I use ctrl+s on my local config and I use ctrl+a on my remote tmux.conf's.

That way I can attach to a remote tmux in a local session and not produce a terminal muxing singularity that swallows worlds.

I made the mistake of having the same hotkey once. I can verify the existence of said singularity.

Using ` as my bind (no modifier) has been the best thing that's ever happened to my productivity in tmux.

I do the same, and also set up many ` commands to work the same way in emacs.

Consider using <C-Space>. I recently switched and it's made a world of difference to my speed.

Even faster, I set my prefix to just Caps-Lock. See https://github.com/mifix/dotfiles/blob/master/tmux.conf#L5

Amen. This, plus remapping Caps Lock to Ctrl on my Macbook Air was a life changer :)

FWIW, I spent some time deciding what to use years ago and decided on <C-j>. No complaints, and <C-s> feels awkward to me trying it now.

I do. It's closer to the prefix/leader I was used to when using screen (<C-a>), and I find it easier to type.

Ahhhh. Maybe I'll switch from <C-a> to <C-s>, I still miss using <C-a> in Vim to increment integers!

Exactly! And don't forget about <C-a> to move your cursor to the start-of-line in your terminal.

Why not use C-a?

I also use C-s on my local machine because:

1. I can still use C-a with readline (go to first character)

2. If I ssh and then use screen, I can use C-a to navigate my remote screen and C-s to navigate my local tmux.

3. C-s is closer to C-a then other letters on my keyboard.

C-a still works with readline. You just need to C-a first to 'escape' tmux and then C-a again. Actually just hold ctrl and hit 'a' twice.

C-s will suspend the terminal on some platforms. (Which can be resumed by C-q.)

Because C-a already does something useful.

I assume ctrl-s is easier to press than ctrl-a, I have trouble with ctrl-a on Mac with reconfigured CapsLock, and my bind key is ctrl-space.

That's why I remap the right alt key on mac (laptops) to ctrl. Having left right balanced ctrl keys is much more important for my workflow.

For a while I ran a setup where I did all of my work in a local tmux session, but part of this work involved SSH-ing and attaching to a screen session.

When using both, especially nested, I found it beneficial to have a different leader for each.

I also use <^-a> to go to the start of the line, so I'd miss that.

I use `bind a send-prefix` and do a `<^-a> a` to make up for the bind :)

Ctl+s is particularly nice if you've remapped CapsLock to Ctl.