Tiling
Summary
This note is a quick reference for Sway tiling and layout shortcuts, window focus/movement, and tmux shortcuts that complement a keyboard-first workflow.
Focus
| Shortcut | Purpose |
|---|---|
Mod + H / Mod + ← | focus left |
Mod + J / Mod + ↓ | focus down |
Mod + K / Mod + ↑ | focus up |
Mod + L / Mod + → | focus right |
Mod + A | focus parent container |
Mod + Space | toggle focus between tiling and floating areas |
Move window
| Shortcut | Purpose |
|---|---|
Mod + Shift + H / Mod + Shift + ← | move window left |
Mod + Shift + J / Mod + Shift + ↓ | move window down |
Mod + Shift + K / Mod + Shift + ↑ | move window up |
Mod + Shift + L / Mod + Shift + → | move window right |
Layout
| Shortcut | Purpose |
|---|---|
Mod + E | toggle split direction (horizontal ↔ vertical) |
Mod + W | switch current container to tabbed layout |
Mod + S | switch current container to stacking layout |
Mod + B | split next window horizontally (side by side) |
Mod + V | split next window vertically (one above the other) |
Mod + F | toggle fullscreen |
Mod + Shift + Space | toggle floating mode for focused window |
Mod + R | enter resize mode (use arrow keys or H/J/K/L, then Enter or Esc) |
Workspaces
| Shortcut | Purpose |
|---|---|
Mod + 1–9, 0 | switch to workspace |
Mod + Shift + 1–9, 0 | move focused window to workspace |
Notes
Mod + W= tabbed (windows as tabs at top) — easy to confuse withMod + E(toggle split)Mod + EandMod + Ware both layout commands, neither opens an app- To get back to normal tiling from tabbed/stacking: press
Mod + E - Resize mode: after
Mod + R, use arrows or H/J/K/L to resize, thenEnterorEscto exit
tmux basics
Default prefix
Ctrl + Bmeans: pressCtrl + B, release it, then press the next key.
Sessions
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
tmux new -s name | create a new session called name |
tmux ls | list active sessions |
tmux attach -t name | attach to an existing session |
tmux kill-session -t name | destroy a session |
Prefix + D | detach from session |
Prefix + S | list sessions interactively |
Prefix + $ | rename current session |
Windows
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
Prefix + C | create a new window |
Prefix + , | rename current window |
Prefix + N | next window |
Prefix + P | previous window |
Prefix + 0-9 | jump to a window by number |
Prefix + W | open interactive window list |
Prefix + & | close current window |
Panes
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
Prefix + % | vertical split |
Prefix + " | horizontal split |
Prefix + arrows | move between panes |
Prefix + Z | zoom or unzoom pane |
Prefix + X | close pane |
Prefix + O | cycle to next pane |
Prefix + Q | show pane numbers |
Prefix + { | swap pane left |
Prefix + } | swap pane right |
Prefix + Space | cycle pane layouts |
Prefix + Alt + arrows | resize pane |
Copy mode and helpers
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
Prefix + [ | enter copy / scroll mode |
Q | exit copy mode |
Prefix + ] | paste copied text |
tmux source ~/.tmux.conf | reload config |
tmux list-keys | list all tmux bindings |
Prefix + ? | open help |
Prefix + T | display clock |
Related
- Back to Shortcuts
- [Apps & Session](Apps & Session)
- Terminal