MajorLinux
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tmux — Persistent Terminal Sessions
Problem
SSH sessions die when your connection drops, your laptop closes, or you walk away. Long-running jobs — storage migrations, file scans, downloads — get killed mid-run. You need a way to detach from a session, come back later, and pick up exactly where you left off.
Solution
tmux is a terminal multiplexer. It runs sessions that persist independently of your SSH connection. You can detach, disconnect, reconnect from a different machine, and reattach to find everything still running.
Installation (Fedora)
sudo dnf install tmux
Core Workflow
# Start a named session
tmux new-session -s mysession
# Detach from a session (keeps it running)
Ctrl+b, d
# List running sessions
tmux ls
# Reattach to a session
tmux attach -t mysession
# Kill a session when done
tmux kill-session -t mysession
Start a Background Job Directly
Skip the interactive session entirely — start a job in a new detached session in one command:
tmux new-session -d -s rmlint2 "rmlint /majorstorage// /mnt/usb// /majorRAID 2>&1 | tee /majorRAID/rmlint_scan2.log"
The job runs immediately in the background. Attach later to check progress:
tmux attach -t rmlint2
Capture Output Without Attaching
Read the current state of a session without interrupting it:
tmux capture-pane -t rmlint2 -p
Split Panes
Monitor multiple things in one terminal window:
# Horizontal split (top/bottom)
Ctrl+b, "
# Vertical split (left/right)
Ctrl+b, %
# Switch between panes
Ctrl+b, arrow keys
Real-World Use
On majorhome, all long-running storage operations run inside named tmux sessions so they survive SSH disconnects:
tmux new-session -d -s rmlint2 "rmlint ..." # dedup scan
tmux new-session -d -s rsync-migrate "rsync ..." # file migration
tmux ls # check what's running
tmux vs screen
Both work. tmux has better split-pane support and scripting. screen is simpler and more universally installed. I use both — tmux for new jobs, screen for legacy ones. See the screen article for reference.