Files
tty7/docs/cli/overview.mdx
T
l0ng-ai 4ba8bf44d0 docs: add a Mintlify documentation site
38 pages under docs/, written against the source rather than the README:
config keys and their clamps from core::config, default keybindings from
ui::keymap, every CLI verb and flag from tty7-cli, agent aliases and
hook/fork/resume support from core::cli_agent, and Settings paths taken
from the actual en-US strings.

docs/features.md and its zh-CN translation are retired — everything in
them now lives in a page of its own, plus the two things they carried
that nothing else did (IME input, the performance notes). README and
README.zh-CN point at docs/ instead.

Screenshots and videos are placeholders for now: docs/images/placeholder.svg
with a caption naming what each shot should be.
2026-08-11 00:35:44 +08:00

148 lines
4.8 KiB
Plaintext

---
title: "The tty7 command"
description: "Driving the workbench from a script, a Makefile, or another agent."
---
`tty7` is a thin, non-interactive client of the tty7 server. Every verb runs and
exits; `--json` makes the output machine-readable. **The GUI does not have to be
running** — the server is what owns the panes.
It ships inside every installer and is put on PATH at launch, so it works from
any terminal on the machine. [Installation →](/getting-started/installation#the-tty7-command)
## Start with `doctor`
```bash
tty7 doctor
```
One table that answers everything you need before doing anything else: whether a
server is reachable, whether its wire dialect matches this binary, and whether
`TTY7_CONFIG_DIR` / `TTY7_WS` / `TTY7_PANE` are set — that is, whether you are
running *inside* a tty7 pane.
Being inside a pane matters because the address-taking verbs (`split`, `send`,
`capture`, `procs`, `pane close`) default to `$TTY7_PANE`, and `run --keep`
files its pane into `$TTY7_WS`. Outside one you must name a target, and the
error says so rather than guessing.
## Addresses
| Shape | Means | Stable? |
|---|---|---|
| `%42` | A pane | **Yes** — a pane keeps its id for its whole life |
| `@7` | A tab, numbered across the whole machine in tree order | **No** — it shifts whenever any workspace or tab appears or disappears |
| `api` · `76698a44` · a full UUID | A workspace, by name, unique id prefix, or id | Yes |
Re-resolve `@N` immediately before using it. Pane and workspace ids are safe to
remember.
## Two ways to run something
### Blocking, with a real exit code
```bash
tty7 run -- cargo test # streams to stdout, exits with cargo's code
tty7 run --cwd /path -- make
tty7 run --keep -- cargo build # leaves the pane behind as a new tab
```
The closest thing to running the command yourself — the difference is that it
gets a real PTY (so colour, progress bars, and TUIs behave), and that you can
watch it happen in the window.
<Note>
Everything after `--` belongs to the child: `tty7 run -- cargo test --keep`
passes `--keep` to cargo, not to tty7.
</Note>
### Non-blocking: a pane you talk to over time
This is the one worth reaching for. Get a pane, give it work, come back.
```bash
PANE=$(tty7 split --v) # or --h; prints "%83"
tty7 send "$PANE" 'npm run dev' --enter
# ... later
tty7 capture "$PANE" --plain
tty7 pane close "$PANE"
```
If you are not inside a tty7 pane there is nothing to split, so make your own
place to work:
```bash
tty7 new --json /path/to/repo # {"id": "...", "pane": 83}
```
## Reading a pane
```bash
tty7 capture %83 --plain
```
`capture` returns what the server stored. Without `--plain` that is the raw
bytes, escapes and all. With `--plain` those bytes are replayed through a real
terminal grid and you get the text that produced — which is not the same as
stripping escapes yourself:
- A line the shell wrapped at the pane width comes back as **one** line
- A progress bar that rewrote itself with `\r` reads as its **final** value
- Cursor addressing puts text **where the program put it**, so a TUI's screen
lands where it was drawn
Use `--plain` whenever a human would want to read the output.
<Warning>
A screen is a rectangle. Whatever scrolled off the top is gone, and an exit
code was never on it. When you want the *answer* rather than the *view*, have
the shell write it somewhere clean:
```bash
tty7 send "$PANE" 'cargo test > /tmp/t.log 2>&1; echo $? > /tmp/t.rc' --enter
```
</Warning>
## Knowing when something finished
```bash
tty7 procs %83
```
The process tree inside the pane, indented by depth, with `*` on the foreground
process — plus the ports those processes are listening on. **When the only entry
left is the depth-0 shell, the command is done.** That is far more reliable than
grepping the screen for a sentinel that can wrap or echo twice.
For agents specifically, use [`tty7 wait`](/agents/orchestration) instead of
polling.
## Looking around
```bash
tty7 ls # every workspace: tabs, panes, who's attached
tty7 ws tree api # one workspace as a tree
tty7 pane ls --all # every pane, including orphans no workspace holds
tty7 agents # every coding agent and its status
tty7 status # server pid, uptime, pane count, build, socket
tty7 machine ls # this machine plus any linked remotes
tty7 events # stream server events until interrupted
```
`--json` on any of them, `-q` to suppress success output (errors still print).
## Remote machines
```bash
tty7 -m devbox ls
tty7 -m devbox run -- cargo test
```
`-m` routes over a link the local server already holds. It will not dial a fresh
connection — connect from the GUI first.
[Remote workspaces →](/remote/workspaces)
<Card title="Full command reference" icon="book" href="/cli/reference">
Every verb, flag, and JSON shape.
</Card>