tmux-tty

name: tmux-tty description: Use tmux for ALL operations that need a TTY (interactive CLI tools, REPLs, editors, interactive git, full-screen terminal apps). Each session runs on its own isolated tmux socket so it never interferes with the user's tmux or other sessions. Use when running vim, nano, python REPL, git rebase -i, git add -p, htop, or any command requiring terminal interaction.

All TTY operations go through tmux with isolated sockets. Every session gets its own socket at $TMPDIR/tmux-tty-sockets/<name>, fully independent from each other and the user's tmux.

Rule

Any command that needs a TTY must use this skill. Do not run interactive commands directly via Bash — they will hang. Always use the wrapper or the equivalent tmux -S <socket> commands.

Wrapper

<skill-path>/tmux-wrapper.sh <action> <session-name> [args...]

Action	Usage
`start <name> <cmd> [args]`	Create isolated session with its own socket
`send <name> <input>`	Send keys (use `Enter`, `Escape`, `C-c` etc.)
`capture <name>`	Read current screen output
`stop <name>`	Kill session and remove socket
`list`	List all tmux-tty sessions across all sockets

Direct tmux Commands (equivalent)

If not using the wrapper, always use -S for socket isolation:

SOCK="$TMPDIR/tmux-tty-sockets/myname"

# Start
tmux -S "$SOCK" new-session -d -s myname vim file.txt

# Send keys
tmux -S "$SOCK" send-keys -t myname ':wq' Enter

# Capture
tmux -S "$SOCK" capture-pane -t myname -p

# Stop
tmux -S "$SOCK" kill-server && rm -f "$SOCK"

Special Keys

Enter, Escape, C-c, C-x, C-d, Up, Down, Left, Right, Space, BSpace, Tab

Examples

Python REPL

wrapper start py python3 -i
wrapper send py 'import math' Enter
wrapper send py 'print(math.pi)' Enter
wrapper capture py
wrapper stop py

Vim

wrapper start ed vim "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/file.txt"
sleep 0.3
wrapper send ed 'i' 'Hello' Escape ':wq' Enter
wrapper stop ed

Interactive Git Rebase

tmux -S "$TMPDIR/tmux-tty-sockets/rebase" new-session -d -s rebase -c /repo git rebase -i HEAD~3
sleep 0.5
tmux -S "$TMPDIR/tmux-tty-sockets/rebase" capture-pane -t rebase -p
tmux -S "$TMPDIR/tmux-tty-sockets/rebase" send-keys -t rebase ':wq' Enter

Pitfalls

Always sleep 0.3-0.5s after start before first capture — let the command initialize
Always send Enter explicitly — it's a separate argument, not \n
Always stop when done — prevents orphaned sockets
Never use bare tmux without -S — that hits the user's default server