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wtf is agents.tmux?

nikitaclicks/agents.tmux — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

1PythonAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

TL;DR

A macOS menu bar app that shows at a glance whether your tmux-based AI coding agents need attention.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((agents.tmux))
    What it does
      Watches tmux sessions
      Menu bar badge
      Color coded status
    Tech stack
      Python
      tmux
      iTerm2
    Use cases
      Monitor multiple agents
      Jump to waiting agent
      Reduce alt tabbing
    Audience
      Developers using AI agents

Code map

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filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

See at a glance whether Claude Code, Copilot, Cursor, or Codex agents in tmux need your input.

REASON 2

Jump straight to a waiting agent's tmux window from the menu bar in iTerm2.

REASON 3

Run multiple AI coding agents in parallel without alt-tabbing to check each one.

What's in the stack?

PythontmuxiTerm2

How it stacks up

nikitaclicks/agents.tmuxa-bissell/unleash-liteabhiinnovates/whatsapp-hr-assistant
Stars111
LanguagePythonPythonPython
Setup difficultyeasyhardhard
Complexity2/54/53/5
Audiencedeveloperresearcherdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Requires macOS, tmux, and Python 3.11+ (or 3.9+ with tomli), iTerm2 is optional.

Wtf does this do

agents.tmux is a macOS menu bar app that watches tmux sessions and shows you, at a glance, whether the AI coding agents running inside them need your attention. If you run several agents like Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or Codex in parallel across different tmux panes, this app puts a single small badge in the menu bar summarizing their state instead of you having to alt tab between terminal windows to check. The badge uses a simple color code: green means agents are busy and you are free to do something else, yellow means at least one agent is waiting for input while others are still running, and red means every agent is waiting on you and needs action now. Clicking the badge shows a per agent status line and, if you use iTerm2, lets you jump straight to that agent's tmux window. Detection mostly relies on CPU usage: if an agent's process is using enough CPU it is considered busy, avoiding the need to parse terminal text for most cases. It also checks the last few lines of each pane's output for signs that an agent is waiting for input. These thresholds and settings live in a configuration file you can adjust, for example raising the CPU threshold if brief focus events cause false positives. Agents running outside tmux in their own terminal window are still detected through the operating system's process list and marked as external. To install it, you clone the repository and run a setup script that installs dependencies and starts the app, you can also run a Python script directly to check detection without opening the graphical interface. It requires macOS, tmux, and Python 3.11 or later, and is intended for developers who juggle multiple AI coding agents at once.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Help me install agents.tmux and run it against my current tmux sessions.
Prompt 2
Explain how agents.tmux decides an agent is busy versus waiting for input.
Prompt 3
Show me how to adjust the CPU busy threshold in agents.tmux's config.toml.
Prompt 4
Walk me through setting up agents.tmux to auto-start whenever I attach to tmux.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is agents.tmux?

A macOS menu bar app that shows at a glance whether your tmux-based AI coding agents need attention.

What language is agents.tmux written in?

Mainly Python. The stack also includes Python, tmux, iTerm2.

How hard is agents.tmux to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is agents.tmux for?

Mainly developer.

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