AGENTS.md · standardagents/dmux

Sections

1. Docs map
2. Project overview
3. Important architecture landmarks
4. Native helper
5. Adding a new agent to the registry
6. Maintainer local workflow (dmux-on-dmux)
7. Dev-mode source workflow
8. Dev diagnostics
9. Hooks and generated docs
10. Pull request workflow
11. Notes for maintainers

First lines (shown under the repo's MIT license)

# AGENTS.md - dmux Maintainer Guide

This file is the maintainer-focused source of truth for working on dmux itself.

## Docs map

- `README.md`: end-user overview and install/usage.
- `CONTRIBUTING.md`: local development loop and PR workflow.
- `AGENTS.md` (this file): maintainer behavior, architecture landmarks, and current dev-mode workflow.

`CLAUDE.md` is a symlink to this file for tool compatibility.

## Project overview

dmux is a TypeScript + Ink TUI for managing parallel AI-agent work in tmux panes backed by git worktrees.

Core behavior:

- One project-scoped dmux session (stable name based on project root hash)
- One worktree per work pane
- Durable regular terminals restored in their last observed working directories
- Agent launch + prompt bootstrap in each pane
- Merge/close actions with worktree cleanup hooks
- Optional multi-project grouping in one session

## Important architecture landmarks

- `src/index.ts`: startup, tmux session attach/create, control pane management, dev-mode startup behavior
- `src/DmuxApp.tsx`: main TUI state, status/footer, input hookups, source switching
- `src/services/DmuxFocusService.ts`: macOS helper lifecycle, fully-focused pane tracking, helper-backed native notifications
- `src/services/DmuxAttentionService.ts`: attention-notification coordinator for idle/waiting panes
- `src/services/InferenceService.ts`: provider-neutral text inference, dynamic model discovery, and primary/backup failover
- `src/services/CodexAppServerClient.ts`: ChatGPT subscription auth/model/inference bridge through Codex app-server
- `src/services/TerminalPaneNamingService.ts`: LLM-based naming for regular terminals — untitled panes are checked aggressively and named from streaming output; titled panes only rename from settled output on a relaxed cadence; human names are protected
- `src/utils/paneAgentTracking.ts`: process-tree detection for agents launched manually in any pane, plus exact Claude/Codex session capture used by crash restoration
- `src/hooks/usePaneLoading.ts`: persisted pane loading/rebinding and recreation for both worktree and terminal panes
- `src/hooks/useInputHandling.ts`: keyboard and menu action handling
- `src/services/PopupManager.ts`: popup launch + data plumbing
- `src/actions/types.ts`: action registry and menu visibility rules
- `src/actions/implementations/closeAction.ts`: close behavior + source fallback on source-pane removal
- `src/components/panes/*`: pane list rendering (includes source indicator)
- `src/utils/sidebarMouse.ts` + `src/hooks/useSidebarMouse.ts`: sidebar mouse support; mouse escape sequences are stripped from Ink's stdin via a proxy stream and re-emitted as events. Click highlights a row without changing tmux pane focus, double-click activates it (pane menu / action button), wheel steps the selection. `kebabMenuPopup` uses the same scheme so menu items are clickable

## Native helper

dmux ships a macOS helper daemon implemented in `native/macos/dmux-helper.swift`.

What it does:

- Release packages ship a prebuilt `dmux-helper.app` bundle under `native/macos/prebuilt/`
- On macOS, dmux syncs that packaged app bundle into `~/.dmux/native-helper/dmux-helper.app`
- If the packaged bundle is unavailable (for example in a source checkout without a prepack step), dmux can still build the helper app bundle on demand from `native/macos/dmux-helper.swift`
- Auto-starts behind a Unix socket at `~/.dmux/native-helper/run/dmux-helper.sock`
- Tracks the actual frontmost macOS app/window via CoreGraphics + Accessibility
- Correlates the active terminal window/tab back to a specific dmux instance using a short token injected into the terminal title
- Delivers macOS notifications for panes that need attention
- The square helper icon source lives at `native/macos/dmux-helper-icon.png`; it is derived from `docs/public/favicon.svg` so the docs/favicon mark and native helper branding stay aligned
- Bundles custom notification sounds from `native/macos/sounds/` and randomly chooses from the configured enabled set for each background alert
- Startup also removes the legacy `~/.dmux/macos-notifier` helper if it still exists from older dmux releases
- This is progressive enhancement only: on non-macOS platforms the helper path must stay inert and dmux should continue working without native focus/notification integration

