Files
tai/research/shell-multiplexer-auto-attach/tmuxai-dev-faq.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

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Markdown

# Tmux FAQ (tmuxai.dev)
## Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Institute | Molodetz Institute — Research & Retrieval Division |
| Subject | shell-multiplexer-auto-attach |
| Document type | Source Dossier |
| Tier | 1 |
| Source title | Tmux FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - TmuxAI |
| Source URL | https://tmuxai.dev/tmux-faq/ |
| Source publisher / author | tmuxai.dev |
| Source type | blog post |
| 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 | Medium |
| Status | Active |
## Summary
A FAQ covering two distinct tmux capabilities relevant to the proposal: `capture-pane -pS - -E -` for reading the *entire* scrollback in one shot (not just the visible screen), and `pipe-pane -o 'cat >> file'` for continuously streaming a pane's live output into a file or command, stopped by re-running `pipe-pane` with no arguments.
## Key findings
- `capture-pane -pS - -E -` is the snapshot-read primitive: the full scrollback, start to end, in one call.
- `pipe-pane` is the streaming primitive: everything the pane produces from now on gets piped to a target (a file, or another command such as `grep`) continuously, until `pipe-pane` is invoked again with no target to stop it.
- These are two genuinely different operations (snapshot vs. stream) that a tai layer needs both of, not just one.
## Pros / strengths
- Gives both halves of the "remember the whole process log" requirement directly: `pipe-pane` for continuous append-only logging as it happens, `capture-pane -S -` for an on-demand full-history snapshot.
## Cons / limitations / caveats
- A FAQ-style page with short answers, no discussion of `pipe-pane`'s behavior across pane resize, tmux server restart, or very high-throughput output (buffering/backpressure).
## Relevance to tai
Directly solves the "remember the whole process log" requirement: run `pipe-pane -o 'cat >> ~/.tai/termlogs/<session>.log'` once per pane at creation time, and the entire session's raw output streams continuously into a file tai can feed through its own existing chunked FTS5 search (see `export_terminal_log` in `tai.py`) without needing a one-shot export step at all.
## Changelog
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-09 | Initial dossier created. |