OpenMux — Cheatsheet

Quick-reference card for OpenMux keybindings, CLI commands, and core concepts. Print this or keep it open in a pane while building muscle memory.

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Normal Mode (Alt shortcuts — no prefix needed)

Shortcut	Action
Alt+h / j / k / l	Navigate panes (left / down / up / right)
Alt+n	New pane
Alt+\	Split pane vertically (side by side)
Alt+-	Split pane horizontally (top / bottom)
Alt+x	Close focused pane
Alt+z	Toggle zoom (fullscreen focused pane)
Alt+m	Enter move mode
Alt+[ / Alt+]	Cycle layout mode (vertical → horizontal → stacked)
Alt+1 – Alt+9	Switch to workspace 1–9
Alt+s	Open session picker
Alt+t	Open template overlay
Alt+g	Open aggregate view (browse all PTYs)
Alt+f	Open search
Alt+p	Open command palette

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Prefix Mode (Ctrl+space, then key within 2s)

Key	Action
n / Enter	New pane
\	Split vertically
-	Split horizontally
h / j / k / l	Navigate panes
m	Enter move mode
x	Close pane
z	Toggle zoom
v	Layout: vertical
H	Layout: horizontal
t	Layout: stacked (tabbed)
T	Open template overlay
1 – 9	Switch to workspace
s	Open session picker
g	Open aggregate view
/	Open search
:	Open command palette
] / p	Paste from clipboard
`	Toggle console overlay
d	Detach (session keeps running)
q	Quit openmux
Esc	Exit prefix mode

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Move Mode (Alt+m or Ctrl+space m)

Key	Action
h / j / k / l	Move focused pane (west / south / north / east)
Esc	Exit move mode

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Mouse

Action	Effect
Click pane	Focus pane
Click tab	Switch stacked pane (in stacked mode)
Scroll wheel	Scroll terminal history
Click scrollbar	Jump to position
Drag scrollbar	Scroll by dragging

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Search Mode (Alt+f or Ctrl+space /)

Key	Action
(type)	Enter search query
Ctrl+n	Next match
Ctrl+p	Previous match
Enter	Confirm and jump
Esc	Cancel search

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Command Palette (Alt+p or Ctrl+space :)

Key	Action
↑ / ↓	Navigate commands
Enter	Execute selected command
Esc	Close palette

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Session Picker (Alt+s or Ctrl+space s)

Key	Action
↑ / ↓	Navigate sessions
Enter	Select / create session
Ctrl+n	Create new session
Ctrl+r	Rename session
Ctrl+x / Ctrl+d	Delete session
Esc	Close picker

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Template Overlay (Alt+t or Ctrl+space T)

Tab	Key	Action
Apply	↑ / ↓	Navigate templates
Apply	Enter	Apply selected template
Apply	Ctrl+x	Delete template
Apply	Tab	Switch to Save tab
Save	Enter	Save current layout
Save	Tab	Switch to Apply tab
Both	Esc	Close overlay

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Aggregate View (Alt+g or Ctrl+space g)

List:

Key	Action
↑ / ↓	Navigate PTYs
Enter	Preview selected PTY
Tab	Jump to PTY and close view
Alt+a	Toggle scope (all / current workspace)
Alt+x	Kill selected PTY
(type)	Filter by process / directory / git branch
Alt+Esc	Close aggregate view

Preview:

Key	Action
Alt+Esc	Return to list
Alt+f	Open search in preview
Alt+x	Kill current PTY

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Vim Mode (opt-in, overlays only)

Enable: command palette → "Toggle overlay vim mode" — or in config.toml:

[keyboard]
vimMode = "overlays"

Key	Action
j / k	Navigate lists
gg / G	First / last item
Enter	Confirm / preview
q	Close overlay
i	Insert mode
Esc	Normal mode
n / N	Next / previous match

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Confirmation Dialog

Key	Action
h / ← or l / →	Focus confirm / cancel
Tab	Toggle focus
Enter	Confirm
Esc	Cancel

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CLI Commands

# Launch or reattach
openmux

# Session management
openmux session list --json
openmux session create <name>
openmux attach --session <name>

# Pane control (requires running UI)
openmux pane split --direction vertical --workspace <N>
openmux pane split --direction horizontal --workspace <N>
openmux pane send --pane focused --text "command\n"
openmux pane capture --pane focused --lines 200 --format ansi

# Update
openmux update
openmux update --yes

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Layout Modes

Mode	Icon	Description
Vertical	│	Master left, stack right (vertical split)
Horizontal	─	Master top, stack bottom (horizontal split)
Stacked	▣	Master left, stack tabbed right

Cycle with Alt+[ / Alt+] or set explicitly via prefix: v (vertical), H (horizontal), t (stacked).

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Configuration

Item	Location
Config file	~/.config/openmux/config.toml
Sessions	~/.config/openmux/sessions/
XDG override	$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/openmux/config.toml

Environment variable overrides:

Variable	Maps to
OPENMUX_WINDOW_GAP	Gap between panes
OPENMUX_MIN_PANE_WIDTH	Minimum pane width
OPENMUX_MIN_PANE_HEIGHT	Minimum pane height
OPENMUX_STACK_RATIO	layout.defaultSplitRatio

Config changes hot-reload — no restart needed.

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Architecture (Quick Reference)

Host Terminal → openmux UI (SolidJS + OpenTUI)
                    ↕ shim protocol
               shim server (background, persists across detach)
                    ↕ PTY I/O
               zig-pty + libghostty-vt

• Detach: Ctrl+b d — UI exits, shim keeps PTYs alive
• Reattach: run openmux — UI reconnects to shim, instant state restore
• Update: install new version, reattach — UI swaps, PTYs untouched

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Related Tutorials

• [[openmux-beginner-guide|OpenMux Beginner Guide]] — full walkthrough for new users
• [[openmux-deep-dive|OpenMux Deep Dive]] — architecture, advanced config, scripting
• [[sesh-beginner-guide|Sesh Beginner Guide]] — terminal session management
• [[mosh-deep-dive|Mosh Deep Dive]] — remote terminal with multiplexer integration
• [[just-beginner-guide|Just Beginner Guide]] — task runner for automation
• [[dotfiles-beginner-guide|Dotfiles Beginner Guide]] — sync your config across machines