How do I install the Tmux skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add lirrensi/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.

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Which AI agents work with Tmux?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

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

Tmux by lirrensi — Agent Skill

Name: Tmux
Author: lirrensi

Tmux

Control tmux/psmux sessions for interactive CLIs, SSH connections, and parallel agent orchestration. Works cross-platform: tmux on Linux/macOS, psmux on Windows. Provides sync commands that send keys and automatically capture output. Triggers: "run in tmux", "create tmux session", "tmux", "SSH session", "parallel terminals", "run multiple agents".

lirrensi 4fa27cf 2 files · 4.9 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

tmux Skill

Control tmux sessions programmatically. Send keys, capture output, run interactive processes.

Cross-platform:

Linux/macOS: Uses native tmux
Windows: Uses psmux (native Windows tmux, 95%+ syntax compatible)

Use tmux when:

SSH to remote servers (persistent sessions)
Interactive TTY needed (REPLs, shells, prompts)
Running multiple processes in parallel
Orchestrating coding agents

Don't use tmux for:

Simple background tasks → use bg run instead
One-shot commands → run directly

Helper: tmx

Primary: Python CLI tool (tmx) — installable via agent-sommelier-cli. Fallback: Shell scripts at skills/tmux/scripts/tmx.sh (bash) and tmx.ps1 (PowerShell).

Commands

Command	Description
`tmx install`	Ensure tmux/psmux is available (auto-install on Windows)
`tmx create <name> [cmd]`	Create session, optionally run init cmd
`tmx rm <name>`	Kill session
`tmx sk <name> "<cmd>"`	Send keys (fire and forget)
`tmx r <name>`	Read output (full scrollback)
`tmx run <name> "<cmd>" [--timeout N]`	Send + wait N seconds + read output
`tmx list [--json]`	List all sessions (rich table or JSON)
`tmx manager`	Interactive session picker

Quick Start

tmx install
tmx create mysession
tmx run mysession "ls -la"
tmx r mysession
tmx rm mysession

tmx install
tmx create mysession
tmx run mysession "Get-ChildItem"

Pattern 1: SSH Sessions (Most Common)

# Create SSH session
tmx create server "ssh user@myserver.com"
tmx run server "hostname" --timeout 3
tmx sk server "mypassword"
tmx run server "tail -100 nginx/access.log" --timeout 5
tmx r server

Pattern 2: Background Process Monitoring

tmx create api "cd /app && python api.py"
tmx r api | grep -q "Listening" && echo "API is up"
tmx create db "docker run --name postgres postgres"
tmx list

Pattern 3: Interactive REPL

tmx create python "python3 -q"
tmx run python "import sys; print(sys.version)"
tmx run python "2 + 2" --timeout 3

Pattern 4: Parallel Agents

for i in 1 2 3; do
  tmx create "agent-$i" "cd /tmp/project$i && codex --yolo 'Fix bugs'"
done
tmx list
tmx r agent-1

Key Bindings (when attached)

Key	Action
`Ctrl+b d`	Detach from session
`Ctrl+b c`	Create new window
`Ctrl+b n/p`	Next/Previous window
`Ctrl+b %`	Split vertical
`Ctrl+b "`	Split horizontal

Deeper Reading

Topic	File
Installation per-platform, platform differences, gotchas	`references/setup.md`

---name: tmuxdescription: Control tmux/psmux sessions for interactive CLIs, SSH connections, and parallel agent orchestration. Works cross-platform: tmux on Linux/macOS, psmux on Windows. Provides sync commands that send keys and automatically capture output. Triggers: "run in tmux", "create tmux session", "tmux", "SSH session", "parallel terminals", "run multiple agents".---# tmux SkillControl tmux sessions programmatically. Send keys, capture output, run interactive processes.**Cross-platform:**- **Linux/macOS**: Uses native `tmux`- **Windows**: Uses `psmux` (native Windows tmux, 95%+ syntax compatible)**Use tmux when:**- SSH to remote servers (persistent sessions)- Interactive TTY needed (REPLs, shells, prompts)- Running multiple processes in parallel- Orchestrating coding agents**Don't use tmux for:**- Simple background tasks → use `bg run` instead- One-shot commands → run directly---## Helper: tmx**Primary:** Python CLI tool (`tmx`) — installable via agent-sommelier-cli.**Fallback:** Shell scripts at `skills/tmux/scripts/tmx.sh` (bash) and `tmx.ps1` (PowerShell).### Commands| Command | Description ||---------|-------------|| `tmx install` | Ensure tmux/psmux is available (auto-install on Windows) || `tmx create <name> [cmd]` | Create session, optionally run init cmd || `tmx rm <name>` | Kill session || `tmx sk <name> "<cmd>"` | Send keys (fire and forget) || `tmx r <name>` | Read output (full scrollback) || `tmx run <name> "<cmd>" [--timeout N]` | Send + wait N seconds + read output || `tmx list [--json]` | List all sessions (rich table or JSON) || `tmx manager` | Interactive session picker |---## Quick Start```bashtmx installtmx create mysessiontmx run mysession "ls -la"tmx r mysessiontmx rm mysession``````powershelltmx installtmx create mysessiontmx run mysession "Get-ChildItem"```---## Pattern 1: SSH Sessions (Most Common)```bash# Create SSH sessiontmx create server "ssh user@myserver.com"tmx run server "hostname" --timeout 3tmx sk server "mypassword"tmx run server "tail -100 nginx/access.log" --timeout 5tmx r server```## Pattern 2: Background Process Monitoring```bashtmx create api "cd /app && python api.py"tmx r api | grep -q "Listening" && echo "API is up"tmx create db "docker run --name postgres postgres"tmx list```## Pattern 3: Interactive REPL```bashtmx create python "python3 -q"tmx run python "import sys; print(sys.version)"tmx run python "2 + 2" --timeout 3```## Pattern 4: Parallel Agents```bashfor i in 1 2 3; do tmx create "agent-$i" "cd /tmp/project$i && codex --yolo 'Fix bugs'"donetmx listtmx r agent-1```---## Key Bindings (when attached)| Key | Action ||-----|--------|| `Ctrl+b d` | Detach from session || `Ctrl+b c` | Create new window || `Ctrl+b n/p` | Next/Previous window || `Ctrl+b %` | Split vertical || `Ctrl+b "` | Split horizontal |---## Deeper Reading| Topic | File ||---|---|| Installation per-platform, platform differences, gotchas | [`references/setup.md`](references/setup.md) |

Frequently asked questions