cmux

name

cmux

description

Manage cmux terminal workspaces and browser surfaces for parallel AI agent sessions. Create, switch, monitor, and communicate between named workspaces. Automate embedded browsers with navigation, DOM interaction, inspection, console/error capture, and session state management. Use when running multiple Claude Code agents, when /swarm or /nightshift need terminal-level orchestration, when automating browser testing via cmux surfaces, or when the user mentions "cmux", "workspaces", "parallel agents", "orchestrator", or "cmux browser".

cmux

cmux is a native macOS terminal (Ghostty-based) with vertical tabs, notifications, and a scriptable CLI/socket API for managing multiple AI coding agent sessions in parallel. You use it to create isolated workspaces, monitor agent progress, send commands between workspaces, and build orchestration workflows.

When to use this skill

• Running multiple Claude Code agents in parallel (beyond git worktrees)
• /swarm or /nightshift needs terminal-level workspace management
• User wants to spawn, monitor, or communicate between agent sessions
• Setting up an orchestrator agent that controls other agents
• Configuring notifications for agent completion/attention events
• Automating browser interactions via cmux browser surfaces (navigation, forms, console, network, screenshots)
• Dogfooding or QA testing web apps using cmux's built-in browser

Hierarchy

Window (macOS window)
  └─ Workspace (sidebar entry, like a named "tab")
       └─ Pane (split region — Cmd+D right, Cmd+Shift+D down)
            └─ Surface (terminal or browser session within a pane)

Installation

brew tap manaflow-ai/cmux && brew install --cask cmux

CLI symlink (for access outside cmux terminals):

sudo ln -sf "/Applications/cmux.app/Contents/Resources/bin/cmux" /usr/local/bin/cmux

Core CLI commands

Workspace management

cmux list-workspaces                     # List all open workspaces (IDs, names, metadata)
cmux new-workspace                       # Create a new workspace
cmux select-workspace <ID>               # Switch to workspace by ID
cmux current-workspace                   # Get the active workspace
cmux close-workspace                     # Close current workspace
cmux rename-workspace <NAME>             # Rename current workspace

Surfaces and splits

cmux new-split right                     # Split pane right (also: left, up, down)
cmux new-split down                      # Split pane down
cmux list-surfaces                       # List all surfaces in current workspace
cmux focus-surface <ID>                  # Focus a specific surface by ID
cmux close-surface                       # Close current surface

Sending input to terminals

cmux send "your text here"               # Send text to focused terminal
cmux send-surface <ID> "text"            # Send text to a specific surface
cmux send-key enter                      # Send a key (enter, tab, escape, backspace, etc.)
cmux send-key-panel <ID> enter           # Send key to specific panel

Reading terminal output

cmux read-screen                         # Read current terminal screen content
cmux read-screen --workspace <ID>        # Read screen of a specific workspace

Notifications

cmux notify --title "Done" --body "Build complete"   # Send notification
cmux list-notifications                               # List all notifications
cmux clear-notifications                              # Clear all notifications

Sidebar metadata (status pills, progress bars, logs)

# Status pills
cmux set-status <KEY> <VALUE>                              # Set a status pill
cmux set-status build "compiling" --icon hammer --color "#ff9500"
cmux set-status deploy "v1.2.3" --workspace workspace:2    # Target specific workspace
cmux clear-status <KEY>                                    # Remove a status entry
cmux list-status                                           # List all status entries

# Progress bar
cmux set-progress 0.75 --label "Building..."               # Set progress bar (0.0–1.0)
cmux clear-progress                                        # Clear progress bar

# Logs
cmux log "Build started"                                   # Default info level
cmux log --level error --source build "Compilation failed" # With level and source
cmux log --level success -- "All 42 tests passed"
cmux clear-log                                             # Clear all log entries
cmux list-log                                              # List log entries
cmux list-log --limit 5                                    # Limit entries

# Full sidebar dump
cmux sidebar-state                                         # Dump all metadata (cwd, git, ports, status, progress, logs)
cmux sidebar-state --workspace workspace:2

Browser automation

The cmux browser command group provides browser automation against cmux browser surfaces. Use it to navigate, interact with DOM elements, inspect page state, evaluate JavaScript, and manage browser session data.

Most subcommands require a target surface. Pass it positionally or with --surface.

