Best tmux Plugins in 2026: What Still Ships

Quick answer: Install TPM first, then the plugins still shipping in October 2026: vim-tmux-navigator if you use Neovim, Catppuccin for the status line, tmux-sessionx or tmux-fzf for jumping between sessions, and tmux-fingers for copying from the screen. tmux-resurrect and tmux-continuum still lead for restoring sessions after a reboot, but neither has committed since January 2024.

Every figure below was read from GitHub on 22 October 2026: stars, the newest commit on the default branch, the latest GitHub release and open issues (pull requests excluded). We wrote against tmux 3.8, released on 9 September 2026, with a commit on tmux/tmux the same day we read it.

How did we rank them?

Maintenance first, then the job the plugin does. A plugin counts as shipping if its default branch has a commit after 22 October 2025. Stars show reach, not health: tmux-resurrect has the second-most stars in this read (13,109) and no commit since March 2023.

| Plugin | Stars | Last commit | Latest release | Open issues | |---|---|---|---|---| | tmux-plugins/tpm | 15,144 | 17 May 2026 | none | 100 | | christoomey/vim-tmux-navigator | 6,314 | 25 Jan 2026 | none | 74 | | catppuccin/tmux | 3,202 | 15 Oct 2026 | v2.3.2 | 26 | | omerxx/tmux-sessionx | 1,402 | 21 Oct 2026 | none | 38 | | sainnhe/tmux-fzf | 1,519 | 17 Oct 2026 | none | 18 | | Morantron/tmux-fingers | 1,483 | 9 Jun 2026 | 2.7.1 | 7 | | wfxr/tmux-fzf-url | 738 | 13 Aug 2026 | none | 10 | | dracula/tmux | 859 | 14 Oct 2026 | v3.3.1 | 47 | | tmux-plugins/tmux-resurrect | 13,109 | 6 Mar 2023 | none | 235 | | tmux-plugins/tmux-continuum | 4,093 | 20 Jan 2024 | none | 73 |

Which tmux plugins are worth installing?

1. TPM

The tmux plugin manager: it clones, loads and updates every other entry on this list from a few lines in .tmux.conf. With 15,144 stars it is the most-starred repository here after tmux itself, and its last commit landed on 17 May 2026. The 100 open issues are the one mark against it.

Verdict: Install it first; everything else assumes it.

2. vim-tmux-navigator

One set of keys (Ctrl-h/j/k/l) moves between Vim splits and tmux panes as if they were one grid. It needs the plugin on both sides, in Vim or Neovim and in tmux. Last commit 25 January 2026, 6,314 stars.

Verdict: The single biggest quality-of-life gain if you edit in a terminal.

3. Catppuccin for tmux

A status-line theme in the Catppuccin palettes, with modules for what the bar shows. It is the most active theme in our read: release v2.3.2 shipped on 15 October 2026, and it is one of three ranked plugins that publish GitHub releases. Pin that tag rather than tracking the default branch.

Verdict: The theme to pick if you want releases you can pin.

4. tmux-sessionx

A session manager built on fzf: fuzzy-find, preview, create, rename and kill sessions from one popup. Its last commit came on 21 October 2026, the freshest of any plugin we read, with 1,402 stars and 38 open issues.

Verdict: The best pick for people who keep many sessions open.

5. tmux-fzf

Broader than sessionx: fzf menus for sessions, windows, panes, commands and key bindings. Last commit 17 October 2026, 1,519 stars, 18 open issues.

Verdict: Choose it over sessionx if you want fuzzy menus for windows and panes too, not only sessions.

6. tmux-fingers

Press a key and every URL, path, hash and IP on screen gets a short hint; type the hint to copy it. Release 2.7.1 shipped on 9 June 2026, and its 7 open issues are the fewest of any plugin in this ranking.

Verdict: The maintained way to copy from the screen without entering copy mode.

7. tmux-fzf-url

Lists every URL in the current pane in fzf and opens the one you pick. Small and focused: 738 stars, last commit 13 August 2026, 10 open issues.

Verdict: Worth it if you open links from logs or CI output often.

8. Dracula for tmux

The Dracula palette for tmux, with a status line built from configurable widgets. Release v3.3.1 shipped on 6 July 2026 and the default branch moved again on 14 October 2026. Dracula's listing collects its ports for editors and terminals.

Verdict: Pick it over Catppuccin if you want built-in status widgets.

