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.

tmux-tty

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