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TMUX · WINDOWS
NOTES — ED. 2026.08

Give each task a name.
Create, switch, and close it when done.

Technical Reference · Drafted with Codex.

The basics of creating a Window, renaming it, selecting it by number and closing it safely. These instructions use the default prefix, C-b.

Notes
FIG. 01CREATE, NAME, SELECT, CLOSE — WINDOW BASICS
ONE TASK, ONE NAMED SCREENNOT A PANE

Window — switch tasks without cluttering the screen

WINDOWS · 2026

A Window is an independent screen inside a Session. Each Window has a name and index and contains one or more Panes. If you do not need to see several tasks simultaneously, separate Windows are easier to read than a screen split into many small Panes.

For example, put a conversation, a development server and a log in separate Windows. Each program then uses the full screen, and you switch by name. A Window name is a label for the purpose of the task you want to remember, not the state of the program.

C-b cC-b n · p · 0–9 · w

Creating and switching — c, n, p, numbers and w

WINDOW NAVIGATION · 2026

C-b c creates a new Window and switches to it. C-b n selects the next Window, C-b p the previous one, and C-b l the last Window you viewed. C-b 0 through C-b 9 select the Window with that index directly.

If you have too many Windows to remember their numbers, use C-b w to open tree mode and choose from the list of Sessions and Windows. The status line shows each Window’s index and name: use numbers for fast navigation and names to identify tasks.

Basic Window shortcuts
C-b c
Function
Create a new Window
Note
A new shell opens and that Window becomes the current screen
C-b ,
Function
Rename the current Window
Note
Type the name and press Enter
C-b n / p
Function
Next / previous Window
Note
Wraps around at the end of the list
C-b l
Function
Last Window
Note
Quick for switching between two tasks
C-b 0–9
Function
Select the given index
Note
The number is a position within the Session, not a name
C-b w
Function
Open the list and select
Note
Find a Window by name when there are many
C-b ,RENAME CURRENT WINDOW

Renaming — C-b ,

RENAME WINDOW · 2026

Press C-b , in the current Window to open the rename-window input on the status line. Delete the old name, enter a name that shows its purpose—such as notes, server or review—and press Enter. Window names can repeat, so check the index too.

If you prefer a command prompt, open the tmux command prompt with C-b : and run rename-window new-name. If a name unexpectedly changes again, check automatic-rename or the title-changing settings of the running program.

EXITC-b & · C-b x

Closing — exit the program or kill the Window with C-b &

CLOSE SAFELY · 2026

Running exit in a shell or closing the shell normally with Ctrl-d closes that Pane. When the last Pane closes, the Window disappears too. If a program is running, the safest approach is to save and exit using that program’s own shutdown procedure first.

C-b & asks whether to forcibly close the current Window and every Pane inside it. Unsaved editors and running tasks may end with it. Use C-b x to close just one Pane. Even when closing “one unused Window,” check the current Window and the processes inside it before answering the & confirmation.

— FIN —