Introduction
# tmux Skill (Clawdbot)
Use tmux only when you need an interactive TTY. Prefer bash background mode for long-running, non-interactive tasks.
## Quickstart (isolated socket, bash tool)
```bash SOCKET_DIR="${CLAWDBOT_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR:-${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/clawdbot-tmux-sockets}" mkdir -p "$SOCKET_DIR" SOCKET="$SOCKET_DIR/clawdbot.sock" SESSION=clawdbot-python
tmux -S "$SOCKET" new -d -s "$SESSION" -n shell tmux -S "$SOCKET" send-keys -t "$SESSION":0.0 -- 'PYTHON_BASIC_REPL=1 python3 -q' Enter tmux -S "$SOCKET" capture-pane -p -J -t "$SESSION":0.0 -S -200 ```
After starting a session, always print monitor commands:
``` To monitor: tmux -S "$SOCKET" attach -t "$SESSION" tmux -S "$SOCKET" capture-pane -p -J -t "$SESSION":0.0 -S -200 ```
## Socket convention
- Use `CLAWDBOT_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR` (default `${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/clawdbot-tmux-sockets`). - Default socket path: `"$CLAWDBOT_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR/clawdbot.sock"`.
## Targeting panes and naming
- Target format: `session:window.pane` (defaults to `:0.0`). - Keep names short; avoid spaces. - Inspect: `tmux -S "$SOCKET" list-sessions`, `tmux -S "$SOCKET" list-panes -a`.
## Finding sessions
- List sessions on your socket: `{baseDir}/scripts/find-sessions.sh -S "$SOCKET"`. - Scan all sockets: `{baseDir}/scripts/find-sessions.sh --all` (uses `CLAWDBOT_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR`).
## Sending input safely
- Prefer literal sends: `tmux -S "$SOCKET" send-keys -t target -l -- "$cmd"`. - Control keys: `tmux -S "$SOCKET" send-keys -t target C-c`.
## Watching output
- Capture recent history: `tmux -S "$SOCKET" capture-pane -p -J -t target -S -200`. - Wait for prompts: `{baseDir}/scripts/wait-for-text.sh -t session:0.0 -p 'pattern'`. - Attaching is OK; detach with `Ctrl+b d`.
## Spawning processes
- For python REPLs, set `PYTHON_BASIC_REPL=1` (non-basic REPL breaks send-keys flows).
## Windows / WSL
- tmux is supported on macOS/Linux. On Windows, use WSL and install tmux inside WSL. - This skill is gated to `darwin`/`linux` and requires `tmux` on PATH.
## Orchestrating Coding Agents (Codex, Claude Code)
tmux excels at running multiple coding agents in parallel:
```bash SOCKET="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/codex-army.sock"
# Create multiple sessions for i in 1 2 3 4 5; do tmux -S "$SOCKET" new-session -d -s "agent-$i" done
# Launch agents in different workdirs tmux -S "$SOCKET" send-keys -t agent-1 "cd /tmp/project1 && codex --yolo 'Fix bug X'" Enter tmux -S "$SOCKET" send-keys -t agent-2 "cd /tmp/project2 && codex --yolo 'Fix bug Y'" Enter
# Poll for completion (check if prompt returned) for sess in agent-1 agent-2; do if tmux -S "$SOCKET" capture-pane -p -t "$sess" -S -3 | grep -q "❯"; then echo "$sess: DONE" else echo "$sess: Running..." fi done
# Get full output from completed session tmux -S "$SOCKET" capture-pane -p -t agent-1 -S -500 ```
**Tips:** - Use separate git worktrees for parallel fixes (no branch conflicts) - `pnpm install` first before running codex in fresh clones - Check for shell prompt (`❯` or `$`) to detect completion - Codex needs `--yolo` or `--full-auto` for non-interactive fixes
## Cleanup
- Kill a session: `tmux -S "$SOCKET" kill-session -t "$SESSION"`. - Kill all sessions on a socket: `tmux -S "$SOCKET" list-sessions -F '#{session_name}' | xargs -r -n1 tmux -S "$SOCKET" kill-session -t`. - Remove everything on the private socket: `tmux -S "$SOCKET" kill-server`.
## Helper: wait-for-text.sh
`{baseDir}/scripts/wait-for-text.sh` polls a pane for a regex (or fixed string) with a timeout.
```bash {baseDir}/scripts/wait-for-text.sh -t session:0.0 -p 'pattern' [-F] [-T 20] [-i 0.5] [-l 2000] ```
- `-t`/`--target` pane target (required) - `-p`/`--pattern` regex to match (required); add `-F` for fixed string - `-T` timeout seconds (integer, default 15) - `-i` poll interval seconds (default 0.5) - `-l` history lines to search (integer, default 1000)