tmux Skill
Use tmux only when you need an interactive TTY. Prefer exec background mode for long-running, non-interactive tasks.
Quickstart (isolated socket, exec tool)
SOCKET_DIR="${NANOBOT_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR:-${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/nanobot-tmux-sockets}" mkdir -p "$SOCKET_DIR" SOCKET="$SOCKET_DIR/nanobot.sock" SESSION=nanobot-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
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Use NANOBOT_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR environment variable.
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Default socket path: "$NANOBOT_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR/nanobot.sock" .
Targeting panes and naming
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Target format: session:window.pane (defaults to :0.0 ).
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Keep names short; avoid spaces.
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Inspect: tmux -S "$SOCKET" list-sessions , tmux -S "$SOCKET" list-panes -a .
Finding sessions
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List sessions on your socket: {baseDir}/scripts/find-sessions.sh -S "$SOCKET" .
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Scan all sockets: {baseDir}/scripts/find-sessions.sh --all (uses NANOBOT_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR ).
Sending input safely
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Prefer literal sends: tmux -S "$SOCKET" send-keys -t target -l -- "$cmd" .
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Control keys: tmux -S "$SOCKET" send-keys -t target C-c .
Watching output
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Capture recent history: tmux -S "$SOCKET" capture-pane -p -J -t target -S -200 .
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Wait for prompts: {baseDir}/scripts/wait-for-text.sh -t session:0.0 -p 'pattern' .
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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
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tmux is supported on macOS/Linux. On Windows, use WSL and install tmux inside WSL.
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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:
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:
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Use separate git worktrees for parallel fixes (no branch conflicts)
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pnpm install first before running codex in fresh clones
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Check for shell prompt (❯ or $ ) to detect completion
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Codex needs --yolo or --full-auto for non-interactive fixes
Cleanup
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Kill a session: tmux -S "$SOCKET" kill-session -t "$SESSION" .
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Kill all sessions on a socket: tmux -S "$SOCKET" list-sessions -F '#{session_name}' | xargs -r -n1 tmux -S "$SOCKET" kill-session -t .
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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.
{baseDir}/scripts/wait-for-text.sh -t session:0.0 -p 'pattern' [-F] [-T 20] [-i 0.5] [-l 2000]
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-t /--target pane target (required)
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-p /--pattern regex to match (required); add -F for fixed string
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-T timeout seconds (integer, default 15)
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-i poll interval seconds (default 0.5)
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-l history lines to search (integer, default 1000)