Windows

A tmux window is like a tab in your terminal browser. Windows live inside sessions and contain panes (which we'll cover next).

Each window can run a different program or command — vim in one, a server in another, tests in a third.

NOTE:

Think of the hierarchy: session → window → pane. Sessions contain windows, windows contain panes.

Creating windows

Create a new window:

You're now in a fresh shell. The status line shows the new window:

[mysession] 0:bash  1:bash*

1:bash* is the new window (marked active with *).

Create multiple windows: Ctrl-b c, Ctrl-b c, Ctrl-b c...

NOTE:

Windows are numbered starting at 0. Create a window for each task: editor, server, tests, logs, database.

Navigating between windows

Jump to a specific window by number:

This is the fastest way to switch — memorize your window numbers.

Cycle through windows:

# next window

# previous window

NOTE:

n = next, p = previous. These work even if you have many windows.

Interactive window selection

Show all windows and select:

Use arrow keys to navigate, Enter to select. This shows a preview of each window.

Finding windows

Search for a window by name:

Type the window name (e.g., "server" or "tests"). tmux jumps to the first match.

Renaming windows

By default, windows show the running program name (bash, vim, node). Give them meaningful names:

Type a name like server or frontend-tests and press Enter.

NOTE:

The comma binding is easy to forget. If it doesn't work, check that you're not in a nested tmux session (common when attaching to a remote tmux).

Listing windows

From command line (outside tmux):

From inside tmux (command prompt):

Then type: list-windows

Closing windows

Close the current window:

Confirm with y to close.

Or just exit the shell:

NOTE:

Closing a window closes all panes inside it. Make sure you don't have important work running!

Window layouts

Each window remembers its pane layout. When you switch away and back, the layout is preserved.

We'll cover panes in the next step, but remember: windows are containers for panes.

Status line

The status line shows all windows in the current session:

[session] 0:vim  1:server  2:logs*  3:tests

vim — window 0 running vim
server — window 1 (unnamed, shows program)
logs* — window 2, currently active (marked with *)
3 — window 3, number only

Key bindings summary

Key	Action
`Ctrl-b c`	Create new window
`Ctrl-b 0-9`	Jump to window number
`Ctrl-b n`	Next window
`Ctrl-b p`	Previous window
`Ctrl-b w`	Choose window interactively
`Ctrl-b f`	Find window by name
`Ctrl-b ,`	Rename window
`Ctrl-b &`	Kill (close) window

Command-line usage

From outside tmux:

# Create new window in session
tmux new-window -t sessionname -n "windowname"

# Select window
tmux select-window -t sessionname:2

# Rename window
tmux rename-window -t sessionname:1 "newname"

# List windows
tmux list-windows -t sessionname

NOTE:

Window identifiers are sessionname:windownumber. For example: mysession:2 means window 2 in mysession.

Practical example

Here's a typical development workflow:

# Start session
tmux new -s webdev

# Window 0: Editor (default)

# Window 1: Server
Ctrl-b c
npm run dev
Ctrl-b ,   # name it "server"

# Window 2: Tests
Ctrl-b c
npm test
Ctrl-b ,   # name it "tests"

# Window 3: Logs
Ctrl-b c
tail -f logs/app.log
Ctrl-b ,   # name it "logs"

# Navigate between them
Ctrl-b 0   # edit code
Ctrl-b 1   # check server
Ctrl-b 2   # run tests
Ctrl-b 3   # view logs

Window numbers

When you close a window, the numbers don't shift. If you close window 1, windows 0, 2, 3 stay numbered that way.

New windows get the next available number (4 in this example).

NOTE:

This can be confusing. You might have windows 0, 2, 3, 5. Use Ctrl-b w (interactive list) instead of memorizing numbers if your session is chaotic.

Next: Step 4 → Panes — Split windows into multiple panes