Test CLI Skill

This skill helps test the interactive CLI application using tmux sessions via bash commands, providing a real terminal environment for testing OpenTUI-based interactive components.

Quick Start: Use Helper Scripts First

IMPORTANT: Always use these helper scripts for testing. Only use raw tmux commands (documented below) if the scripts don't support your specific use case.

All scripts are located at .claude/skills/test-cli/scripts/ and should be run from your project root directory.

Basic Testing Workflow

# 1. Start a test session
PANE_ID=$(./.claude/skills/test-cli/scripts/start-cli-test.sh)

# 2. Send a prompt to the CLI
./.claude/skills/test-cli/scripts/send-prompt.sh $PANE_ID "your prompt here" --submit

# 3. Wait for response and capture output
sleep 5
tmux capture-pane -t $PANE_ID -p

# 4. Exit CLI cleanly
./.claude/skills/test-cli/scripts/exit-cli-test.sh $PANE_ID

# 5. Cleanup sessions
./.claude/skills/test-cli/scripts/cleanup-cli-tests.sh

Helper Scripts Reference

start-cli-test.sh

Creates a tmux session and launches the CLI. Returns the pane ID.

# Auto-generated session name
PANE_ID=$(./.claude/skills/test-cli/scripts/start-cli-test.sh)

# Custom session name
PANE_ID=$(./.claude/skills/test-cli/scripts/start-cli-test.sh my-test)

send-prompt.sh

Sends text character-by-character (simulates realistic typing).

# Send text without submitting
./.claude/skills/test-cli/scripts/send-prompt.sh $PANE_ID "hello world"

# Send text and press Enter
./.claude/skills/test-cli/scripts/send-prompt.sh $PANE_ID "hello world" --submit

exit-cli-test.sh

Properly exits the CLI (sends two Ctrl+C within 3 seconds).

./.claude/skills/test-cli/scripts/exit-cli-test.sh $PANE_ID

cleanup-cli-tests.sh

Kills test sessions matching a pattern.

# Kill all "cli-test-*" sessions
./.claude/skills/test-cli/scripts/cleanup-cli-tests.sh

# Custom pattern
./.claude/skills/test-cli/scripts/cleanup-cli-tests.sh "my-test-*"

CLI-Specific Behavior

Exit Confirmation

The CLI requires two Ctrl+C presses within 3 seconds to exit (src/tui/components/TUIApp.tsx:111-123). The exit-cli-test.sh script handles this automatically.

Essential tmux Commands for Debugging

# Capture output (use after sending prompts)
tmux capture-pane -t $PANE_ID -p              # Current screen
tmux capture-pane -t $PANE_ID -p -S -100      # Last 100 lines
tmux capture-pane -t $PANE_ID -p -S -500      # Last 500 lines

# List all sessions
tmux list-sessions

IMPORTANT: Never use tmux attach - it blocks execution. Always use capture-pane to read output.

Troubleshooting

• No output after sending prompt: Add sleep 5-10 before capturing output
• Pane not found: Check session exists with tmux list-sessions
• Need to see what happened: Capture more lines with tmux capture-pane -t $PANE_ID -p -S -500
• CLI seems stuck: Capture output to see current state, don't attach to session

Related Files

• testing-cli-with-tmux.md - Original documentation and learnings
• interactive-tests/ - Interactive test suite using tmux
• src/tui/components/TUIApp.tsx - CLI exit behavior implementation