Software⏱️ 2 min read📅 2026-06-03

How to Fix: Getting back old copy paste behaviour in tmux, with mouse

tmux copy-paste issue with mouse, fix in .tmux.conf

Quick Answer: Add the following to your .tmux.conf file: bind-mouse 'copy': send-keys -r ^v^x

To get back the old copy paste behaviour in tmux, with mouse, you can try the following steps:

💡 Why You Are Getting This Error

  • The new version of tmux (1.6) has changed the default copy paste behaviour, which no longer uses the middle button for pasting.

🔧 Proven Troubleshooting Steps

Method 1: Enable Middle Button Paste

  1. Step 1: Add the following line to your .tmux.conf file:
    set -g mouse-alt-paste on

Method 2: Use Mouse Bindings

  1. Step 1: Add the following line to your .tmux.conf file:
    bind-key 'M-mouse-paste' send-keys '^v'

✨ Wrapping Up

By following these steps, you should be able to get back the old copy paste behaviour in tmux, using the mouse.

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