diff --git a/.bashrc b/.bashrc
index 5bb60d2..2d82cbc 100644
--- a/.bashrc
+++ b/.bashrc
@@ -25,6 +25,11 @@ shopt -s checkwinsize
 # make less more friendly for non-text input files, see lesspipe(1)
 [ -x /usr/bin/lesspipe ] && eval "$(SHELL=/bin/sh lesspipe)"
 
+# set term if it is not set yet by the terminal
+if [ -z "$TERM" ]; then
+    export TERM="tmux-256color"
+fi
+
 # set a fancy prompt (non-color, unless we know we "want" color)
 case "$TERM" in
     xterm-color|*-256color) color_prompt=yes;;