
Tmux
- 6 installs
- 4 repo stars
- Updated March 24, 2026
- firecrawl/openclaw
tmux skill documents Remote-control tmux sessions for interactive CLIs by sending keystrokes and scraping pane output.
About
tmux skill documents Remote-control tmux sessions for interactive CLIs by sending keystrokes and scraping pane output.. name: tmux description: Remote-control tmux sessions for interactive CLIs by sending keystrokes and scraping pane output.
- Remote-control tmux sessions for interactive CLIs by sending keystrokes and scraping pane output.
- Platform-specific setup patterns for tmux.
- Evidence-backed steps from upstream SKILL.md.
- When-to-use criteria for tmux versus alternatives.
Tmux by the numbers
- 6 all-time installs (skills.sh)
- Ranked #1,586 of 2,065 Data Science & ML skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
- Data as of Jul 27, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
tmux capabilities & compatibility
- Capabilities
- tmux quick start · tmux when to use guidance · tmux integration patterns
- Use cases
- research · orchestration
What tmux says it does
description: Remote-control tmux sessions for interactive CLIs by sending keystrokes and scraping pane output.
npx skills add https://github.com/firecrawl/openclaw --skill tmuxAdd your badge
Show developers this skill is listed on Skillselion. Paste this into your README.
| Installs | 6 |
|---|---|
| repo stars | ★ 4 |
| Last updated | March 24, 2026 |
| Repository | firecrawl/openclaw ↗ |
How do I use tmux correctly?
Remote-control tmux sessions for interactive CLIs by sending keystrokes and scraping pane output.
Who is it for?
Teams implementing tmux workflows from the catalog.
Skip if: Skip when requirements clearly match a different specialized stack.
When should I use this skill?
User asks about tmux, remote-control tmux sessions for interactive clis by sending keystrokes and scraping pane .
What you get
Working tmux setup with validated configuration and next steps.
Files
tmux Session Control
Control tmux sessions by sending keystrokes and reading output. Essential for managing Claude Code sessions.
When to Use
✅ USE this skill when:
- Monitoring Claude/Codex sessions in tmux
- Sending input to interactive terminal applications
- Scraping output from long-running processes in tmux
- Navigating tmux panes/windows programmatically
- Checking on background work in existing sessions
When NOT to Use
❌ DON'T use this skill when:
- Running one-off shell commands → use
exectool directly - Starting new background processes → use
execwithbackground:true - Non-interactive scripts → use
exectool - The process isn't in tmux
- You need to create a new tmux session → use
execwithtmux new-session
Example Sessions
| Session | Purpose |
|---|---|
shared | Primary interactive session |
worker-2 - worker-8 | Parallel worker sessions |
Common Commands
List Sessions
tmux list-sessions
tmux lsCapture Output
# Last 20 lines of pane
tmux capture-pane -t shared -p | tail -20
# Entire scrollback
tmux capture-pane -t shared -p -S -
# Specific pane in window
tmux capture-pane -t shared:0.0 -pSend Keys
# Send text (doesn't press Enter)
tmux send-keys -t shared "hello"
# Send text + Enter
tmux send-keys -t shared "y" Enter
# Send special keys
tmux send-keys -t shared Enter
tmux send-keys -t shared Escape
tmux send-keys -t shared C-c # Ctrl+C
tmux send-keys -t shared C-d # Ctrl+D (EOF)
tmux send-keys -t shared C-z # Ctrl+Z (suspend)Window/Pane Navigation
# Select window
tmux select-window -t shared:0
# Select pane
tmux select-pane -t shared:0.1
# List windows
tmux list-windows -t sharedSession Management
# Create new session
tmux new-session -d -s newsession
# Kill session
tmux kill-session -t sessionname
# Rename session
tmux rename-session -t old newSending Input Safely
For interactive TUIs (Claude Code, Codex, etc.), split text and Enter into separate sends to avoid paste/multiline edge cases:
tmux send-keys -t shared -l -- "Please apply the patch in src/foo.ts"
sleep 0.1
tmux send-keys -t shared EnterClaude Code Session Patterns
Check if Session Needs Input
# Look for prompts
tmux capture-pane -t worker-3 -p | tail -10 | grep -E "❯|Yes.*No|proceed|permission"Approve Claude Code Prompt
# Send 'y' and Enter
tmux send-keys -t worker-3 'y' Enter
# Or select numbered option
tmux send-keys -t worker-3 '2' EnterCheck All Sessions Status
for s in shared worker-2 worker-3 worker-4 worker-5 worker-6 worker-7 worker-8; do
echo "=== $s ==="
tmux capture-pane -t $s -p 2>/dev/null | tail -5
doneSend Task to Session
tmux send-keys -t worker-4 "Fix the bug in auth.js" EnterNotes
- Use
capture-pane -pto print to stdout (essential for scripting) -S -captures entire scrollback history- Target format:
session:window.pane(e.g.,shared:0.0) - Sessions persist across SSH disconnects
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
usage() {
cat <<'USAGE'
Usage: find-sessions.sh [-L socket-name|-S socket-path|-A] [-q pattern]
List tmux sessions on a socket (default tmux socket if none provided).
