tmux Process Management Skill

tmux Process Management

Interactive Shell Requirement

Use send-keys pattern for reliable shell initialization. Creating a session spawns an interactive shell automatically. Use send-keys to run commands within that shell, ensuring PATH, direnv, and other initialization runs properly.

# WRONG - inline command bypasses shell init, breaks PATH/direnv
tmux new-session -d -s "$SESSION" -n main 'tilt up'

# CORRECT - create session, then send command to interactive shell
tmux new-session -d -s "$SESSION" -n main
tmux send-keys -t "$SESSION:main" 'tilt up' Enter

Session Naming Convention

Always derive session name from the project:

SESSION=$(basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null) || basename $PWD)

For multiple processes in one project, use windows not separate sessions:

Session: myapp
Windows: server, tests, logs

Starting Processes

Single Process

SESSION=$(basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null) || basename $PWD)

# Create session with named window, then send command
tmux new-session -d -s "$SESSION" -n main
tmux send-keys -t "$SESSION:main" '<command>' Enter

Idempotent Start

Check if already running before starting:

SESSION=$(basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null) || basename $PWD)

if ! tmux has-session -t "$SESSION" 2>/dev/null; then
  tmux new-session -d -s "$SESSION" -n main
  tmux send-keys -t "$SESSION:main" '<command>' Enter
else
  echo "Session $SESSION already exists"
fi

Adding Windows to Existing Session

SESSION=$(basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null) || basename $PWD)

# Add a new window if it doesn't exist
if ! tmux list-windows -t "$SESSION" -F '#{window_name}' | grep -q "^server$"; then
  tmux new-window -t "$SESSION" -n server
  tmux send-keys -t "$SESSION:server" 'npm run dev' Enter
else
  echo "Window 'server' already exists"
fi

Multiple Processes (Windows)

SESSION=$(basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null) || basename $PWD)

# Create session with first process
tmux new-session -d -s "$SESSION" -n server
tmux send-keys -t "$SESSION:server" 'npm run dev' Enter

# Add more windows
tmux new-window -t "$SESSION" -n tests
tmux send-keys -t "$SESSION:tests" 'npm run test:watch' Enter

tmux new-window -t "$SESSION" -n logs
tmux send-keys -t "$SESSION:logs" 'tail -f logs/app.log' Enter

Monitoring Output

SESSION=$(basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null) || basename $PWD)

# Last 50 lines from first window
tmux capture-pane -p -t "$SESSION" -S -50

# From specific window
tmux capture-pane -p -t "$SESSION:server" -S -50

# Check for errors
tmux capture-pane -p -t "$SESSION" -S -100 | rg -i "error|fail|exception"

# Check for ready indicators
tmux capture-pane -p -t "$SESSION:server" -S -50 | rg -i "listening|ready|started"

Lifecycle Management

SESSION=$(basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null) || basename $PWD)

# List all sessions (see what exists)
tmux ls

# List windows in current session
tmux list-windows -t "$SESSION"

# Kill only this project's session
tmux kill-session -t "$SESSION"

# Kill specific window
tmux kill-window -t "$SESSION:tests"

# Send keys to a window (e.g., Ctrl+C to stop)
tmux send-keys -t "$SESSION:server" C-c

Isolation Rules

Never use tmux kill-server
Never kill sessions not matching current project
Always derive session name from git root or pwd
Always verify session name before kill operations
Other Claude Code instances may have their own sessions running

When to Use tmux

| Scenario | Use tmux? | |----------|-----------| | tilt up | Yes, always | | Dev server (npm run dev, rails s) | Yes | | File watcher (npm run watch) | Yes | | Test watcher (npm run test:watch) | Yes | | Database server | Yes | | One-shot build (npm run build) | No | | Quick command (<10s) | No | | Need stdout directly in conversation | No |

Checking Process Status

SESSION=$(basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null) || basename $PWD)

# Check session exists
tmux has-session -t "$SESSION" 2>/dev/null && echo "session exists" || echo "no session"

# List windows and their status
tmux list-windows -t "$SESSION" -F '#{window_name}: #{pane_current_command}'

# Check if specific window exists
tmux list-windows -t "$SESSION" -F '#{window_name}' | grep -q "^server$" && echo "server window exists"

Restarting a Process

SESSION=$(basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null) || basename $PWD)

# Send Ctrl+C then restart command
tmux send-keys -t "$SESSION:server" C-c
sleep 1
tmux send-keys -t "$SESSION:server" 'npm run dev' Enter

Common Patterns

Start dev server if not running

SESSION=$(basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null) || basename $PWD)

if ! tmux has-session -t "$SESSION" 2>/dev/null; then
  tmux new-session -d -s "$SESSION" -n server
  tmux send-keys -t "$SESSION:server" 'npm run dev' Enter
  echo "Started dev server in tmux session: $SESSION"
elif ! tmux list-windows -t "$SESSION" -F '#{window_name}' | grep -q "^server$"; then
  tmux new-window -t "$SESSION" -n server
  tmux send-keys -t "$SESSION:server" 'npm run dev' Enter
  echo "Added server window to session: $SESSION"
else
  echo "Server already running in session: $SESSION"
fi

Wait for server ready

SESSION=$(basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null) || basename $PWD)

# Poll for ready message
for i in {1..30}; do
  if tmux capture-pane -p -t "$SESSION:server" -S -20 | rg -q "listening|ready"; then
    echo "Server ready"
    break
  fi
  sleep 1
done

Agent Skills: tmux Process Management

Install this agent skill to your local

Skill Files