Linux is the native home of tmux. Every major Linux distribution includes tmux in its official package repositories. Choose your package manager below — or build the absolute latest version from source to access every new feature the moment it ships.
Select your Linux distribution for the exact package manager command.
The easiest way for Ubuntu/Debian users. Note: The apt version may be one or two releases behind the latest upstream tmux release.
$ sudo apt update && sudo apt install tmux
$ tmux -V
The tmux snap is community-maintained (not published by the tmux project or Canonical) and currently tracks 3.7c. It needs --classic confinement, which gives it the same access as a normal package.
$ sudo snap install tmux --classic
$ tmux -V
# Fedora
$ sudo dnf install tmux
# RHEL, Rocky, AlmaLinux (tmux is in the base repositories, no EPEL needed)
$ sudo dnf install tmux
$ tmux -V
Arch mirrors typically carry the latest stable tmux release almost immediately after it's published.
$ sudo pacman -S tmux
$ tmux -V
Lightweight and fast — common in Docker containers and minimal server environments.
$ apk add tmux
$ tmux -V
tmux requires libevent, ncurses, bison, and build tools:
$ sudo apt install git build-essential autoconf automake pkg-config bison libevent-dev libncurses-dev
$ git clone https://github.com/tmux/tmux.git
$ cd tmux
$ sh autogen.sh
$ ./configure && make
$ sudo make install
$ tmux -V
Which version of tmux ships by default with each Ubuntu LTS release via apt.
| Ubuntu LTS | Released | tmux via apt | Latest tmux | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Resolute) | Apr 2026 | 3.6a |
3.7c | apt version is recent enough for most users |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble) | Apr 2024 | 3.4 |
3.7c | Use snap or build from source for latest |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy) | Apr 2022 | 3.2a |
3.7c | Build from source for latest features |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal) | Apr 2020 | 3.0a |
3.7c | Standard support ended — upgrade OS or build from source |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic) | Apr 2018 | 2.6 |
3.7c | EOL — upgrade OS or build from source |
Versions from each distribution's official package repository, checked October 2026.
| Distribution | tmux (default repo) | Newer option |
|---|---|---|
| Debian 13 (Trixie) | 3.5a | 3.6b in trixie-backports: sudo apt install -t trixie-backports tmux |
| Debian 12 (Bookworm) | 3.3a | 3.5a in bookworm-backports: sudo apt install -t bookworm-backports tmux |
| Fedora 43 / 44 | 3.7c | Already current |
| Arch Linux | 3.7c | Already current |
Backports must be enabled first: add a deb http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie-backports main line (or bookworm-backports) to your APT sources and run sudo apt update.
Ensure your tmux server launches automatically upon system boot and persists across SSH disconnections.
Create ~/.config/systemd/user/tmux.service with the following daemon specification:
[Unit]
Description=tmux background daemon
[Service]
Type=forking
ExecStart=/usr/bin/tmux new-session -s default -d
ExecStop=/usr/bin/tmux kill-server
Restart=on-failure
[Install]
WantedBy=default.target
Enable user lingering so the daemon runs even when no interactive user sessions are logged in:
$ loginctl enable-linger $USER
$ systemctl --user daemon-reload
$ systemctl --user enable --now tmux
Whenever you log in over SSH, simply attach to the running daemon without restarting processes:
tmux attach-session -t default
Configure seamless copy-paste between tmux copy mode and your Linux desktop environment.
On modern Ubuntu 22.04+ and Fedora (GNOME/KDE Wayland sessions), install wl-clipboard:
sudo apt install wl-clipboard
Add to ~/.tmux.conf:
bind -T copy-mode-vi y send-keys -X copy-pipe-and-cancel "wl-copy"
On traditional X11 desktop sessions, install xclip:
sudo apt install xclip
Add to ~/.tmux.conf:
bind -T copy-mode-vi y send-keys -X copy-pipe-and-cancel "xclip -in -selection clipboard"
Over SSH, tmux copies to your local clipboard with OSC 52 escape sequences if your terminal supports them. The default (external) already covers tmux copy mode; set on so programs inside tmux, such as Neovim, can use it too:
set -s set-clipboard on
Resolutions for permissions, locale, and outdated package repositories.
sudo privileges. If you're on a shared server without sudo, build tmux from source into a local directory: pass ./configure --prefix=$HOME/.local during the build, then add $HOME/.local/bin to your PATH.
sudo snap install tmux --classic), or (3) build from source using the steps in the "Source" tab above. Building from source is the only guaranteed way to get the absolute latest version.
locale to check your current settings. Configure with sudo locale-gen en_US.UTF-8 and sudo update-locale LANG=en_US.UTF-8. Also add export LANG=en_US.UTF-8 to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc.
~/.tmux.conf: set -g default-terminal "tmux-256color" and set -as terminal-features ",xterm-256color:RGB" (tmux 3.2+), then run tmux kill-server. Also check that echo $TERM outside tmux shows xterm-256color or your terminal's own name, not plain xterm.
./configure --prefix=$HOME/.local && make && make install, then configure tmux with PKG_CONFIG_PATH=$HOME/.local/lib/pkgconfig ./configure --prefix=$HOME/.local.