9. tmux-resurrect and tmux-continuum

Resurrect saves your sessions, windows, panes and working directories to disk and restores them; continuum saves on a timer and can restore when tmux starts. Together they solve the one problem plain tmux leaves open, a reboot. They also carry the oldest commits among the session tools: 6 March 2023 for resurrect (235 open issues) and 20 January 2024 for continuum.

Verdict: Still the standard for surviving reboots; install them knowing nobody is shipping fixes.

How do you install TPM and your first plugin?

Clone TPM into the plugins folder:

git clone https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tpm ~/.tmux/plugins/tpm

Then declare plugins in ~/.tmux.conf, with the TPM line last:

set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tpm'
set -g @plugin 'christoomey/vim-tmux-navigator'
set -g @plugin 'catppuccin/tmux#v2.3.2'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-resurrect'
set -g @plugin 'tmux-plugins/tmux-continuum'
set -g @continuum-restore 'on'

run '~/.tmux/plugins/tpm/tpm'

Reload with tmux source ~/.tmux.conf, then press prefix + I to install. prefix + U updates, and prefix + alt + u removes plugins you deleted from the file.

Which popular plugins have stopped shipping?

None of the 15 plugin repositories we read is archived. Seven have no commit in the 12 months before 22 October 2026:

• tmux-sensible (2,232 stars): last commit 14 August 2022.
• tmux-resurrect (13,109 stars): 6 March 2023.
• tmux-thumbs (1,105 stars): 21 March 2023, last release 0.8.0. tmux-fingers does the same job and shipped in June 2026.
• tmux-yank (3,125 stars): 19 July 2023; its latest release, v2.3.0, dates from 2 February 2018.
• tmux-continuum (4,093 stars): 20 January 2024.
• tmux-cpu (540 stars): 6 October 2024.
• tmux-prefix-highlight (673 stars): 1 March 2025.

The pattern is the finding. Of the seven repositories under the tmux-plugins organisation, the one TPM itself lives in, only TPM committed in the last 12 months. Of the eight independent plugins, seven did; tmux-thumbs is the exception. The famous names come from the org; the active work has moved to individual maintainers.

Do you need plugins at all?

Fewer than most lists suggest. tmux already gives you sessions you can detach and reattach, windows, splits and a scriptable copy mode; a few lines of set -g cover what tmux-sensible was written to set, and that plugin has not changed since August 2022. Plugins earn their place where tmux has no answer: restoring sessions after a reboot, fuzzy session switching, hint-based copying and a shared editor theme.

Which plugins work with Neovim?

vim-tmux-navigator is the one that matters: add it to Neovim and to tmux, and the same four keys cross the boundary between editor splits and panes. Our Neovim plugins ranking covers the editor side, and the classic editor has its own Vim listing.

For a matched look, Catppuccin and Dracula both ship a tmux theme and a Neovim theme, so the status line and the editor share one palette. Match the flavour on both sides (Catppuccin's mocha in Neovim, mocha in tmux) or the borders will clash.

What does the directory say?

Our directory lists no tmux plugin, so this ranking rests on the GitHub read above rather than on our own data. The terminals that tmux runs inside are collected in our terminal category, and our rankings of the best terminals for Mac and the best terminals for Linux explain when to use tmux instead of the terminal's own splits. Shell themes sit one layer below: see our Oh My Zsh themes ranking.

FAQ

What tmux plugins should I start with?

TPM, then one plugin per problem you actually have. For most people that is vim-tmux-navigator if they edit in Neovim, resurrect and continuum if they lose sessions to reboots, and a theme. Add sessionx or tmux-fzf once you keep more than a handful of sessions open.

How do I update tmux plugins?

Press prefix + U inside tmux and TPM offers to update all plugins or one by name. If you pinned a tag, such as catppuccin/tmux#v2.3.2, change the tag in .tmux.conf first, then update.

Is there a modern alternative to TPM?

TPM is still the install path every plugin in this ranking documents, and it committed in May 2026. Its 100 open issues are the case against it. Each plugin is a git repository with a .tmux entry script, so you can also clone one yourself and load it with a run-shell line.

Are tmux-resurrect and tmux-continuum abandoned?

Neither is archived, but neither has committed recently: resurrect last on 6 March 2023, continuum on 20 January 2024, as read on 22 October 2026. Resurrect carries 235 open issues. Test a restore after a tmux upgrade before you rely on it.