tmux Runs Real ptys for Every Pane
A pane isn’t a picture of a terminal — it’s a real pty with a real process behind it, in its own session.
Tmux
tmux Batches Terminal Output: One Write() Per Event Loop Iteration
Every byte tmux sends to a terminal goes through one function that appends to a per-client buffer, and that buffer is flushed with a single write() per event loop iteration.
tmux Works Around Terminal Bugs: Believe Nothing, Probe Everything
tmux treats terminal capabilities as unverified claims. It layers terminfo, user overrides, named features, runtime probing and a hard-coded table of per-terminal quirks — and…
tmux Redraws Only What Changed: Five Layers of Less Work
tmux never redraws ’the screen’ — it redraws the difference.
Why tmux Is a Server and Not a Terminal Program
tmux is a daemon that owns real ptys plus thin clients that connect over a UNIX socket.