GNU Screen or tmux?

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ajmexico. Modified by Jason Baker. CC BY-SA 2.0.

If you've spent a fair amount of time working on the command line, chances are you've tried out a terminal multiplexer. These helpful tools let users easily switch between applications in the terminal, save sessions for later, and manage connections to many machines from one location.

When it comes to this category of terminal tools, two of the most popular options are GNU Screen and tmux. We've published intro-level articles about both tools over the past couple of weeks, and in that time we've received lots of insightful comments from our community members about why they prefer one over the other and how it fits into their day-to-day.

In the spirit of continuing the discussion, we want to know: Which terminal multiplexer do you prefer? GNU Screen or tmux?

Once you cast your vote, be sure to let us know why it's your go-to in the comments section below.

4299 votes tallied
GNU Screen
40% (1721 votes)
tmux
46% (1989 votes)
Other/neither (Tell us in the comments)
14% (589 votes)

Results

Comments

25 Comments

with i3 window manager there is less need to have a terminal multiplexer, my default use is four terminal applications open in one screen

Terminal multiplexers are indispensable when working on servers though.

Agreed about the layout, but tmux go further. I also use i3 and in my point of view tmux have a better ability to save / restore session after reboot. It also allow me to connect my shell with all the cool layout through SSH . Which can not be done with i3. So in my opinion you can use both and take the best of the two worlds :)

Even with i3 tmux is indespensable for me. One use case is copy-paste from one term to another.

I use multiple windows in tmux and it is less than convenient to use up too many workspaces to replicate the setup.

I3 is useful, but does not replace tmux.

Screen, but only tmux is supported in the new Windows 10 Bash.

I vote for both! I primarily use tmux, because it has more features by default, but when I'm doing work on a server in a tmux window, I'll fire up an instance of screen.

I wouldn't want to live without either of them!

I use byobu

Byobu with tmux as backend (but using Ctrl+A as main key binding).

For everyday use, I just stay in Emacs. C-x 3 for vertical splits, C-x 2 for horizontal splits, and m-x shell to get a prompt. However, I use screen on servers, because it can detach and re-attach, and handles complex commands a lot better than the Emacs terminal emulator.

I prefer tmux wit some session manager as yat.sh. And I run emacsclient inside tmux. So I have the possibility of get the best of both. Emacs shell is not good enough for me.

Long-time user of screen but recently switched to tmux via byobu due to some sort of problem with screen although have forgotten the details. Late afternoon it saves being stuck at the office waiting for some command to finish that took longer than it should have. Indispensable for remote work when might be timed out by firewall.

emacs with M-x rename-uniquely for each shell

I use terminator

I prefer to use screen

As i'm a little conservative i'm still using screen.
A former colleague showed me tmux and it looks really great but i didn't have the courage yet to try it.

Byobu

i ended up a bit more global than oy multiplexing terminal, as my main workstation is under GNU/linux, and i wanted to recover my full session remotely and locally (like we would do with rdp), i use x2go . i instantiate a remote sessions with x2go client, even locally , and i can pause and resume it from any remote machine. So thus is embedding my tabbed terminals, but email client, IM client, browser etc.

the main point is that my session is floating around never having to interrupt any work, connecting always with x2go client (X over SSH )

Byobu, uses tmux with screen keybindings.

Screen, but for no good reason, other than I ran across it first. I've tried tmux and byobu, but there wasn't anything that they did that was compelling enough to make me switch. Habits die hard.

Screen, because it was there before tmux, and, if it works, why change after 30 years?TIAMTOWTDI. You can teach an old dog new tricks, but if he's good at the old ones and still gets treats, he's gonna keep doin' 'em... (I still use RCS for local version control, too, but git for group/open projects).

I use byobu which uses tmux underlying!

Terminator

I use GNU Screen :)

Guake for tabs and Screen for sessions (out of habit).

Dvtm :)