tmux bind vs bind-key: What's the difference??

Detailed Explanation

In tmux configuration, key bindings are defined using either the bind or bind-key command. These commands create shortcuts that combine the prefix key (typically Ctrl+b) with another key to execute a specific action.

Command equivalence:

bind and bind-key are functionally identical and can be used interchangeably. They are both aliases for the same internal command. This is similar to how set and set-option are equivalents, or setw and set-window-option.

Basic usage examples:

# These do exactly the same thing - reload tmux config with 'prefix+r'
bind r source-file ~/.tmux.conf \; display "Reloaded!"
bind-key r source-file ~/.tmux.conf \; display "Reloaded!"

# These also do the same thing - split window vertically with 'prefix+|'
bind | split-window -h
bind-key | split-window -h

Common flags and usage patterns:

Checking existing bindings:

To see all current key bindings in tmux, use:

Ctrl+b :list-keys

You'll notice that the output uses bind-key in its display, but this doesn't mean that bind-key is different or preferred over bind.

Unbinding keys:

Similarly, you can use either unbind or unbind-key to remove key bindings:

# These do the same thing - unbind the "l" key
unbind l
unbind-key l