IATerm WebSocket Agent

Interact with IATerm terminals via the local WebSocket API (ws://127.0.0.1:19790/ws). Use when the user asks to list workspaces, displays, or panels, view active terminal connections, send commands to a terminal, or capture/subscribe to terminal output. Also use when integrating external AI agents with IATerm.

Control IATerm terminals via the local WebSocket API.

CRITICAL: Always use the ws_client.py script

NEVER write inline WebSocket code. Always use the provided CLI script at scripts/ws_client.py (relative to this skill file).

Find the script path:

bash

SKILL_DIR="$(dirname "$(find ~/.opc/skills -name ws_client.py -path "*/iaterm-ws-agent/*" 2>/dev/null | head -1)")"
WS_CLIENT="$SKILL_DIR/ws_client.py"

Prerequisites

bash

pip install websockets 2>/dev/null || pip3 install websockets 2>/dev/null

Session ID (IMPORTANT)

IATERM_SESSION_ID environment variable must be set by the host application (e.g. IATerm) before invoking the client. Do NOT generate this value yourself — if the variable is missing, the client will exit with an error, indicating the host application has not properly initialized the session.

The first command triggers user approval in the IATerm UI. Once approved, the WS token is cached at ~/.cache/iaterm-ws-client/ws_token.json (permissions 0600). Subsequent commands reuse the cached token and skip approval.

If the token expires, the client automatically clears the cache and re-prompts for approval.

Operation Approval

send_input and subscribe_output require interactive confirmation before execution:

text

[Approval] send_input to conn-123: 'ls -la\n'
  y = approve this time  |  n = reject  |  a = always approve for this target
  [y/n/a]:

• y — approve this single invocation
• n — reject (command exits with error)
• a — always approve for this specific target (saved to ~/.cache/iaterm-ws-client/approval.json)

Use --auto-approve to skip all confirmation prompts (for automated pipelines):

bash

python3 "$WS_CLIENT" --auto-approve send_input --connection-id <id> --data "ls\n"

Commands

List workspaces

bash

python3 "$WS_CLIENT" list_workspaces

List displays for a workspace

bash

python3 "$WS_CLIENT" list_displays --workspace-id <id>

List panels (all or filtered by workspace)

bash

python3 "$WS_CLIENT" list_panels
python3 "$WS_CLIENT" list_panels --workspace-id <id>

Get panel info

bash

python3 "$WS_CLIENT" get_panel_info --panel-id <id>

List active connections

IMPORTANT: list_connections only returns remote connections (SSH, Serial, JumpServer). Local terminal connections are automatically filtered out by the backend. If this command returns connections, they are ALL remote — do NOT judge by the name field. Always check the connection_type field to determine the actual type:

• ssh — SSH remote connection
• serial — Serial port connection

If the result is empty, it means there are no active remote connections (local terminals may still exist but are excluded from this API).

bash

python3 "$WS_CLIENT" list_connections
python3 "$WS_CLIENT" list_connections --type ssh

Send input to a terminal

bash

python3 "$WS_CLIENT" send_input --connection-id <id> --data "ls -la\n"

Use \n for Enter, \t for Tab, \x03 for Ctrl-C.

Subscribe to terminal output (long-lived, Ctrl-C to stop)

bash

python3 "$WS_CLIENT" subscribe_output --connection-id <id>

How it works

1. Each command establishes an independent WebSocket connection, executes, and disconnects.
2. First connection — sends identify(session_id) → user approves in IATerm UI (up to 60s) → receives ws_token → cached to disk.
3. Subsequent connections — sends identify(session_id + cached token) → server recognizes the token → skips approval → executes immediately.
4. Token expiry — if the server rejects a cached token (error -15 or connection_rejected), the client clears the cache and retries with a fresh approval flow.
5. Approval gate — send_input and subscribe_output prompt for interactive confirmation (y/n/a) unless --auto-approve is set.

