kitty

Original：🇺🇸 English

Translated

Instructions for using kitty remote control to spawn windows/tabs, send text, inspect output, and manage processes. Useful for running servers or long-running tasks in the background.

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Sourcexyenon/agents

Added on2026-02-07

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add xyenon/agents kitty

SKILL.md Content

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Kitty Remote Control Skill

This skill empowers you to manage multiple concurrent processes (like servers, watchers, or long builds) using kitty's remote control feature directly from the

Bash

tool.

Since you are running inside a kitty terminal, you can spawn new windows or tabs to handle these tasks without blocking your main communication channel.

1. Verify Environment & Check Status

First, verify you are running inside kitty with remote control enabled. You can try listing windows:

bash

kitten @ ls

If this fails, check if

$KITTY_LISTEN_ON

is set. Note that in some configurations it might be empty even if remote control is enabled (using default sockets).

bash

echo $KITTY_LISTEN_ON

If remote control is not enabled, the user should add

allow_remote_control yes

to their

kitty.conf

or start kitty with

--allow-remote-control

.

2. Spawn a Background Process

To run a command (e.g., a dev server) in a way that persists and can be inspected:

Create a new window in the SAME tab as the agent (recommended): Use

$KITTY_WINDOW_ID

to ensure the new window stays with you.

bash

WID=$(kitten @ launch --match "id:$KITTY_WINDOW_ID" --title "server-log" --keep-focus)
echo "Created window with ID: $WID"

Or create a new tab:

bash

kitten @ launch --type=tab --title "server-log" --keep-focus

Launch with a command directly: (Use
```
--hold
```
if you want the window to stay open after the command finishes)
bash
```
kitten @ launch --title "server-log" --keep-focus --hold npm start
```

3. Send Text/Commands to a Window

Send keystrokes to a specific window. Use the window ID for precision, or matching for convenience.

Using ID (Reliable):

bash

kitten @ send-text --match "id:$WID" "npm start\n"

Using Matching (Title):

Note: Use

\n

for Enter. In some shells, you may need to use

$'...'

or pipe to ensure the newline is interpreted correctly.

bash

kitten @ send-text --match "title:server-log" "npm start
"
# OR
echo "npm start" | kitten @ send-text --match "title:server-log" --stdin

Or send to all windows:

bash

kitten @ send-text --all "echo hello\n"

4. Inspect Output (Get Text from Window)

Get the current visible text from a window:

bash

kitten @ get-text --match "id:$WID"

Get text including scrollback buffer:

bash

kitten @ get-text --match "title:server-log" --extent=all

Get only the last command output (requires shell integration):

bash

kitten @ get-text --match "title:server-log" --extent=last_cmd_output

5. Focus or Bring Window to Front

Focus a specific window:

bash

kitten @ focus-window --match "id:$WID"

Focus a specific tab:

bash

kitten @ focus-tab --match "title:server-log"

6. Interact with Processes

Send Ctrl+C (Interrupt):

bash

kitten @ send-text --match "id:$WID" "\x03"

Close a window:

bash

kitten @ close-window --match "id:$WID"

Close a tab: (Note: You can close a tab by matching its title or any window ID inside it)

bash

# By ID of a window inside the tab
kitten @ close-tab --match "id:$WID"

# By tab title
kitten @ close-tab --match "title:server-log"

7. Advanced: Window Matching

Kitty supports powerful matching expressions:

```
title:pattern
```
- Match by window title
```
id:number
```
- Match by window ID
```
pid:number
```
- Match by process ID
```
cwd:path
```
- Match by current working directory
```
cmdline:pattern
```
- Match by command line
```
state:focused
```
- Match the focused window
```
state:active
```
- Match the active window

Combine with

and

,

or

,

not

:

bash

kitten @ focus-window --match "title:server and state:active"

8. Get Window/Tab Information

List all OS windows, tabs, and windows as JSON:

bash

kitten @ ls

Get current focused window ID:

bash

kitten @ ls | jq -r '.[].tabs[] | select(.is_focused) | .windows[] | select(.is_focused) | .id'

Parse for specific info:

bash

kitten @ ls | jq '.[].tabs[].windows[] | {id, title, cmdline}'

Summary of Pattern

WID=$(kitten @ launch --title "NAME" --keep-focus [CMD])

- Create window and save ID

kitten @ send-text --match "id:$WID" "CMD\n"

- Send command reliably

```
kitten @ get-text --match "id:$WID"
```
- Read output
```
kitten @ close-window --match "id:$WID"
```
- Cleanup

Common Remote Control Commands

Command	Description
`kitten @ ls`	List all windows/tabs
`kitten @ launch`	Create new window/tab
`kitten @ send-text`	Send text to window
`kitten @ get-text`	Get text from window
`kitten @ focus-window`	Focus a window
`kitten @ focus-tab`	Focus a tab
`kitten @ close-window`	Close a window
`kitten @ close-tab`	Close a tab
`kitten @ signal-child`	Send signal to process
`kitten @ set-tab-title`	Change tab title
`kitten @ set-colors`	Change terminal colors

kitty

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Kitty Remote Control Skill

1. Verify Environment & Check Status

2. Spawn a Background Process

3. Send Text/Commands to a Window

4. Inspect Output (Get Text from Window)

5. Focus or Bring Window to Front

6. Interact with Processes

7. Advanced: Window Matching

8. Get Window/Tab Information

Summary of Pattern

Common Remote Control Commands