tmux

tmux Skill

Use tmux as a programmable terminal multiplexer for interactive work. Works on Linux and macOS with stock tmux; avoid custom config by using a private socket.

Quickstart (isolated socket)

SOCKET_DIR=${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/claude-tmux-sockets  # well-known dir for all agent sockets
mkdir -p "$SOCKET_DIR"
SOCKET="$SOCKET_DIR/claude.sock"                # keep agent sessions separate from your personal tmux
SESSION=claude-python                           # slug-like names; avoid spaces
tmux -S "$SOCKET" new -d -s "$SESSION" -n shell
tmux -S "$SOCKET" send-keys -t "$SESSION":0.0 -- 'python3 -q' Enter
tmux -S "$SOCKET" capture-pane -p -J -t "$SESSION":0.0 -S -200  # watch output
tmux -S "$SOCKET" kill-session -t "$SESSION"                   # clean up

After starting a session ALWAYS tell the user how to monitor the session by giving them a command to copy paste:

To monitor this session yourself:
  tmux -S "$SOCKET" attach -t claude-lldb

Or to capture the output once:
  tmux -S "$SOCKET" capture-pane -p -J -t claude-lldb:0.0 -S -200

This must ALWAYS be printed right after a session was started and once again at the end of the tool loop. But the earlier you send it, the happier the user will be.

Socket convention

• Agents MUST place tmux sockets under CLAUDE_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR (defaults to ${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/claude-tmux-sockets) and use tmux -S "$SOCKET" so we can enumerate/clean them. Create the dir first: mkdir -p "$CLAUDE_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR".
• Default socket path to use unless you must isolate further: SOCKET="$CLAUDE_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR/claude.sock".

Targeting panes and naming

• Target format: {session}:{window}.{pane}, defaults to :0.0 if omitted. Keep names short (e.g., claude-py, claude-gdb).
• Use -S "$SOCKET" consistently to stay on the private socket path. If you need user config, drop -f /dev/null; otherwise -f /dev/null gives a clean config.
• Inspect: tmux -S "$SOCKET" list-sessions, tmux -S "$SOCKET" list-panes -a.