Targeting a browser surface

cmux browser open https://example.com              # Open a new browser split
cmux browser open-split https://example.com         # Open browser in a new split
cmux browser identify                               # Discover focused IDs and browser metadata
cmux browser identify --surface surface:2           # Identify a specific surface

# Positional vs flag targeting are equivalent
cmux browser surface:2 url
cmux browser --surface surface:2 url

Navigation

cmux browser surface:2 navigate <URL> --snapshot-after   # Navigate to URL
cmux browser surface:2 back                              # Browser back
cmux browser surface:2 forward                           # Browser forward
cmux browser surface:2 reload --snapshot-after           # Reload page
cmux browser surface:2 url                               # Get current URL
cmux browser surface:2 focus-webview                     # Focus the webview
cmux browser surface:2 is-webview-focused                # Check if webview is focused

Waiting

Block until selectors, text, URL fragments, load state, or a JavaScript condition is satisfied.

cmux browser surface:2 wait --load-state complete --timeout-ms 15000
cmux browser surface:2 wait --selector "#checkout" --timeout-ms 10000
cmux browser surface:2 wait --text "Order confirmed"
cmux browser surface:2 wait --url-contains "/dashboard"
cmux browser surface:2 wait --function "window.__appReady === true"

DOM interaction

Mutating actions support --snapshot-after for fast verification.

cmux browser surface:2 click "button[type='submit']" --snapshot-after
cmux browser surface:2 dblclick ".item-row"
cmux browser surface:2 hover "#menu"
cmux browser surface:2 focus "#email"
cmux browser surface:2 check "#terms"
cmux browser surface:2 uncheck "#newsletter"
cmux browser surface:2 scroll-into-view "#pricing"

cmux browser surface:2 type "#search" "cmux"             # Type text (keystrokes)
cmux browser surface:2 fill "#email" --text "[e-mail]"    # Fill form field
cmux browser surface:2 fill "#email" --text ""           # Clear form field
cmux browser surface:2 press Enter
cmux browser surface:2 keydown Shift
cmux browser surface:2 keyup Shift
cmux browser surface:2 select "#region" "us-east"
cmux browser surface:2 scroll --dy 800 --snapshot-after
cmux browser surface:2 scroll --selector "#log-view" --dx 0 --dy 400

Inspection

cmux browser surface:2 snapshot --interactive --compact          # Accessibility tree
cmux browser surface:2 snapshot --selector "main" --max-depth 5  # Scoped snapshot
cmux browser surface:2 screenshot --out /tmp/page.png            # Screenshot

# Structured getters
cmux browser surface:2 get title
cmux browser surface:2 get url
cmux browser surface:2 get text "h1"
cmux browser surface:2 get html "main"
cmux browser surface:2 get value "#email"
cmux browser surface:2 get attr "a.primary" --attr href
cmux browser surface:2 get count ".row"
cmux browser surface:2 get box "#checkout"
cmux browser surface:2 get styles "#total" --property color

# Boolean checks
cmux browser surface:2 is visible "#checkout"
cmux browser surface:2 is enabled "button[type='submit']"
cmux browser surface:2 is checked "#terms"

# Finders (by role, text, label, placeholder, alt, title, testid, position)
cmux browser surface:2 find role button --name "Continue"
cmux browser surface:2 find text "Order confirmed"
cmux browser surface:2 find label "Email"
cmux browser surface:2 find placeholder "Search"
cmux browser surface:2 find alt "Product image"
cmux browser surface:2 find title "Open settings"
cmux browser surface:2 find testid "save-btn"
cmux browser surface:2 find first ".row"
cmux browser surface:2 find last ".row"
cmux browser surface:2 find nth 2 ".row"

cmux browser surface:2 highlight "#checkout"              # Highlight element visually

JavaScript eval and injection

cmux browser surface:2 eval "document.title"
cmux browser surface:2 eval --script "window.location.href"

cmux browser surface:2 addinitscript "window.__cmuxReady = true;"  # Runs on every navigation
cmux browser surface:2 addscript "document.querySelector('#name')?.focus()"
cmux browser surface:2 addstyle "#debug-banner { display: none !important; }"

State (cookies, storage, browser state)

# Cookies
cmux browser surface:2 cookies get
cmux browser surface:2 cookies get --name session_id
cmux browser surface:2 cookies set session_id abc123 --domain example.com --path /
cmux browser surface:2 cookies clear --name session_id
cmux browser surface:2 cookies clear --all

# Local/session storage
cmux browser surface:2 storage local set theme dark
cmux browser surface:2 storage local get theme
cmux browser surface:2 storage local clear
cmux browser surface:2 storage session set flow onboarding
cmux browser surface:2 storage session get flow

# Full state save/restore
cmux browser surface:2 state save /tmp/browser-state.json
cmux browser surface:2 state load /tmp/browser-state.json