Options:
-L, --socket tmux socket name (passed to tmux -L)
-S, --socket-path tmux socket path (passed to tmux -S)
-A, --all scan all sockets under OPENCLAW_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR
-q, --query case-insensitive substring to filter session names
-h, --help show this help
USAGE
}
socket_name=""
socket_path=""
query=""
scan_all=false
socket_dir="${OPENCLAW_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR:-${CLAWDBOT_TMUX_SOCKET_DIR:-${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/openclaw-tmux-sockets}}"
while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
case "$1" in
-L|--socket) socket_name="${2-}"; shift 2 ;;
-S|--socket-path) socket_path="${2-}"; shift 2 ;;
-A|--all) scan_all=true; shift ;;
-q|--query) query="${2-}"; shift 2 ;;
-h|--help) usage; exit 0 ;;
*) echo "Unknown option: $1" >&2; usage; exit 1 ;;
esac
done
if [[ "$scan_all" == true && ( -n "$socket_name" || -n "$socket_path" ) ]]; then
echo "Cannot combine --all with -L or -S" >&2
exit 1
fi
if [[ -n "$socket_name" && -n "$socket_path" ]]; then
echo "Use either -L or -S, not both" >&2
exit 1
fi
if ! command -v tmux >/dev/null 2>&1; then
echo "tmux not found in PATH" >&2
exit 1
fi
list_sessions() {
local label="$1"; shift
local tmux_cmd=(tmux "$@")
if ! sessions="$("${tmux_cmd[@]}" list-sessions -F '#{session_name}\t#{session_attached}\t#{session_created_string}' 2>/dev/null)"; then
echo "No tmux server found on $label" >&2
return 1
fi
if [[ -n "$query" ]]; then
sessions="$(printf '%s\n' "$sessions" | grep -i -- "$query" || true)"
fi
if [[ -z "$sessions" ]]; then
echo "No sessions found on $label"
return 0
fi
echo "Sessions on $label:"
printf '%s\n' "$sessions" | while IFS=$'\t' read -r name attached created; do
attached_label=$([[ "$attached" == "1" ]] && echo "attached" || echo "detached")
printf ' - %s (%s, started %s)\n' "$name" "$attached_label" "$created"
done
}
if [[ "$scan_all" == true ]]; then
if [[ ! -d "$socket_dir" ]]; then
echo "Socket directory not found: $socket_dir" >&2
exit 1
fi
shopt -s nullglob
sockets=("$socket_dir"/*)
shopt -u nullglob
if [[ "${#sockets[@]}" -eq 0 ]]; then
echo "No sockets found under $socket_dir" >&2
exit 1
fi
exit_code=0
for sock in "${sockets[@]}"; do
if [[ ! -S "$sock" ]]; then
continue
fi
list_sessions "socket path '$sock'" -S "$sock" || exit_code=$?
done
exit "$exit_code"
fi
tmux_cmd=(tmux)
socket_label="default socket"
if [[ -n "$socket_name" ]]; then
tmux_cmd+=(-L "$socket_name")
socket_label="socket name '$socket_name'"
elif [[ -n "$socket_path" ]]; then
tmux_cmd+=(-S "$socket_path")
socket_label="socket path '$socket_path'"
fi
list_sessions "$socket_label" "${tmux_cmd[@]:1}"
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
usage() {
cat <<'USAGE'
Usage: wait-for-text.sh -t target -p pattern [options]
Poll a tmux pane for text and exit when found.
Options:
-t, --target tmux target (session:window.pane), required
-p, --pattern regex pattern to look for, required
-F, --fixed treat pattern as a fixed string (grep -F)
-T, --timeout seconds to wait (integer, default: 15)
-i, --interval poll interval in seconds (default: 0.5)
-l, --lines number of history lines to inspect (integer, default: 1000)
-h, --help show this help
USAGE
}
target=""
pattern=""
grep_flag="-E"
timeout=15
interval=0.5
lines=1000
while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
case "$1" in
-t|--target) target="${2-}"; shift 2 ;;
-p|--pattern) pattern="${2-}"; shift 2 ;;
-F|--fixed) grep_flag="-F"; shift ;;
-T|--timeout) timeout="${2-}"; shift 2 ;;
-i|--interval) interval="${2-}"; shift 2 ;;
-l|--lines) lines="${2-}"; shift 2 ;;
-h|--help) usage; exit 0 ;;
*) echo "Unknown option: $1" >&2; usage; exit 1 ;;
esac
done
if [[ -z "$target" || -z "$pattern" ]]; then
echo "target and pattern are required" >&2
usage
exit 1
fi
if ! [[ "$timeout" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
echo "timeout must be an integer number of seconds" >&2
exit 1
fi
if ! [[ "$lines" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
echo "lines must be an integer" >&2
exit 1
fi
if ! command -v tmux >/dev/null 2>&1; then
echo "tmux not found in PATH" >&2
exit 1
fi
# End time in epoch seconds (integer, good enough for polling)
start_epoch=$(date +%s)
deadline=$((start_epoch + timeout))
while true; do
# -J joins wrapped lines, -S uses negative index to read last N lines
pane_text="$(tmux capture-pane -p -J -t "$target" -S "-${lines}" 2>/dev/null || true)"
if printf '%s\n' "$pane_text" | grep $grep_flag -- "$pattern" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
exit 0
fi
now=$(date +%s)
if (( now >= deadline )); then
echo "Timed out after ${timeout}s waiting for pattern: $pattern" >&2
echo "Last ${lines} lines from $target:" >&2
printf '%s\n' "$pane_text" >&2
exit 1
fi
sleep "$interval"
done
Related skills
FAQ
What does tmux do?
tmux skill documents Remote-control tmux sessions for interactive CLIs by sending keystrokes and scraping pane output.
When should I use tmux?
User asks about tmux, remote-control tmux sessions for interactive clis by sending keystrokes and scraping pane .
Is this skill safe to install?
Review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing in production.