Zellij emerges as a popular alternative — praised for better defaults and tab/pane UX, though some report stability issues (panics leaving orphaned processes) and returned to tmux
iTerm2’s tmux control mode (tmux -CC) is highlighted as a game-changer: it maps tmux tabs to native terminal tabs, giving native scrollback, copy-paste, and keyboard shortcuts
Strong consensus that tmux is “perfectly usable — you only need a 400-line custom configuration file,” reflecting the community’s love-hate relationship with its defaults
Practical tips dominate: set -g mouse on for panel resizing, Alt+number bindings for fast window switching, and color-coded status bars (red for root, blue for normal user)
A recurring theme: over-customizing tmux makes you helpless on fresh installs — some advocate learning the defaults despite the initial awkwardness