Files
tai/research/async-pty-process-testing/pypi-stitch-pty.md
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retoorandClaude Sonnet 5 9dbd1fe667 Add plexer subsystem, container test infra, and last-resort opencode box backend
- Plexer: always-active terminal multiplexing. NativePlexerController/
  TmuxPlexerController share one interface, chosen by which env var is
  already set (TAI_PLEXER_SOCKET vs TMUX_PANE); NativePlexerBackend is
  the pty.fork()-based wrapper (raw mode, SIGWINCH resize forwarding,
  a Unix-socket control protocol, continuous session logging, a
  Ctrl+A prefix key distinct from tmux's own Ctrl+B). Auto-wraps new
  interactive shells via a .bashrc hook mirroring the existing
  command-not-found install pattern, gated on $TMUX/$TAI_PLEXER_ACTIVE/
  a $HOME/.tai-no-plexer bypass. New plexer_send/read/type/status
  tools, env-gated on a detected controller.
- tests/container.py + docker-compose.yml + tests/docker/Dockerfile:
  a disposable podman/docker image for the tests that must never touch
  a real machine (installing the plexer hook into a real ~/.bashrc, a
  live tmux session). Required suite (test_seal.py, test_tai.py,
  tests/plexer.py, tests/bashrc.py) gates the result; tests/rag.py
  runs as best-effort since its real-LLM dependency can't be satisfied
  inside a disposable container with no nested engine.
- tests/bashrc.py: real end-to-end hook install + bash -i auto-wrap,
  anti-recursion, tmux-active skip, non-interactive skip, a live
  TmuxPlexerController test, and an install/uninstall round-trip.
- tests/plexer.py: NativePlexerBackend under a real pty, plus a
  dedicated robustness pass (file permissions, >64KB payload framing,
  a malformed control request, a genuine self-deadlock fix in the
  write-to-child path).
- tai_test.py: the shared async process-driving framework (pipe/pty
  transport, group-wide kill-and-reap, a StdinBridge for --interactive)
  both test files build on.
- ChatClient last-resort backend: when there's no local opencode CLI
  but the sandbox box is already running, install opencode into it
  (official Node tarball, not apt -- apt's nodejs/npm pull in
  webpack/babel/jest as transitive deps) and route through it instead
  of giving up. Only reachable after the first retry round already
  failed everything else; never creates the box itself. TmuxPlexerController.status()
  fixed to use `list-panes` instead of `display-message -p`, which
  silently fell back to the default pane instead of erroring against
  a dead target.
- Fix 4 pre-existing test_tai.py bugs surfaced by running it in a
  clean environment for the first time: two stale mock signatures
  (subprocess.run's stdout= kwarg, Chat.complete's deadline= kwarg),
  one $TMUX-dependent catalog assertion, one tty-dependent color
  assertion.
- research/: a sourced research archive (Source Dossier/Citation
  Card/Conclusion tiers) backing the above design decisions, with its
  own audit.py consistency checker.
- .gitignore: fix a blanket *.md rule that was about to silently drop
  the entire research/ archive from version control; add __pycache__/
  and the one-off debug transcript this session started from.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-10-10 04:36:05 +02:00

2.1 KiB

stitch-pty — PyPI project page

Metadata

Field Value
Institute Molodetz Institute — Research & Retrieval Division
Subject async-pty-process-testing
Document type Source Dossier
Tier 1
Source title stitch-pty
Source URL https://pypi.org/project/stitch-pty/
Source publisher / author stitch-pty project (PyPI)
Source type repository
Source date (published) Unknown — not stated
Date researched 2026-10-09
Researched by tai (agent), model: Claude Sonnet 5, on behalf of retoor
Research method web search synthesis
Confidence Low
Status Active

Summary

stitch-pty is described as a cross-platform, async pseudo-terminal library for Python with integrated terminal emulation, implemented in Rust with Python bindings. The research flagged it as a young project it could not independently verify further.

Key findings

  • Claims cross-platform support (notably including Windows, unlike the stdlib pty module), unlike every other option surveyed in this subject.
  • Implemented in Rust with bindings — a compiled-extension dependency, not a pure-Python one.

Pros / strengths

  • If its claims hold up, it would solve the Windows-support gap that every stdlib-pty-based approach (including tai_test.py's own) has.

Cons / limitations / caveats

  • Explicitly flagged during research as young and unverified — no maturity signal (adoption, release history, test coverage) was found or checked.
  • A compiled Rust extension is a real dependency, directly in tension with tai.py's own zero-dependency, pure-stdlib project constraint that tai_test.py was built to respect.

Relevance to tai

Surveyed and explicitly not adopted, for two independent reasons: insufficient verified maturity, and a hard conflict with the project's stdlib-only constraint. tai_test.py built its pty support directly on the stdlib pty module instead, accepting the resulting Windows limitation (POSIX-only, pty module is not available on Windows) as the simpler, dependency-free tradeoff.

Changelog

Date Change
2026-10-09 Initial dossier created.