Focus model:

- `DmuxFocusService` writes a per-instance token into the terminal title.
- The helper looks at the frontmost visible app window and its title.
- A pane is considered "fully focused" only when:
  - the frontmost app bundle matches the terminal app running this dmux instance, and
  - the focused window title contains this dmux instance's token, and
  - tmux reports that pane as the selected pane.

Notification model:

- Worker heuristics + `PaneAnalyzer` first decide whether a pane is still working or has settled into `idle` / `waiting`.
- `StatusDetector` emits attention events only after LLM-backed analysis succeeds.
- `DmuxAttentionService` only sends a native notification when that pane is not the fully focused pane for this dmux instance.

If focus behavior changes, update this section and keep `CLAUDE.md` as a symlink to `AGENTS.md`.

## Adding a new agent to the registry

The agent registry is centralized in `src/utils/agentLaunch.ts`.

1. Add the new ID to `AGENT_IDS` (this updates the `AgentName` type).
2. Add a full entry in `AGENT_REGISTRY` for that ID with:
   - metadata (`name`, `shortLabel`, `description`, `slugSuffix`)
   - install detection (`installTestCommand`, `commonPaths`)
   - launch behavior (`promptCommand`, `promptTransport`, plus `promptOption` or `sendKeys*` fields when needed)
   - permission mapping (`permissionFlags`) and `defaultEnabled`
   - optional resume behavior (`resumeCommandTemplate`) and startup command split (`noPromptCommand`)
3. Keep `shortLabel` unique and exactly 2 characters (enforced at runtime).

Most UI/settings surfaces consume `getAgentDefinitions()`, so they pick up registry additions automatically (for example, enabled-agents settings and chooser popups).

Related places to verify after adding an agent:

- `src/utils/agentDetection.ts` for install detection behavior
- `__tests__/agentLaunch.test.ts` for registry/permission/command expectations
- `docs/src/content/agents.js` (static docs page; update supported-agent docs when behavior changes)

Recommended validation:

```bash
pnpm run typecheck
pnpm run test
```

## Maintainer local workflow (dmux-on-dmux)

`pnpm dev` is the standard entry point when editing dmux.

What it does:

1. Bootstraps local docs/hooks (`dev:bootstrap`)
2. Compiles TypeScript once
3. Launches dmux in dev mode from `dist/index.js` (built runtime parity)
4. Auto-promotes to watch mode when launched in tmux

Result: changes in this worktree should recompile/restart automatically without repeated manual relaunches.

## Dev-mode source workflow

In DEV mode, a single source path is active at a time.

- Use pane menu action: `[DEV] Use as Source`
- Hotkey equivalent: `S`

Toggle semantics:

- Toggling on a non-source worktree pane switches source to that worktree.
- Toggling on the currently active source pane switches source back to project root.
- If the active source pane/worktree is closed or removed, source automatically falls back to project root.

UI cues:

- Footer shows `DEV MODE source: <branch>`
- Active source pane is marked with `[source]` in the pane list
- Dev-only actions are prefixed with `[DEV]` and only shown in DEV mode

## Dev diagnostics

Use:

```bash
pnpm run dev:doctor
```

Checks include:

- session exists
- control pane validity
- watch command detection
- active source path
- generated docs file presence
- local hooks presence

## Hooks and generated docs

`pnpm dev` and `pnpm dev:watch` both ensure generated hooks docs exist before runtime.

Key artifacts: