER_PATH "$HOME/.tmux/plugins"
# Instead of the prefix default Ctrl+b, set prefix to be Ctrl+a
# Why do this? My Caps Lock button is set to also be Ctrl, so I feel this is more ergonomically comfortable
set -g prefix C-a
# Enable interactive mouse
set -g mouse on
# Byobu-like tmux configuration below
# I use a theme for styling, so I don't use the Byobu default styling ๐ ############################################
# General Settings
# set -g default-terminal "screen-256color"
# set -g history-limit 10000
# set -g base-index 1
# setw -g pane-base-index 1
# set -g renumber-windows on
# set -s escape-time 0
# Status Bar Settings
# set -g status-bg colour234
# set -g status-fg white
# set -g status-interval 5
# set -g status-left-length 32
# set -g status-right-length 150
# set -g status-left '#[fg=colour16,bg=colour254,bold] #S #[fg=colour254,bg=colour238,nobold]๎ฐ#[fg=colour238,bg=colour234,nobold]๎ฐ#[fg=colour143,bg=colour018,nobold] #h |'
# set -g status-right '#[fg=colour16,bg=colour254,bold] %R #[fg=colour245] %d %b #[fg=colour16,bg=colour254,bold] #h '
# set -g window-status-format "#[fg=white,bg=colour234] #I #W "
# set -g window-status-current-format "#[fg=colour234,bg=colour39]๎ฐ#[fg=colour16,bg=colour39,noreverse,bold] #I โญ #W #[fg=colour39,bg=colour234,nobold]๎ฐ"
# Pane Borders
# set-option -g pane-active-border-style "bg=black,fg=green"
# set-option -g pane-border-style "bg=default,fg=white"
# End of Byobu default styling ############################################
# Activity Monitoring
set-option -g visual-activity on
setw -g monitor-activity on
setw -g automatic-rename off
# Key Bindings
bind C-a send-prefix
bind | split-window -h
bind - split-window -v
unbind '"'
unbind %
# Reload configuration
bind r source-file ~/.tmux.conf \; display "Reloaded!"
bind R source-file ~/.tmux.conf \; display "Reloaded!"
# Key Bindings for moving between panes using Shift+Arrow keys
bind -n S-Left select-pane -L
bind -n S-Right select-pane -R
bind -n S-Up select-pane -U
bind -n S-Down select-pane -D
# Switching between panes using Ctrl+Arrow keys
bind -n C-Left select-pane -L
bind -n C-Right select-pane -R
bind -n C-Up select-pane -U
bind -n C-Down select-pane -D
# Resize panes using Ctrl+a + Arrow keys
bind -r C-Left resize-pane -L 5
bind -r C-Right resize-pane -R 5
bind -r C-Up resize-pane -U 5
bind -r C-Down resize-pane -D 5
# Move between windows with Option+Cmd+Right/Left Arrow Keys
bind -n M-Left previous-window
bind -n M-Right next-window
# Window swapping with Option+Cmd+Up/Down Arrow keys
bind -n M-Up swap-window -t -1\; previous-window
bind -n M-Down swap-window -t +1\; next-window
# Copy mode key bindings
setw -g mode-keys vi
bind -T copy-mode-vi v send -X begin-selection
bind -T copy-mode-vi y send -X copy-selection-and-cancel
# Synchronize panes
bind S setw synchronize-panes
# Other key bindings
bind-key C-c new-window
bind-key C-n next-window
bind-key C-p previous-window
bind-key C-d detach
bind-key x kill-pane
bind-key X kill-window
# F1-F12 Key Bindings (Byobu-like)
bind-key -n F1 command-prompt "rename-window %%"
bind-key -n F2 new-window
bind-key -n F3 previous-window
bind-key -n F4 next-window
bind-key -n F5 refresh-client
bind-key -n F6 detach
bind-key -n F7 choose-tree
bind-key -n F8 command-prompt "swap-window -t %%"
bind-key -n F9 command-prompt "kill-window"
bind-key -n F10 split-window -v
bind-key -n F11 split-window -h
bind-key -n F12 select-layout even-horizontal
# Set status bar to top โ I like to see my status bar on the top, this can be helpful when using VIM
set-option -g status-position top
# Tmux Plugin Manager ##############################
# List of plugins
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tpm'
# Tmux nerd font window name: https://github.com/joshmedeski/tmux-nerd-font-window-name
set -g @plugin 'joshmedeski/tmux-nerd-font-window-name'
# Catpuccin Tmux theme: https://github.com/catppuccin/tmux
set -g @plugin 'catppuccin/tmux'
# Tmux Resurrect: https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tmux-resurrect
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-resurrect'
# Tmux continuum: https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tmux-continuum
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-continuum'
# Tmux continuum intervalsettings
set -g @continuum-save-interval '15'
set -g @continuum-restore 'on'
# Catpuccin settings - Config 3
set -g @catppuccin_window_left_separator "๎ถ"
set -g @catppuccin_window_right_separator "๎ดย "
set -g @catppuccin_window_middle_separator " โ"
set -g @catppuccin_window_number_position "right"
set -g @catppuccin_window_default_fill "number"
set -g @catppuccin_window_default_text "#W"
set -g @catppuccin_window_current_fill "number"
set -g @catppuccin_window_current_text "#W"
set -g @catppuccin_status_modules_right "directory session"
set -g @catppuccin_status_left_separator " ๎ถ"
set -g @catppuccin_status_right_separator "๎ด"
set -g @catppuccin_status_fill "icon"
set -g @catppuccin_status_connect_separator "no"
set -g @catppuccin_directory_text "#{pane_current_path}"
# Initialize TMUX plugin manager (keep this line at the very bottom of tmux.conf)
run '~/.tmux/plugins/tpm/tpm'
Key Binding Descriptionsโ
- Shift+Left (S-Left): Move to the pane on the left.
- Shift+Right (S-Right): Move to the pane on the right.
- Shift+Up (S-Up): Move to the pane above.
- Shift+Down (S-Down): Move to the pane below.
- Ctrl+Left (C-Left): Move to the pane on the left.
- Ctrl+Right (C-Right): Move to the pane on the right.
- Ctrl+Up (C-Up): Move to the pane above.
- Ctrl+Down (C-Down): Move to the pane below.
F-Key Binding Descriptionsโ
- F1: Rename the current window.
- F2: Create a new window.
- F3: Go to the previous window.
- F4: Go to the next window.
- F5: Refresh the client (redraw the screen).
- F6: Detach from the current session.
- F7: Display a tree of windows and panes.
- F8: Swap the current window with another.
- F9: Kill the current window.
- F10: Split the current pane horizontally.
- F11: Split the current pane vertically.
- F12: Arrange panes in an even horizontal layout.
๐ Tmux Pluginsโ
Installing tmux-plugins
git clone https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tpm ~/.tmux/plugins/tpm
I like to use Catpuccin as my Tmux theme
Tmux nerd font window nameโ
Special icons for programming files Installation guide: https://github.com/joshmedeski/tmux-nerd-font-window-name
Tmux Theme Catpuccinโ
Styling theme Installation guide: https://github.com/catppuccin/tmux
Catpuccin Requirementsโ
Catpuccin uses Nerd Fonts as their default font. You can download the Hack Nerd Font (or any other preferred Nerd Font) from the Nerd Fonts repository locally: via shell
wget https://github.com/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts/releases/download/v2.1.0/Hack.zip
unzip Hack.zip -d ~/Library/Fonts/
or via Homebrew
brew tap homebrew/cask-fonts
brew install --cask font-hack-nerd-font
After installing Nerd Fonts, make sure to set you iTerm Profile font to Hack Nerd Font
๐ค Why not just use Byobu instead of Tmux?โ
- While Byobu is great out the box and can do everything Tmux can, I feel the documentation and community is not as strong as Tmux.
