split-pane-keep-cwd

name	split-pane-keep-cwd
description	Configures the user's terminal + shell so that splitting a pane (or opening a new tab/window) reuses the current working directory of the active shell. Heavy Windows focus (Microsoft Intelligent Terminal, Windows Terminal, PowerShell, cmd) with adaptive guidance for any macOS / Linux terminal + shell combo.
user-invocable	true

Split Pane / Tab — Keep Current Working Directory

You are now in split-pane-keep-cwd mode. Your job is to configure the user's terminal and shell so that the next time they press their split-pane hot key, the new pane opens in the active shell's current directory instead of bouncing back to ~.

The user invoking this skill is their confirmation. Don't ask for permission to back up settings or write AutoRun — gather context, show a clear plan with the diff/changes you're about to make, and apply. Only stop if the user explicitly objects, or if you detect existing state that the user must decide about (e.g. a pre-existing cmd AutoRun value that isn't yours — append, don't overwrite, and tell them).

The end state always requires two cooperating pieces:

1. Terminal asks for cwd when splitting (e.g. Windows Terminal's "splitMode": "duplicate"; iTerm2's "Reuse previous session's directory"; tmux's split-window -c "#{pane_current_path}").
2. Shell reports cwd to the terminal via OSC 9;9;<path> (Microsoft / ConEmu extension, read by every modern Windows terminal) and/or OSC 7;file://<host><path> (the POSIX-world standard).

Without both, splits fall back to the profile's startingDirectory.

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Step 1 — Detect the environment

Run these checks in parallel before doing anything else:

1. OS: $IsWindows / $IsMacOS / $IsLinux in PowerShell; uname -s elsewhere.
2. Terminal hosting this shell:
   • Windows: $env:WT_SESSION set ⇒ Windows Terminal or Intelligent Terminal. Check which packages are installed under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\ — both Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_* and Microsoft.IntelligentTerminal_* can be installed simultaneously. Edit each one the user actually launches. Ask if both are present.
   • macOS / Linux: $TERM_PROGRAM, $TERMINAL_EMULATOR, $KITTY_PID, $WEZTERM_PANE, $ALACRITTY_LOG, $GHOSTTY_RESOURCES_DIR. Also ask the user — $TERM_PROGRAM lies often (TermInal.app vs Wez vs iTerm).
3. Shell: $PSVersionTable if PowerShell, else $SHELL.
4. tmux / screen / zellij wrapper? $TMUX, $STY, $ZELLIJ — if present, treat the multiplexer as the source of truth for splits.

Tell the user what you found in one short paragraph and confirm the terminal + shell to target before applying changes.

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Step 2 — Apply the configuration (pick the right branch)

2a. Windows (Intelligent Terminal and/or Windows Terminal) — the primary target

There is a self-contained installer that does every step idempotently:

$skillDir = "<absolute path to the split-pane-keep-cwd skill directory>"
pwsh -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$skillDir\scripts\windows\setup.ps1"

$skillDir is the directory this SKILL.md lives in. The script:

• discovers any installed Microsoft terminal package(s)
• backs up each settings.json with a timestamped .preedit.backup
• rebinds Alt+Shift+{Right,Down} to the built-in Terminal.DuplicatePane{Right,Down} IDs (which already set splitMode: "duplicate")
• adds custom splitPane actions and rebinds Alt+Shift+{Left,Up} (no built-ins exist for those directions)
• installs cmd-shell-integration.cmd to %LOCALAPPDATA%\WindowsTerminal\ and registers it via HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor\AutoRun (appending if a value already exists)
• checks whether the user's PowerShell $PROFILE already emits OSC 9;9 — does NOT auto-edit $PROFILE

Read the script briefly and summarise what it will do in plain English before running it. Then run it. Then run verify.ps1 and report a green/red status per check.

If verify.ps1 reports PowerShell doesn't emit OSC 9;9, offer to append the minimal snippet from reference/windows-deep-dive.md to the user's $PROFILE. Show the exact lines and ask before writing.

If verify.ps1 reports a settings.json parse failure, stop, show the parse error, and ask the user to fix it before re-running.

If the script's -WhatIf output (which you can preview by running setup.ps1 -WhatIf first) reveals existing AutoRun content that isn't ours, narrate it to the user before applying — they may want to know what's there.

