Screen has both 'c' and 'C-c' set to new window by default. tmux only has 'c' by default. From https://www.gnu.org/software/screen/manual/html_node/Default-Key

Screen has both 'c' and 'C-c' set to new window by default. tmux only has 'c' by default. From https://www.gnu.org/software/screen/manual/html_node/Default-Key-Bindings.html https://www.gnu.org/software/screen/manual/html_node/Default...: C-a c C-a C-c (screen) Create a new window with a shell and switch to that window. See Screen Command. Edit: d'oh. I had to reread the original comment. You already know this, but by adding 'C-c' I don't have to release the Ctrl button. You can add this to tmux.conf to get screen-like behavior: # New Window bind C-c new-window