Tabs

cmux browser surface:2 tab list
cmux browser surface:2 tab new https://example.com/pricing
cmux browser surface:2 tab switch 1
cmux browser surface:2 tab switch surface:7
cmux browser surface:2 tab close
cmux browser surface:2 tab close surface:7

Console and errors

cmux browser surface:2 console list       # Read console messages
cmux browser surface:2 console clear       # Clear console
cmux browser surface:2 errors list         # Read JS errors
cmux browser surface:2 errors clear        # Clear errors

Dialogs and downloads

cmux browser surface:2 dialog accept
cmux browser surface:2 dialog accept "Confirmed by automation"
cmux browser surface:2 dialog dismiss

# Frames
cmux browser surface:2 frame "iframe[name='checkout']"    # Enter iframe
cmux browser surface:2 click "#pay-now"
cmux browser surface:2 frame main                         # Return to top-level

# Downloads
cmux browser surface:2 click "a#download-report"
cmux browser surface:2 download --path /tmp/report.csv --timeout-ms 30000

Common browser patterns

# Navigate, wait, inspect
cmux browser open https://example.com/login
cmux browser surface:2 wait --load-state complete --timeout-ms 15000
cmux browser surface:2 snapshot --interactive --compact

# Fill a form and verify
cmux browser surface:2 fill "#email" --text "[e-mail]"
cmux browser surface:2 fill "#password" --text "$PASSWORD"
cmux browser surface:2 click "button[type='submit']" --snapshot-after
cmux browser surface:2 wait --text "Welcome"

# Debug artifacts on failure
cmux browser surface:2 console list
cmux browser surface:2 errors list
cmux browser surface:2 screenshot --out /tmp/failure.png
cmux browser surface:2 snapshot --interactive --compact

# Persist and restore session
cmux browser surface:2 state save /tmp/session.json
cmux browser surface:2 state load /tmp/session.json
cmux browser surface:2 reload

Windows

cmux list-windows                        # List all windows
cmux new-window                          # Create new window
cmux focus-window <ID>                   # Focus window
cmux close-window                        # Close window
cmux move-workspace-to-window <WID>      # Move workspace to another window

Environment variables

cmux auto-sets these in every terminal it spawns:

Variable	Description
CMUX_WORKSPACE_ID	Current workspace ID
CMUX_SURFACE_ID	Current surface ID
CMUX_SOCKET_PATH	Override socket path
CMUX_SOCKET_ENABLE	Force enable/disable socket (1/0, true/false, on/off)
CMUX_SOCKET_MODE	Override access mode (cmuxOnly, allowAll, off)
TERM_PROGRAM	Set to ghostty
TERM	Set to xterm-ghostty

Utility commands

cmux ping                               # Health check
cmux capabilities                       # List available socket methods
cmux capabilities --json
cmux identify                           # Show focused window/workspace/pane/surface context
cmux identify --json

Socket API (v2 JSON protocol)

For programmatic access beyond the CLI, cmux exposes a Unix socket with a JSON protocol.

Socket paths

Build	Path
Release	/tmp/cmux.sock
Debug	/tmp/cmux-debug.sock
Tagged debug	/tmp/cmux-debug-<tag>.sock

Override with CMUX_SOCKET_PATH.

Request format

Send one newline-terminated JSON request per call:

echo '{"id":"req-1","method":"workspace.list","params":{}}' | nc -U /tmp/cmux.sock
# Response: {"id":"req-1","ok":true,"result":{"workspaces":[...]}}

Access modes

Mode	Description
off	Socket disabled
cmuxOnly	Only cmux-spawned processes can connect (default)
allowAll	Any local process can connect (env override: CMUX_SOCKET_MODE=allowAll)

Key v2 methods

Method	Description
system.ping	Health check
system.capabilities	List available methods
system.identify	Current window/workspace/pane/surface context
workspace.list	List all workspaces
workspace.create	Create workspace
workspace.select	Switch to workspace
workspace.current	Get active workspace
workspace.close	Close workspace
surface.list	List surfaces
surface.split	Create split
surface.focus	Focus a surface
surface.send_text	Send text to surface
surface.send_key	Send keystroke
notification.create	Send notification
notification.list	List notifications
notification.clear	Clear notifications
browser.open_split	Open browser in split
browser.navigate	Navigate browser

CLI flags

Flag	Description
--socket PATH	Custom socket path
--json	JSON output
--window ID	Target a specific window
--workspace ID	Target a specific workspace
--surface ID	Target a specific surface
--id-format refs|uuids|both	Control identifier format in JSON output

Detecting cmux

SOCK="${CMUX_SOCKET_PATH:-/tmp/cmux.sock}"
[ -S "$SOCK" ] && echo "Socket available"
command -v cmux &>/dev/null && echo "cmux CLI available"
[ -n "${CMUX_WORKSPACE_ID:-}" ] && [ -n "${CMUX_SURFACE_ID:-}" ] && echo "Inside cmux surface"

