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tmux may be controlled from an attached client by using a key combination of a prefix key, 'C-b' (Ctrl-b) by default, followed by a command key. The default command key bindings are: C-b Send the prefix key (C-b) through to the application. C-o Rotate the panes in the current window forwards.
Ctrl+b, let go of Ctrl, Letf / Right / Up / Down will switch active panes.
To create multiple windows, you need at least one tmux session running. You can simply type CTRL + b, let go of both keys and type 'c'. This will open up a new terminal. At the bottom, you can see that there are now multiple windows (0, 1, 2) in the session.
Thanks to configuration like this, if you use ctrl+b & c to create a new window on the first level of tmux, you will use: ctrl+g & c - to create window on the second level. ctrl+g & c - to create window on the first.
The send-prefix command can be used to send your prefix keystroke to (the process running in) the active pane. By default, the prefix is C-b and C-b is bound to send-prefix (so that hitting it twice sends a single C-b to the active pane). This is just what we need to access the bindings of the inner tmux instance.
The first C-b is captured by the “outer” tmux instance as its prefix key. The second one is captured by the “outer” tmux instance and triggers its C-b binding (send-prefix). This sends a C-b to the outer instance’s active pane. The process running in this pane is (ultimately, through an ssh instance) the “inner” tmux instance. It captures the C-b as its prefix key. Now your next keystroke will be passed through the outer tmux instance and captured by the inner one to trigger a binding.
To trigger the c binding (new-window) in a second-level instance of tmux, you would type C-b C-b c. For a third-level instance of tmux you would type C-b C-b C-b C-b c.
This doubling for each level can be annoying if you are commonly dealing with multiple layers of tmux. If you can spare some other key, you could make a non-prefixed binding to make things (possibly) easier to type:
bind-key -n C-\ send-prefix
bind-key -n C-^ send-prefix \; send-prefix
Create new window in second-level tmux: C-\ c
Create new window in third-level tmux: C-^ c (or C-\ C-\ c)
If you have a limited number of tmux commands that you want to (easily) send to the lower-level tmux instances, you might instead use send-keys to create some specific bindings (possibly just in your top-level tmux instance):
bind-key C-c send-keys C-b c
bind-key C send-keys C-b C-b c
Create new window in second-level tmux: C-b C-c
Create new window in third-level tmux: C-b C
To access the inner, hold control and hit B twice.
EDIT:
I do NOT recommend use C-q as a bind-key, as it is a default control-key command for
un-freezes the screen and lets screen display continue
A situation happens here, and @Paschalis provides a solution:
if it happens to be twice unlucky (a remote tmux session with C-q as prefix): Type
Cltr-q, then:, and enter in tmux:send-keys C-q
To make it simple, add the below line in your ~/.tmux.conf
bind-key -n C-q send-prefix
Then you can directly use C-q as bind-key for your remote tmux.
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