How do I install the Tmux skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add jasoncarreira/tmux in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

SkillMD's automated safety review verdict for this skill is PASS. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: PASS. Capability flags: executes scripts. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Tmux?

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jasoncarreira (@jasoncarreira) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Tmux by jasoncarreira — Agent Skill

Name: Tmux
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: jasoncarreira

Tmux

Remote-control tmux sessions for interactive CLIs by sending keystrokes and scraping pane output. Use when you need an interactive TTY (REPLs, agents that prompt) or want to run multiple long-lived processes in parallel and poll their state. For non-interactive long-running jobs prefer the long-running-jobs skill.

jasoncarreira Updated Aug 19, 2026 6 repo stars

File contents

tmux

Use tmux only when you need an interactive TTY. For non-interactive long-running tasks, prefer Bash's run_in_background (the long-running-jobs skill).

Quickstart (isolated socket)

SOCKET_DIR="${MIMIR_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR:-${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/mimir-tmux-sockets}"
mkdir -p "$SOCKET_DIR"
SOCKET="$SOCKET_DIR/mimir.sock"
SESSION=mimir-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, print the monitor command so the operator can attach if they want to peek:

To monitor:
  tmux -S "$SOCKET" attach -t "$SESSION"
  tmux -S "$SOCKET" capture-pane -p -J -t "$SESSION":0.0 -S -200

Socket convention

Use MIMIR_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR (default ${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/mimir-tmux-sockets).
Default socket path: "$MIMIR_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR/mimir.sock".
Isolated sockets keep mimir's tmux sessions out of any operator-owned tmux server running in the same container.

Targeting panes

Target format: session:window.pane (defaults to :0.0).
Keep session names short; avoid spaces.
Inspect: tmux -S "$SOCKET" list-sessions, tmux -S "$SOCKET" list-panes -a.

Finding sessions

List sessions on your socket: skills/tmux/scripts/find-sessions.sh -S "$SOCKET".
Scan all sockets in MIMIR_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR: skills/tmux/scripts/find-sessions.sh --all.

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 a prompt / pattern: skills/tmux/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 (the rich REPL breaks send-keys flows).

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 the socket entirely: tmux -S "$SOCKET" kill-server.

Helper: wait-for-text.sh

skills/tmux/scripts/wait-for-text.sh polls a pane for a regex (or fixed string) with a timeout.

skills/tmux/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)

---name: tmuxdescription: Remote-control tmux sessions for interactive CLIs by sending keystrokes and scraping pane output. Use when you need an interactive TTY (REPLs, agents that prompt) or want to run multiple long-lived processes in parallel and poll their state. For non-interactive long-running jobs prefer the long-running-jobs skill.---# tmuxUse tmux only when you need an interactive TTY. For non-interactive long-runningtasks, prefer Bash's `run_in_background` (the long-running-jobs skill).## Quickstart (isolated socket)```bashSOCKET_DIR="${MIMIR_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR:-${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/mimir-tmux-sockets}"mkdir -p "$SOCKET_DIR"SOCKET="$SOCKET_DIR/mimir.sock"SESSION=mimir-pythontmux -S "$SOCKET" new -d -s "$SESSION" -n shelltmux -S "$SOCKET" send-keys -t "$SESSION":0.0 -- 'PYTHON_BASIC_REPL=1 python3 -q' Entertmux -S "$SOCKET" capture-pane -p -J -t "$SESSION":0.0 -S -200```After starting a session, print the monitor command so the operator can attachif they want to peek:```To monitor: tmux -S "$SOCKET" attach -t "$SESSION" tmux -S "$SOCKET" capture-pane -p -J -t "$SESSION":0.0 -S -200```## Socket convention- Use `MIMIR_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR` (default `${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/mimir-tmux-sockets`).- Default socket path: `"$MIMIR_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR/mimir.sock"`.- Isolated sockets keep mimir's tmux sessions out of any operator-owned tmux server running in the same container.## Targeting panes- Target format: `session:window.pane` (defaults to `:0.0`).- Keep session names short; avoid spaces.- Inspect: `tmux -S "$SOCKET" list-sessions`, `tmux -S "$SOCKET" list-panes -a`.## Finding sessions- List sessions on your socket: `skills/tmux/scripts/find-sessions.sh -S "$SOCKET"`.- Scan all sockets in `MIMIR_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR`: `skills/tmux/scripts/find-sessions.sh --all`.## Sending input safely- Prefer literal sends: `tmux -S "$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 "$SOCKET" capture-pane -p -J -t target -S -200`.- Wait for a prompt / pattern: `skills/tmux/scripts/wait-for-text.sh -t session:0.0 -p 'pattern'`.- Attaching is OK; detach with `Ctrl+b d`.## Spawning processes- For Python REPLs set `PYTHON_BASIC_REPL=1` (the rich REPL breaks send-keys flows).## Cleanup- Kill a session: `tmux -S "$SOCKET" kill-session -t "$SESSION"`.- Kill all sessions on a socket: `tmux -S "$SOCKET" list-sessions -F '#{session_name}' | xargs -r -n1 tmux -S "$SOCKET" kill-session -t`.- Remove the socket entirely: `tmux -S "$SOCKET" kill-server`.## Helper: wait-for-text.sh`skills/tmux/scripts/wait-for-text.sh` polls a pane for a regex (or fixedstring) with a timeout.```bashskills/tmux/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)

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