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Config Generator

Choose settings for your .tmux.conf, review the result, and download it.

Core Settings

Interface

Keybindings

Plugins

Preview: .tmux.conf

bash
1# tmux configuration generated by tmux.info
2# https://tmux.info/tools/config-generator
3
4# Enable Mouse Support
5set -g mouse on
6
7# Increase History Limit
8set -g history-limit 50000
9
10# Start Index at 1
11set -g base-index 1
12setw -g pane-base-index 1
13
14# True Color Support
15set -g default-terminal "tmux-256color"
16set -as terminal-features ",xterm-256color:RGB"

Save the downloaded file as ~/.tmux.conf; some browsers remove the leading dot. If you already have a config, merge the settings you want or use the install script to create a backup first.

How to use the config generator

What it does

The generator turns a few choices into a working ~/.tmux.conf. Each switch adds a short block of settings with a comment above it, so you can see exactly what every line does before you use it. The file is built in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

Step by step

  1. Turn on the settings you want. Mouse support, a longer scrollback, numbering from 1, and true color start switched on because most people want them.
  2. Read the preview. Every block is labeled, so you can drop anything you don't understand yet.
  3. Click Download and save the file in your home folder as .tmux.conf. Some browsers remove the leading dot, so check the name.
  4. Apply it to a running tmux with tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf, or start a new tmux server.

What each setting does

  • Mouse support (set -g mouse on): click to choose panes and windows, drag borders to resize, and scroll with the wheel.
  • History limit (set -g history-limit 50000): keep 50,000 lines of scrollback per pane instead of the default 2,000. It applies to panes opened after the change.
  • Start index at 1 (base-index and pane-base-index): number windows and panes from 1, so the numbers match the keys on your keyboard.
  • True color (default-terminal tmux-256color plus the RGB terminal feature): lets editor themes, for example in Neovim, show their real colors.
  • Prefix Ctrl+a: moves the prefix from Ctrl+b to Ctrl+a, like GNU screen. Pressing Ctrl+a twice sends a real Ctrl+a to the program, which shells use to jump to the start of the line.
  • Vim navigation: Prefix + h, j, k, and l move between panes.
  • Vi copy mode (mode-keys vi): use vi keys in copy mode, where Space starts a selection and Enter copies it.
  • Reload binding: Prefix + r reloads the file. This replaces the default Prefix + r, which redraws the screen.
  • TPM: adds the lines for the tmux plugin manager. TPM itself must be installed once; the install script does that for you.

The install script

Instead of downloading the file, you can copy an install script. It backs up any existing ~/.tmux.conf to a copy with the date in its name, writes the new file exactly as shown (nothing inside it is run by your shell), and clones TPM if your config uses plugins. As with any script, read it before you paste it into a terminal.

Presets

The copy-mode and development presets, linked from the matching guides, start you with the settings those tasks need. You can still switch anything on or off before downloading.