| name | cmux |
| description | Orchestrate cmux terminal panes — split terminals, run parallel processes, read output from other panes, and use the built-in browser. Use when working inside cmux and you need to run a dev server, watch tests, spawn sub-agents, or preview web pages. |
cmux Pane Orchestration
You have access to cmux tools for managing terminal panes. Use them to run parallel processes, monitor output, and interact with other terminals.
Available Tools
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|
cmux_list | List all surfaces (panes) and workspaces |
cmux_split | Split pane right or down, optionally run a command |
cmux_read | Read terminal output from another pane |
cmux_send | Send text or keystrokes to another pane |
cmux_close | Close a pane |
cmux_notify | Send desktop notification |
cmux_browser | Open/navigate/snapshot/click/fill/eval in built-in browser |
Common Patterns
Dev server + coding workflow
1. cmux_split direction="down" command="npm run dev\n"
2. Note the surface ID from the result
3. Work on code in your main terminal (edit files, etc.)
4. cmux_read surface="surface:X" to check dev server output
5. cmux_close surface="surface:X" when done
Parallel test watching
1. cmux_split direction="right" command="npm test -- --watch\n"
2. Edit code in main pane
3. cmux_read surface="surface:X" to check test results
4. If tests fail, read the output and fix the code
Sub-agent spawning
1. cmux_split direction="right" command="pi \"Task description here\"\n"
2. Continue working on your own task
3. cmux_read surface="surface:X" to check sub-agent progress
4. cmux_close surface="surface:X" when sub-agent finishes
Web preview with browser
1. Start dev server: cmux_split direction="down" command="npm run dev\n"
2. Open browser: cmux_browser action="open" url="http://localhost:3000"
3. Get DOM: cmux_browser action="snapshot" surface="surface:X" compact=true
4. Interact: cmux_browser action="click" surface="surface:X" selector="button.submit"
5. Fill form: cmux_browser action="fill" surface="surface:X" selector="input[name=email]" value="test@example.com"
Stopping a process in another pane
1. cmux_send surface="surface:X" key="ctrl+c"
2. Wait a moment, then cmux_read to confirm it stopped
Guidelines
- Always
cmux_list first if you don't know the surface IDs
- Append
\n to commands in cmux_split and cmux_send to execute them
- Read before assuming — use
cmux_read to check what happened in other panes
- Clean up — close panes you no longer need with
cmux_close
- Don't close your own pane — only close panes you created
- Notify on completion — use
cmux_notify for long-running tasks so the user knows
- Surface IDs are like
surface:2 — use the exact format from cmux_list or cmux_split results
