Model Context Protocol server that enables Claude Desktop to interact with and view tmux session content. This integration allows AI assistants to read from, control, and observe your terminal sessions.

Features

List and search tmux sessions
View and navigate tmux windows and panes
Capture and expose terminal content from any pane
Execute commands in tmux panes and retrieve results (use it at your own risk ⚠️)
Create new tmux sessions and windows
Split panes horizontally or vertically with customizable sizes
Kill tmux sessions, windows, and panes

Check out this short video to get excited!

Prerequisites

Node.js
tmux installed and running

Usage

Configure Claude Desktop

Add this MCP server to your Claude Desktop configuration:

"mcpServers": {
  "tmux": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "tmux-mcp"]
  }
}

MCP server options

You can optionally specify the command line shell you are using, if unspecified it defaults to bash

"mcpServers": {
  "tmux": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "tmux-mcp", "--shell-type=fish"]
  }
}

The MCP server needs to know the shell only when executing commands, to properly read its exit status.

Available Resources

tmux://sessions - List all tmux sessions
tmux://pane/{paneId} - View content of a specific tmux pane

Available Tools

Hierarchy & Information

list - List tmux sessions, windows, and panes with flexible scoping
- scope="all" - Full nested hierarchy (sessions → windows → panes)
- scope="sessions" - List all sessions
- scope="session" + target="$0" - List windows in session
- scope="window" + target="@1" - List panes in window
- scope="pane" + target="%2" - Get pane details
capture-pane - Capture content from a tmux pane

Session & Layout Management

create-session - Create a new tmux session
create-window - Create a new window in a tmux session
split-pane - Split a tmux pane horizontally or vertically with optional size
kill - Kill a session, window, or pane by scope and target
- scope="session" + target="$0" - Kill session
- scope="window" + target="@1" - Kill window
- scope="pane" + target="%2" - Kill pane

Command Execution & Interaction

execute-shell-command - Execute a shell command synchronously (default 30s timeout)
- Returns output, exit code, and status immediately
- Use for: ls, grep, npm test, quick commands
- For long-running commands: Use send-text with pressEnter=true instead, then monitor with capture-pane
send-keys - Send special keys or key combinations (raw pass-through)
- Use for: TUI navigation, control sequences
- Examples: "Up", "Down", "C-c", "M-x", "Enter", "C-b d"
send-text - Type text character-by-character with literal interpretation
- Uses -l flag per character (prevents special key interpretation)
- Use for: REPLs, forms, interactive apps, long-running commands
- Optional pressEnter parameter
- For long-running commands: Set pressEnter=true, then use capture-pane to monitor output