- In my experience whenever I think I have a "Byobu related question" it ends up being more of a "Tmux related question" and having Byobu as a wrapper can sometimes complicate the solution I'm looking for. At that point I might as well only be using Tmux.
- Byobu does abstract a lot from Tmux and makes thing simple, but it's simplicity also limits the use of plugins and customizations that you can get with "vanilla" Tmux.
TLDR;โ
The Tmux and Byobu relationship is almost like a React vs Angular question. React gives you more freedom while Angular is great out the box but more opinionated on how things are executed.
๐ง Default Tmux Configsโ
If you ever need to reference or reset your tmux configs, this is the default tmux.conf
default-command ''
default-shell /bin/zsh
default-size 80x24
destroy-unattached off
detach-on-destroy on
display-panes-active-colour red
display-panes-colour blue
display-panes-time 1000
display-time 750
history-limit 2000
key-table root
lock-after-time 0
lock-command "lock -np"
message-command-style bg=black,fg=yellow
message-line 0
message-style bg=yellow,fg=black
mouse off
prefix C-b
prefix2 None
renumber-windows off
repeat-time 500
set-titles off
set-titles-string "#S:#I:#W - \"#T\" #{session_alerts}"
silence-action other
status on
status-bg default
status-fg default
status-format[0] "#[align=left range=left #{E:status-left-style}]#[push-default]#{T;=/#{status-left-length}:status-left}#[pop-default]#[norange default]#[list=on align=#{status-justify}]#[list=left-marker]<#[list=right-marker]>#[list=on]#{W:#[range=window|#{window_index} #{E:window-status-style}#{?#{&&:#{window_last_flag},#{!=:#{E:window-status-last-style},default}}, #{E:window-status-last-style},}#{?#{&&:#{window_bell_flag},#{!=:#{E:window-status-bell-style},default}}, #{E:window-status-bell-style},#{?#{&&:#{||:#{window_activity_flag},#{window_silence_flag}},#{!=:#{E:window-status-activity-style},default}}, #{E:window-status-activity-style},}}]#[push-default]#{T:window-status-format}#[pop-default]#[norange default]#{?window_end_flag,,#{window-status-separator}},#[range=window|#{window_index} list=focus #{?#{!=:#{E:window-status-current-style},default},#{E:window-status-current-style},#{E:window-status-style}}#{?#{&&:#{window_last_flag},#{!=:#{E:window-status-last-style},default}}, #{E:window-status-last-style},}#{?#{&&:#{window_bell_flag},#{!=:#{E:window-status-bell-style},default}}, #{E:window-status-bell-style},#{?#{&&:#{||:#{window_activity_flag},#{window_silence_flag}},#{!=:#{E:window-status-activity-style},default}}, #{E:window-status-activity-style},}}]#[push-default]#{T:window-status-current-format}#[pop-default]#[norange list=on default]#{?window_end_flag,,#{window-status-separator}}}#[nolist align=right range=right #{E:status-right-style}]#[push-default]#{T;=/#{status-right-length}:status-right}#[pop-default]#[norange default]"
status-format[1] "#[align=centre]#{P:#{?pane_active,#[reverse],}#{pane_index}[#{pane_width}x#{pane_height}]#[default] }"
status-interval 15
status-justify left
status-keys emacs
status-left "[#{session_name}] "
status-left-length 10
status-left-style default
status-position bottom
status-right "#{?window_bigger,[#{window_offset_x}#,#{window_offset_y}] ,}\"#{=21:pane_title}\" %H:%M %d-%b-%y"
status-right-length 40
status-right-style default
status-style bg=green,fg=black
update-environment[0] DISPLAY
update-environment[1] KRB5CCNAME
update-environment[2] SSH_ASKPASS
update-environment[3] SSH_AUTH_SOCK
update-environment[4] SSH_AGENT_PID
update-environment[5] SSH_CONNECTION
update-environment[6] WINDOWID
update-environment[7] XAUTHORITY
visual-activity off
visual-bell off
visual-silence off
word-separators "!\"#$%&'()*+,-./:;<=>?@[\\]^`{|}~"