Python client example

import json, os, socket

SOCKET_PATH = os.environ.get("CMUX_SOCKET_PATH", "/tmp/cmux.sock")

def rpc(method, params=None, req_id=1):
    payload = {"id": req_id, "method": method, "params": params or {}}
    with socket.socket(socket.AF_UNIX, socket.SOCK_STREAM) as sock:
        sock.connect(SOCKET_PATH)
        sock.sendall(json.dumps(payload).encode("utf-8") + b"\n")
        return json.loads(sock.recv(65536).decode("utf-8"))

rpc("workspace.list", req_id="ws")
rpc("notification.create", {"title": "Done", "body": "From Python!"}, req_id="notify")

Orchestrator pattern

One Claude Code agent acts as the orchestrator — it creates workspaces, spawns agents, monitors progress, and relays results.

Spawning a worker agent

# Create a named workspace
cmux new-workspace
cmux rename-workspace "feature-auth"

# Send a command to start Claude Code in that workspace
cmux send "claude --prompt 'Implement the auth middleware per the spec in docs/auth.md'"
cmux send-key enter

Monitoring a worker

# Read what's on the worker's screen without interrupting it
cmux read-screen --workspace <WORKSPACE_ID>

Sending instructions to a worker

# Send a follow-up instruction
cmux send-surface <SURFACE_ID> "now add integration tests for the auth routes"
cmux send-key-panel <PANEL_ID> enter

Checking all workspace statuses

cmux list-workspaces    # See all workspace names and IDs
# Then read-screen on each to check progress

Progress tracking via sidebar

Worker agents can update their sidebar status:

# From inside a worker workspace
cmux set-status phase "testing"
cmux set-progress 0.5
cmux log progress "Running integration tests (3/6 passing)"

The orchestrator (and the human) can see this in the sidebar without switching workspaces.

cmux claude-teams (Agent Teams launcher)

cmux 0.63+ ships cmux claude-teams — a one-command launcher for Claude Code Agent Teams. It sets CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS=1 and shims tmux on PATH with cmux's tmux-compat layer, so split-pane teammates render as native cmux pane splits stacked vertically in a right column, auto-equalizing as agents spawn and exit.

cmux claude-teams --dangerously-skip-permissions
# All args forward to claude. Works over cmux SSH too.

For the actual use of Agent Teams (when to spawn one, how to coordinate teammates, hooks, plan approval, recipe library), see the /agent-teams skill. This is just the launcher.

Integration with /swarm

Instead of (or alongside) git worktrees, /swarm can use cmux workspaces:

1. Orchestrator workspace: Runs the swarm coordinator
2. Feature workspace: Runs the Feature agent (claude --prompt "...")
3. CRAP workspace: Runs the CRAP agent
4. Mutation workspace: Runs the Mutation agent
5. Acceptance workspace: Runs the Acceptance agent

Benefits over pure worktrees:

• Visual: sidebar shows which agent is active, waiting, or done
• Progress: each agent can cmux set-progress and cmux log its status
• Notifications: agents send cmux notify when they need review
• Cross-agent comms: orchestrator can read-screen and send to coordinate

Integration with /nightshift

Nightshift can use cmux to:

1. Spawn a workspace per task from the backlog
2. Monitor progress via read-screen between tasks
3. Use cmux notify for the morning briefing
4. Set sidebar status to show task completion state

Notification hooks for Claude Code

Wire Claude Code's hooks to cmux notifications:

// .claude/settings.json
{
  "hooks": {
    "notification": [
      {
        "command": "cmux notify --title \"$CLAUDE_NOTIFICATION_TITLE\" --body \"$CLAUDE_NOTIFICATION_BODY\""
      }
    ]
  }
}

Or use OSC sequences directly from within a terminal:

printf '\033]777;notify;Build Complete;All tests passing\033\\'

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Cmd+N	New workspace
Cmd+1–8	Jump to workspace
Cmd+Shift+W	Close workspace
Cmd+Shift+R	Rename workspace
Cmd+D	Split right
Cmd+Shift+D	Split down
Cmd+T	New surface (tab in pane)
Cmd+B	Toggle sidebar
Cmd+Shift+U	Jump to latest unread notification
Cmd+I	Notification panel
Opt+Cmd+Arrows	Focus pane directionally
Cmd+Shift+L	Open browser in split

Requirements

• macOS 14.0+
• Reads your existing ~/.config/ghostty/config for themes, fonts, colors