Installation

tmux-thumbs can be installed via the Tmux Plugin Manager (TPM), built from source using Cargo, or downloaded as a pre-compiled binary.

Requirements

  • Tmux: Version 3.0a, 2.9a, or 2.6 are explicitly verified compatible. Others may work.
  • OS: Linux or macOS (Darwin).
  • Rust (Optional): Version 1.35.0+ if compiling from source.

If you use TPM, add the following line to your .tmux.conf:

set -g @plugin 'fcsonline/tmux-thumbs'
run-shell ~/.tmux/plugins/tmux-thumbs/tmux-thumbs.tmux
  1. Press prefix + I (install) inside Tmux.
  2. The plugin will automatically download. When triggered for the first time, it may prompt to download the binary or compile it.

Method 2: Cargo (Build from Source)

If you have a Rust environment set up:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/fcsonline/tmux-thumbs ~/.tmux/plugins/tmux-thumbs

# Compile the binary
cd ~/.tmux/plugins/tmux-thumbs
cargo build --release

Then source it in your .tmux.conf:

run-shell ~/.tmux/plugins/tmux-thumbs/tmux-thumbs.tmux

Method 3: Standalone Installation

If you want to use thumbs outside of Tmux or manage the binary manually:

cargo install thumbs

This installs the thumbs binary to your Cargo bin path.

Troubleshooting Installation

If the binary is missing or version mismatch occurs, the plugin includes a helper script tmux-thumbs-install.sh. You can force an update/install by running:

cd ~/.tmux/plugins/tmux-thumbs
./tmux-thumbs-install.sh update