name	tmux-session-runner
description	Isolated tmux supervisor for long-running and interactive Claude tasks. Use when Claude needs to launch work in a dedicated session, monitor progress, respond to prompts, or interrupt and recover a live shell without attaching.

Tmux Session Runner

Use this skill as Claude's tmux-backed supervisor for any task that is not a short one-shot shell command.

Hard rule:

Any long-running command, streaming command, prompt-driven command, or multi-step shell workflow should run in this skill.
After starting a command, do not assume it finished. Poll with inspect-session and inspect-window until the session returns to idle or a blocker appears.
If output shows a prompt, confirmation request, password request, pager, or hung process, respond explicitly with send-keys or stop it with interrupt-session.

Default model:

one task = one session
one session = one main shell
keep all follow-up input in that same shell so state stays intact
always create or confirm the session before sending commands

By default this skill uses an isolated tmux server:

socket path: /tmp/claude-supervisor-tmux.sock
config file: /dev/null

That keeps Claude's automation separate from the operator's normal tmux environment.

Main Commands

Use only these commands in normal work:

ensure-session --session NAME
list-sessions
send-command --session NAME --command CMD
send-keys --session NAME --text TEXT [--no-enter]
interrupt-session --session NAME
inspect-session --session NAME
inspect-window --session NAME --lines 100

Compatibility:

run-command remains an alias of send-command

Expected sequence:

list-sessions when you need discovery
ensure-session --session NAME
send-command --session NAME --command CMD
poll with inspect-session and inspect-window
if the task needs input, use send-keys
if the task is wedged or should stop, use interrupt-session

Session Naming

Keep names short and tied to the actual task. Prefer:

pytest-api
frontend-dev
ssh-tail
db-migrate
release-check

Avoid vague names like test, work, or temp.

Practical Pattern

For real work, prefer this pattern:

Create or reuse the task session.
Send the top-level command into that session's main shell.
Include cd in the command string when the task must run in another directory.
Poll with inspect-session and inspect-window.
If the process asks for input or confirmation, answer with send-keys.
If the process must stop, use interrupt-session, then inspect again.

Example:

scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh ensure-session --session pytest-api
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh send-command --session pytest-api --command "cd /workspace/project && pytest tests/api -q"
sleep 15
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh inspect-session --session pytest-api
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh inspect-window --session pytest-api --lines 120

Interactive example:

scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh ensure-session --session release-check
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh send-command --session release-check --command "cd /workspace/project && ./scripts/release.sh"
sleep 5
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh inspect-window --session release-check --lines 80
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh send-keys --session release-check --text "y"

Interrupt example:

scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh interrupt-session --session frontend-dev
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh inspect-session --session frontend-dev
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh inspect-window --session frontend-dev --lines 80

Recommended Command Style

Prefer these patterns inside send-command:

use cd /target/path && ... so the session stays self-contained
use one clear top-level command per session
keep stdout/stderr visible
prefer explicit flags over shell aliases
for repeated observation, poll instead of attaching interactively

Prefer these patterns for interactive control:

use send-keys --text "value" for prompt answers
use send-keys --text " " for pagers waiting on a space
use send-keys --text "q" for pagers or REPL exits
use send-keys --text "" without --no-enter when you only need Enter
use interrupt-session before replacing a long-running foreground process

Common Claude Workloads

Use tmux for these patterns:

test suites that may run for more than a few seconds
build commands such as npm run build, cargo test, go test, pytest, nix build
dev servers and file watchers
SSH sessions, remote tails, and remote diagnostics
install or migration scripts that may ask for confirmation
REPLs or CLIs that need several follow-up inputs

Examples:

scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh ensure-session --session frontend-dev
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh send-command --session frontend-dev --command "cd /workspace/app && npm run dev"
sleep 10
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh inspect-window --session frontend-dev --lines 120

scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh ensure-session --session ssh-tail
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh send-command --session ssh-tail --command "ssh -o BatchMode=yes ops@host 'journalctl -fu app.service'"
sleep 15
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh inspect-window --session ssh-tail --lines 120

scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh ensure-session --session repl
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh send-command --session repl --command "cd /workspace/app && node"
sleep 2
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh send-keys --session repl --text "await healthcheck()"
scripts/tmux-session-runner.sh inspect-window --session repl --lines 80

Monitoring Rhythm

quick command: wait 5-10 seconds, inspect once
medium command: wait 15-30 seconds between inspections
long build or streaming command: wait 30-60 seconds between inspections
if output clearly asks for input, inspect immediately after responding

Status Model

inspect-session reports only one window: main.

idle: foreground process is a shell
busy: some other command is running
dead: the pane exited; the next send-command or send-keys will respawn it automatically

Notes

By default the skill uses /tmp/claude-supervisor-tmux.sock and ignores user tmux config via /dev/null.
Pass TMUX_SOCKET_PATH, TMUX_SOCKET_NAME, or TMUX_CONFIG_PATH only when you intentionally want different behavior.
Keep the session name explicit in user-facing explanations so the operator can attach manually if needed.

name	tmux-session-runner
description	Isolated tmux supervisor for long-running and interactive Claude tasks. Use when Claude needs to launch work in a dedicated session, monitor progress, respond to prompts, or interrupt and recover a live shell without attaching.