2b. macOS

Most macOS terminals support cwd inheritance — your job is mostly diagnosing which app + shell the user has and flipping the right setting. Read reference/macos.md for per-terminal recipes. Common cases:

• iTerm2 — Preferences → Profiles → General → Working Directory → "Reuse previous session's directory" (usually already on by default). If shell integration isn't installed, install it.
• Terminal.app — Settings → Profiles → Shell → "Same Working Directory" (usually on by default).
• Ghostty — auto-installed shell integration; nothing to do unless disabled.
• WezTerm / kitty / foot — need the shell to emit OSC 7. See the bash/zsh snippet in reference/macos.md.
• tmux — add split-window -c "#{pane_current_path}" bindings; the inner shell must emit OSC 7.

Ask the user what they use, then propose the diff to their dotfile and write it after they see it.

2c. Linux

Same approach. Read reference/linux.md. The likely cases:

• VTE-family (GNOME Terminal, Tilix, xfce4-terminal, Console) — bash usually inherits via /etc/profile.d/vte.sh; zsh needs an explicit precmd_functions+=(__vte_osc7) line.
• Konsole — same as VTE.
• WezTerm / Alacritty + tmux / kitty / foot / Ghostty — see snippets in reference/linux.md.
• tmux — same bindings as macOS.

The reference doc includes a universal bash/zsh emitter that satisfies both OSC 7 and OSC 9;9, which is what you want for users who jump between WSL panes (read by WT/IT) and Linux-native panes (read by VTE etc.).

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Step 3 — Verify

After applying changes:

1. Have the user open a new terminal window — not just a new tab. Settings usually hot-reload, but cmd AutoRun requires a fresh cmd process to take effect.
2. cd into a non-home folder.
3. Trigger a split:
   • Windows: Alt+Shift+Right, Alt+Shift+Down.
   • iTerm2: ⌘D, ⌘⇧D.
   • tmux: prefix + ", prefix + %.
   • Other terminals: whatever the user has bound (or the default).
4. Confirm the new pane's pwd (POSIX) / Get-Location (PowerShell) matches the original.
5. On Windows, also run scripts/windows/verify.ps1 and read out the final green/red summary.

If a split still doesn't inherit cwd:

• The shell is probably not emitting OSC 9;9 / OSC 7 on this run. Have the user type cd <somewhere> and capture the next prompt — the bytes immediately before the visible prompt should include \x1b]9;9; or \x1b]7;file://. You can capture with od -c (POSIX) or by piping to a file and Format-Hex.
• On Windows, check that the user really did open a new terminal window (not just a new tab in the running instance), so cmd AutoRun had a chance to fire.
• For tmux: confirm tmux show-options -g default-command and tmux list-keys | grep split-window reflect the changes.

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Step 4 — Tell the user what's next

After everything is green, output exactly this checklist (substitute the OS-specific items as needed):

✅ Splits will now keep your current directory. Next steps:

1. Open a fresh terminal window so all changes take effect (cmd AutoRun only fires on new cmd sessions).
2. cd into any project and press your split-pane hot key. New pane should open in the same folder.
3. To roll back on Windows, run scripts/windows/uninstall.ps1 from this skill folder.
4. To re-check at any time, run scripts/windows/verify.ps1.

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Boundaries — do not cross

• Do not overwrite a non-empty HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor\AutoRun value. Append using & call "<path>". Tell the user what was already there.
• Do not write to $PROFILE or any dotfile without showing the user the diff first and asking for confirmation. Frontmatter pre-approval covers settings.json, the cmd helper, and AutoRun, but not the user's shell init.
• Do not edit any settings.json other than the ones under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.{WindowsTerminal,IntelligentTerminal}_*\LocalState\.
• Do not disable existing actions in settings.json — only rebind the four split keys and add the new custom actions. Leave everything else (other actions, profiles, schemes, themes) untouched.
• Do not touch WSL distros from a Windows session. If the user wants WSL panes to inherit cwd, source the universal emitter from reference/linux.md inside the WSL distro's ~/.bashrc / ~/.zshrc.
• If the user is on a terminal you don't recognize, ask — don't guess. iTerm2-style OSC 1337 sequences and VTE-style OSC 7 are not interchangeable in every emulator.

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Files in this skill folder

• scripts/windows/setup.ps1 — idempotent one-shot Windows installer.
• scripts/windows/verify.ps1 — read-only health check.
• scripts/windows/uninstall.ps1 — reverts every change made by setup.ps1.
• scripts/windows/cmd-shell-integration.cmd — sets PROMPT to emit OSC 9;9; loaded by cmd via AutoRun.
• reference/windows-deep-dive.md — manual recipe and background for Windows.
• reference/macos.md — per-terminal recipes for macOS.
• reference/linux.md — per-terminal recipes for Linux (and WSL).