Zellij Terminal Workspace

Remote-control zellij sessions for interactive CLIs by sending keystrokes and scraping pane output.

Security Scan

The skill's code and runtime instructions match its stated purpose (remote-controlling zellij sessions); no unexpected network endpoints or credential requests were found, though there are small metadata/documentation mismatches to be aware of.

Purpose & Capability

The skill's name/description (remote-control zellij sessions) aligns with the included scripts and SKILL.md examples. All code and instructions are about listing sessions, sending keystrokes, piping pane output, waiting for text, and cleaning up sessions — functionality expected for a zellij control skill.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md and the helper scripts instruct the agent to run local zellij/jq commands and operate on a configurable data directory. They do not instruct reading unrelated system files, calling external network endpoints, or exfiltrating data. The instructions do encourage launching arbitrary commands inside panes (e.g., running coding agents), which is consistent with the purpose but means the operator should avoid running untrusted code in those panes.

Install Mechanism

There is no install spec in the registry (instruction-only skill), and included scripts are small, local bash utilities. SKILL.md metadata suggests installing zellij via brew/cargo, but the skill itself does not download or execute remote artifacts. No high-risk download URLs or archive extraction were found.

Credentials

The registry 'Requirements' section lists no required env vars or binaries, but SKILL.md (metadata and instructions) and the scripts clearly require zellij and jq on PATH and reference an optional CLAWDBOT_ZELLIJ_DATA_DIR env var (defaulting to TMPDIR). This is a documentation/metadata inconsistency but not a harmful credential request: no secrets or unrelated credentials are required.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill does not request persistent/always-on presence and does not modify other skills or system-wide agent settings. It runs only local commands against the zellij data dir and sessions; autonomous invocation is allowed by default but is not combined with other concerning privileges.

Assessment

This skill appears to do what it says: control zellij sessions and scrape pane output. Before installing, ensure you have zellij and jq installed (SKILL.md expects both). Confirm where CLAWDBOT_ZELLIJ_DATA_DIR will point (default is ${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/moltbot-zellij-data) — the scripts operate on that directory and will list/delete sessions there. Be cautious when launching or automating commands inside panes (the examples run coding agents and arbitrary shell commands): those commands run with your account privileges and can modify files or exfiltrate data if untrusted. Note the minor metadata mismatch: the registry lists no requirements while SKILL.md expects zellij and jq — this is likely documentation drift, not a security problem, but you may want to verify requirements before use.

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 "\"$sess\"" | jq -r '.tabs[0].panes[0].id')
  if zellij --data-dir "$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)