tmux lets you run commands in the background and check on them later. When you run a normal bash command, you have to wait for it to finish. With tmux, you can start a command, let it run in the background, and check its output whenever you want.

Key Terms:

• Session: A container that holds your tabs. Like a browser window.
• Tab: A place where one command runs. Like a browser tab. We call this a "window" in tmux.

Step 1: Create or Use a Session

Always do this first:

# Create a new session
tmux new-session -d -s mysession

• Use the project name (e.g. working directory basename) as the session name.
• If it fails with "duplicate session", it means the session already exists. It may be created by a prior session. You can use it, but check its state before continuing.