zellij Skill (Moltbot)

Use zellij only when you need an interactive TTY. Prefer exec background mode for long-running, non-interactive tasks.

Quickstart (data dir, exec tool)

DATA_DIR="${CLAWDBOT_ZELLIJ_DATA_DIR:-${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/moltbot-zellij-data}"
mkdir -p "$DATA_DIR"
SESSION=moltbot-python

zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" new-session --session "$SESSION" --layout "default" --detach
zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" run --session "$SESSION" --name repl -- python3 -q
zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" pipe --session "$SESSION" --pane-id 0

After starting a session, always print monitor commands:

To monitor:
  zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" attach --session "$SESSION"
  zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" pipe --session "$SESSION" --pane-id 0

Data directory convention

Use

CLAWDBOT_ZELLIJ_DATA_DIR

(default

${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/moltbot-zellij-data

Zellij stores state (sessions, plugins, etc.) in this directory.

Targeting panes and naming

Zellij uses
```
pane-id
```
(numeric) to target specific panes.

Find pane IDs:

zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" list-sessions --long

or use

list-panes.sh

Keep session names short; avoid spaces.

Finding sessions

List sessions on your data dir:

zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" list-sessions

List sessions across all data dirs:

{baseDir}/scripts/find-sessions.sh --all

(uses

CLAWDBOT_ZELLIJ_DATA_DIR

Sending input safely

Use

zellij action

to send keystrokes:

zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" action --session "$SESSION" write-chars --chars "$cmd"

Control keys:

zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" action --session "$SESSION" write 2

(Ctrl+C).

Watching output

Capture pane output:

zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" pipe --session "$SESSION" --pane-id 0

Wait for prompts:

{baseDir}/scripts/wait-for-text.sh -s "$SESSION" -p 0 -p 'pattern'

Attaching is OK; detach with
```
Ctrl+p d
```
(zellij default detach).

Spawning processes

For python REPLs, zellij works well with standard
```
python3 -q
```
.
No special flags needed like tmux's
```
PYTHON_BASIC_REPL=1
```
.

Windows / WSL

zellij is supported on macOS/Linux. On Windows, use WSL and install zellij inside WSL.
This skill is gated to
```
darwin
```
/
```
linux
```
and requires
```
zellij
```
on PATH.

Orchestrating Coding Agents (Codex, Claude Code)

zellij excels at running multiple coding agents in parallel:

DATA_DIR="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/codex-army-data"
Create multiple sessions
for i in 1 2 3 4 5; do
zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" new-session --session "agent-$i" --layout "compact" --detach
done
Launch agents in different workdirs
zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" action --session "agent-1" write-chars --chars "cd /tmp/project1 && codex --yolo 'Fix bug X'\n"
zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" action --session "agent-2" write-chars --chars "cd /tmp/project2 && codex --yolo 'Fix bug Y'\n"
Poll for completion (check if prompt returned)
for sess in agent-1 agent-2; do
pane_id=$(zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" list-sessions --long | grep "&quot;$sess&quot;" | jq -r '.tabs[0].panes[0].id')
if zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" pipe --session "$sess" --pane-id "$pane_id" | grep -q "❯"; then
echo "$sess: DONE"
else
echo "$sess: Running..."
fi
done
Get full output from completed session

zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" pipe --session "agent-1" --pane-id 0

Tips:

Use separate git worktrees for parallel fixes (no branch conflicts)
```
pnpm install
```
first before running codex in fresh clones
Check for shell prompt (
```
❯
```
or
```
$
```
) to detect completion
Codex needs
```
--yolo
```
or
```
--full-auto
```
for non-interactive fixes

Cleanup

Kill a session:

zellij --data-dir "$DATA_DIR" delete-session --session "$SESSION"

Kill all sessions on a data dir: use

{baseDir}/scripts/cleanup-sessions.sh "$DATA_DIR"

Zellij vs Tmux Quick Reference

Task	tmux	zellij
List sessions	`list-sessions`	`list-sessions`
Create session	`new-session -d`	`new-session --detach`
Attach	`attach -t`	`attach --session`
Send keys	`send-keys`	`action write-chars`
Capture pane	`capture-pane`	`pipe`
Kill session	`kill-session`	`delete-session`
Detach	`Ctrl+b d`	`Ctrl+p d`

Helper: wait-for-text.sh

{baseDir}/scripts/wait-for-text.sh

polls a pane for a regex (or fixed string) with a timeout.

{baseDir}/scripts/wait-for-text.sh -s session -p pane-id -r 'pattern' [-F] [-T 20] [-i 0.5]

```
-s
```
/
```
--session
```
session name (required)
```
-p
```
/
```
--pane-id
```
pane ID (required)
```
-r
```
/
```
--pattern
```
regex to match (required); add
```
-F
```
for fixed string
```
-T
```
timeout seconds (integer, default 15)
```
-i
```
poll interval seconds (default 0.5)

Helper: find-panes.sh

{baseDir}/scripts/find-panes.sh

lists panes for a given session.

{baseDir}/scripts/find-panes.sh -s session [-d data-dir]

```
-s
```
/
```
--session
```
session name (required)
```
-d
```
/
```
--data-dir
```
zellij data dir (uses
```
CLAWDBOT_ZELLIJ_DATA_DIR
```
if not specified)

Zellij Terminal Workspace

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zellij Skill (Moltbot)

Quickstart (data dir, exec tool)

Data directory convention

Targeting panes and naming

Finding sessions

Sending input safely

Watching output

Spawning processes

Windows / WSL

Orchestrating Coding Agents (Codex, Claude Code)

Create multiple sessions

Launch agents in different workdirs

Poll for completion (check if prompt returned)

Get full output from completed session

Cleanup

Zellij vs Tmux Quick Reference

Helper: wait-for-text.sh

Helper: find-panes.sh

Quick Start

Manual Installation

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