Configuration

Env Variable	Default	Description
IATERM_SESSION_ID	(required)	Stable identifier for this agent session
IATERM_WS_PORT	19790	WebSocket server port
XDG_CACHE_HOME	~/.cache	Base directory for token/approval cache

Changelog

v2.0.0 — 无 Daemon 直连架构 + 安全防护增强

架构重写：去 Daemon 化

• 删除 WsDaemon 类、Unix socket IPC、daemon 生命周期管理（_send_msg/_recv_msg/_start_daemon_bg/_stop_daemon 等）
• 删除 daemon、stop 子命令和 --session 参数
• 删除不再需要的 imports：signal、socket、struct、subprocess
• 每条命令独立建立 WS 连接，执行完断开，无常驻后台进程

连接与认证

• Session ID 从 IATERM_SESSION_ID 环境变量获取，由宿主应用设置，禁止自行生成，缺失则报错退出
• 首次连接：identify(session_id) → IATerm UI 审批 → 获得 ws_token → 缓存至 ~/.cache/iaterm-ws-client/ws_token.json（权限 0600）
• 后续连接：identify(session_id + cached token) → 服务端识别 → 跳过审批 → 直接执行
• Token 失效（error -15 或 connection_rejected）时自动清缓存，重走审批流程

操作审批

• send_input / subscribe_output 执行前交互式确认：y（本次通过）/ n（拒绝）/ a（始终通过）
• 选 a 记入 ~/.cache/iaterm-ws-client/approval.json，后续同目标操作自动通过
• --auto-approve CLI 参数跳过所有确认（用于自动化流水线）

文档补充

• list_connections 明确只返回远程连接（SSH/Serial/JumpServer），本地终端被后端过滤
• 连接类型判断统一使用 connection_type 字段，不依赖 name 字段

v1.0.2 — Security scan compliance

• Daemon startup via subprocess.Popen(start_new_session=True)
• State directory moved to ~/.cache/iaterm-ws-client/ (XDG)
• Explicit .replace() escapes instead of .encode().decode("unicode_escape")
• Session token written to file (permissions 0600) instead of stderr

Typical Workflow

bash

# IATERM_SESSION_ID is set by the host application — do not generate it manually

# 1. Connect — first call triggers approval in IATerm UI
python3 "$WS_CLIENT" list_workspaces

# 2. Discover — find the connection_id (token cached, no re-approval)
python3 "$WS_CLIENT" list_panels
python3 "$WS_CLIENT" list_connections

# 3. Execute — send command to a terminal (prompts for approval)
python3 "$WS_CLIENT" send_input --connection-id <id> --data "ls -la\n"

# 4. Read — get terminal output
python3 "$WS_CLIENT" subscribe_output --connection-id <id>

API Reference (for understanding responses)

Response format

• Success: { "result": { ... } }
• Error: { "error": { "code": <int>, "message": "..." } }

Error codes

Code	Meaning
-1	Method not found
-2	Invalid params
-3	Internal error
-5	Connection not found
-6	Rate limited
-14	Connection limit (another client connected)
-15	Auth failed (invalid or missing token)

Key object fields

• workspace: id, name, description, is_default, sort_order
• display: id, workspace_id, display_index, name
• panel: id, workspace_id, connection_id, display_id, name, grid_row, grid_column
• connection: id, name, connection_type (use this to determine type, NOT name), status, created_at, bytes_sent, bytes_received

Important Notes

• IATerm must be running for the API to be available
• The API only binds to 127.0.0.1; not accessible remotely
• First connection requires user approval in IATerm UI (60s timeout)
• Only one client connection allowed at a time
• send_input is rate-limited to 30 calls/sec per connection
• connection_id comes from list_connections or panel's connection_id field

Custom Theme Format

Custom themes are stored as JSON in ~/.iaterm/themes/{theme-id}.json. Optional CSS override: ~/.iaterm/themes/{theme-id}.css.

json

{
  "id": "my-theme",
  "name": "my-theme",
  "displayName": "My Theme",
  "type": "dark",
  "designRationale": "Design description (200-500 chars)",
  "variables": {
    "backgroundPrimary": "#0d1117",
    "backgroundSecondary": "#161b22",
    "backgroundTertiary": "#21262d",
    "backgroundCard": "#1c2128",
    "backgroundCardHover": "#262c36",
    "textPrimary": "#e6edf3",
    "textSecondary": "#8b949e",
    "textMuted": "#484f58",
    "accentPrimary": "#58a6ff",
    "error": "#f85149",
    "success": "#3fb950",
    "warning": "#d29922",
    "borderPrimary": "#30363d",
    "borderSubtle": "#21262d",
    "borderAccent": "#58a6ff",
    "iconDefault": "#8b949e",
    "iconHover": "#e6edf3"
  }
}

• type: "light" | "dark" | "auto"
• All color values: hex format (#rrggbb or #rrggbbaa)
• CSS variables auto-mapped: backgroundPrimary → --color-background-primary