Agentmux

Managing TermCanvas agentmux agents

TermCanvas managed terminals are agentmux sessions. Each canvas is one agentmux project (for example termcanvas-8a075ab8-e), and each terminal node is an agent in that project. The canvas is a graph of peer agents — there is no commander, no manager, no fixed hierarchy. Use this skill to operate the live agent graph from the terminal.

Resolve the CLI first

Before running commands, resolve the agentmux executable in this order:

if [ -n "${AGENTMUX_BIN:-}" ] && [ -x "$AGENTMUX_BIN" ]; then
  AGENTMUX_CLI="$AGENTMUX_BIN"
elif [ -x "vendor/agentmux/agentmux" ]; then
  AGENTMUX_CLI="vendor/agentmux/agentmux"
elif command -v agentmux >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  AGENTMUX_CLI="$(command -v agentmux)"
else
  echo "agentmux runtime not found"
fi

Then run commands as "$AGENTMUX_CLI" ....

The skill is only the operating manual. The runtime comes from TermCanvas: packaged apps bundle it, development checkouts use vendor/agentmux, and advanced users may install agentmux on PATH.

Inside a TermCanvas-managed terminal, keep AGENTMUX_HOME unchanged. It points the CLI at the app's live agent database; without it, the CLI may read a stale default store and fail to see the current canvas.

Graph model

• Every agent is a peer. Any agent can spawn children, connect to any other agent in the same project, and delegate work.
• Spawning (worker, child) records a spawn edge between spawner and child. Agents created without a parent are roots (depth 0, no parent_agent).
• connect wires any two agents with a link edge. Edges are the addressing layer: ask/check work on agents you are connected to.
• One project tag equals one canvas. Keep agents in the same project so TermCanvas can materialize them on that canvas.
• TermCanvas registers every fresh canvas terminal as a root agent at creation (the shell carries AGENTMUX_* env, so harnesses started inside inherit it). Other plain terminals can be adopted into the graph with import (TermCanvas also does this automatically when you use its Connect UI).

Do not rely on AGENTS.md for live canvas state. Runtime truth comes from AGENTMUX_* environment variables and agentmux records.

Find your context

Inside a managed TermCanvas terminal:

env | grep '^AGENTMUX_'
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" show "$AGENTMUX_AGENT_NAME"
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" neighbors

Important variables:

• AGENTMUX_PROJECT: canvas project tag.
• AGENTMUX_AGENT_NAME: current agent name.
• AGENTMUX_DEPTH: spawn-lineage depth (0 for roots).
• AGENTMUX_PARENT_AGENT: the agent that spawned this one, when any.
• AGENTMUX_HOME: app-scoped live agent database directory.
• AGENTMUX_BIN: executable path supplied by TermCanvas.

From an unmanaged host shell, list projects and agents:

"$AGENTMUX_CLI" ls --json

Inspect the canvas

"$AGENTMUX_CLI" ls
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" ls --project <tag> --json
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" tree <tag>
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" status <tag>
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" show <agent>
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" logs <agent> --lines 120

When already inside a managed terminal, tree, status, and worker can infer the project from AGENTMUX_PROJECT.

Fields worth reading in JSON output: name, short_id, depth, parent_agent, project, agent_state, runtime_state, attention, workdir, and tmux_session. Project payloads also carry edges as {from, to, kind} where kind is spawn (lineage) or link (manual connection).

Spawn agents

Spawn a root agent in a project:

"$AGENTMUX_CLI" worker <tag> <agent-name> --workdir <canvas-root> --harness shell

Spawn an AI child under a specific agent (from inside a managed terminal, worker without --parent auto-parents to you):

"$AGENTMUX_CLI" child <parent-agent> <agent-name> --harness <ai-harness> --prompt "Handle this subtask"
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" worker <tag> <agent-name> --workdir <canvas-root> --harness shell --parent <parent-agent>

When --harness is omitted, child inherits an AI parent's harness. A shell parent with --prompt must choose an AI harness explicitly, so a natural-language task cannot silently execute in a shell. Use --harness shell only for literal shell input, for example --harness shell --prompt "git status".

Adopt an existing plain terminal into the graph:

"$AGENTMUX_CLI" import --agent <name> --tmux-session <tmux-name> --harness shell --project <tag>

Agents spawned on AI harnesses (claude, codex, pi, opencode) automatically receive a spawn briefing as their first message: their agent name, project, spawner, and how to use neighbors/ask/check/child via $AGENTMUX_BIN. Any --prompt is appended after the briefing. Pass --no-briefing to worker, child, or new to skip it. Shell terminals never receive a briefing.

After creating an agent, tell the operator the agent name.

Connect agents

"$AGENTMUX_CLI" connect <agent-a> <agent-b>
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" connect <agent-a> <agent-b> --announce
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" disconnect <agent-a> <agent-b>
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" neighbors
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" neighbors <agent> --json

--announce injects a short briefing into both terminals telling each agent who its new peer is and how to reach it (ask, check, neighbors). The TermCanvas "Connect to terminal" UI action uses this flag.

Delegate and control

Delegate and wait for the answer (blocking RPC — the answer is the command's stdout, so result=$("$AGENTMUX_CLI" ask <agent> "...") works):

"$AGENTMUX_CLI" ask <agent> "your prompt" --timeout 300
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" check <agent>

ask requires a graph connection to the target (connect first, or pass --force). It finishes when the target's output has been stable for a couple of seconds; on timeout it exits nonzero and you should check later instead of re-asking. check peeks at the target's terminal without sending anything.

Fire-and-forget input and lifecycle control:

"$AGENTMUX_CLI" send <agent> "your prompt or shell input"
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" send <agent> "ls -la" --no-enter
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" stop <agent>
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" kill <agent>
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" delete <agent> --force
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" state <agent> <state>
"$AGENTMUX_CLI" attach <agent>

Use stop first for a stuck agent. Confirm before mass kill or delete operations for agents you did not create.

Common workflows

• "Who's on this canvas?" Use tree, status, and ls --project <tag> --json; summarize agents, state, and edges.
• "Delegate X and get the result." Use ask <agent> "X"; on timeout, check.
• "Add an agent for X." Use worker ... --harness <ai-harness> --prompt "X" or child ... --harness <ai-harness> --prompt "X"; verify with tree.
• "Give agent Y subagents." Use child Y <name> --harness <ai-harness> --prompt "...".
• "Let Y and Z collaborate directly." Use connect Y Z --announce.
• "Tell Y to do Z." Use send Y "Z" (fire-and-forget) or ask Y "Z" (blocking).
• "Y is stuck." Use logs first, then stop, or kill/delete --force if the operator wants it removed.

Safety rules

• Never create raw tmux sessions for agents. Use agentmux worker, agentmux child, or agentmux import so TermCanvas can render the graph.
• Keep the graph purposeful. Avoid sprawling webs of agents no one is watching.
• Do not run agentmux --help or agentmux send --help reflexively. The commands above are the intended operating contract; use help only when the operator asks.
• Keep project tags stable. An agent in the wrong project will appear on the wrong canvas or not appear where the operator expects.