# libtmux.core/open!

- **Module:** libtmux.core
- **Package:** io.github.libtmux:libtmux-clojure
- **Language:** Clojure
- **Kind:** function
- **Source:** https://github.com/libtmux/libtmux-java/blob/5f88402151ff08fc0390dd438b90963692ec3fe4/libtmux-clojure/src/main/clojure/libtmux/core.clj#L123
- **Public owner:** libtmux.core
- **Page:** https://libtmux.org/en/clojure/latest/reference/libtmux-core-open/

```
(open! options)
```

Opens local resources for an explicit `:socket-path` or `:socket-name` endpoint.

Supply exactly one endpoint. Paths accept String or java.nio.file.Path.
Optional `:binary` is a command name or path; `:config-file` is a path;
`:timeout` is a positive java.time.Duration. Unknown keys are rejected.
Returns a Server for with-open; closing it does not kill tmux.
Use [[snapshot!]] to acquire state and [[close!]] to release this client.

## Examples

Connect to a private tmux server. Use JDK 25 or newer, the Clojure CLI, Git and tmux on Linux or macOS, with /bin/cat and /bin/sh available. These packages are unpublished. In an empty directory, install this exact source into the consumer's isolated Maven repository:

```console
$ git clone https://github.com/libtmux/libtmux-java libtmux-source && \
  git -C libtmux-source checkout --detach 5f88402151ff08fc0390dd438b90963692ec3fe4 && \
  (cd libtmux-source && ./gradlew \
    :libtmux:publishToMavenLocal \
    :libtmux-clojure:publishToMavenLocal \
    --console=plain \
    "-Dmaven.repo.local=$PWD/../m2")
```

Save this file as `deps.edn`. Dependencies resolve from the isolated m2 directory; the core.async dependency is only enabled by its alias.

[Source example](https://github.com/libtmux/libtmux-java/blob/5f88402151ff08fc0390dd438b90963692ec3fe4/examples/api/clojure/deps.edn).

```clojure
{:paths ["src/main/clojure"]
 :mvn/local-repo "m2"
 :deps {org.clojure/clojure {:mvn/version "1.12.6"}
        io.github.libtmux/libtmux-clojure {:mvn/version "0.1.2-SNAPSHOT"}}
 :aliases
 {:core-async
  {:extra-deps
   {io.github.libtmux/libtmux-clojure-core-async {:mvn/version "0.1.2-SNAPSHOT"}}}}}
```

Save this file as `run.sh`. The launcher creates and stops a private server, including after program failure, and reports leaked servers as errors.

[Source example](https://github.com/libtmux/libtmux-java/blob/5f88402151ff08fc0390dd438b90963692ec3fe4/examples/api/run.sh).

```sh
#!/bin/sh
set -eu

if [ "$#" -eq 0 ]; then
    printf 'Usage: sh run.sh program [arguments...]\n' >&2
    exit 2
fi
binary=$(command -v "${TMUX_BIN:-tmux}")
root=${API_RUN_ROOT:-/tmp/libtmux-java-dev}

# A client that names no socket follows TMUX or LIBTMUX_SOCKET*, and otherwise lands on the default
# socket under TMUX_TMPDIR. The program gets none of them, and a TMUX_TMPDIR of its own below.
unset TMUX TMUX_PANE
for name in $(env | sed -n 's/^\(LIBTMUX_SOCKET[A-Za-z0-9_]*\)=.*/\1/p'); do
    unset "$name"
done

mkdir -p "$root"
directory=$(mktemp -d "$root/api.XXXXXX")
tmpdir=$(mktemp -d "$root/tmpdir.XXXXXX")
socket="$directory/tmux.sock"
config="$directory/tmux.conf"

serves() {
    "$binary" -S "$1" display-message -p '#{pid}' >/dev/null 2>&1
}

# Stops the server on the socket, then waits for it to stop answering.
stop() {
    "$binary" -S "$1" kill-server || return 1
    attempts=0
    while serves "$1" && [ "$attempts" -lt 60 ]; do
        sleep 0.05
        attempts=$((attempts + 1))
    done
    ! serves "$1"
}

cleanup() {
    status=$?
    trap - 0 HUP INT TERM PIPE
    # A closed output must not end the cleanup, whose messages are the only thing left to write.
    trap '' PIPE
    set +e
    stuck=
    left=
    if [ -S "$socket" ] && serves "$socket" && ! stop "$socket"; then
        stuck="$stuck tmux.sock"
    fi
    # Every socket anywhere under either directory, without following links. Only one a server answers
    # on is a leak; the runner's own is expected to be there.
    old_ifs=$IFS
    IFS='
'
    set -f
    for candidate in $(find "$tmpdir" "$directory" -type s 2>/dev/null); do
        [ "$candidate" = "$socket" ] && continue
        serves "$candidate" || continue
        case "$candidate" in
            "$tmpdir"/*) name=${candidate#"$tmpdir"/} ;;
            *) name=${candidate#"$directory"/} ;;
        esac
        left="$left $name"
        stop "$candidate" || stuck="$stuck $name"
    done
    set +f
    IFS=$old_ifs
    if [ -n "$stuck" ]; then
        printf 'tmux still answers on%s after kill-server; kept %s and %s under the runner root\n' \
            "$stuck" "${directory##*/}" "${tmpdir##*/}" >&2
        exit 1
    fi
    rm -rf "$directory" "$tmpdir" || exit 1
    if [ -n "$left" ]; then
        printf 'The program left a tmux server running:%s\n' "$left" >&2
        exit 1
    fi
    exit "$status"
}
trap cleanup 0
trap 'exit 1' HUP INT TERM PIPE

# A default socket path longer than this does not fit in sun_path.
default_socket="$tmpdir/tmux-$(id -u)/default"
if [ "$(printf '%s' "$default_socket" | wc -c)" -gt 100 ]; then
    printf 'API_RUN_ROOT is too long for a tmux socket\n' >&2
    exit 1
fi
TMUX_TMPDIR=$tmpdir
export TMUX_TMPDIR

printf 'set-option -g default-shell /bin/sh\n' > "$config"
"$binary" -S "$socket" -f "$config" new-session -d -s work-one -n editor /bin/cat
"$binary" -S "$socket" split-window -h -t '=work-one:editor' /bin/cat
"$binary" -S "$socket" new-window -d -t '=work-one' -n logs /bin/cat
"$binary" -S "$socket" new-session -d -s work-two -n editor /bin/cat
"$@" "$binary" "$socket" "$config"
"$binary" -S "$socket" has-session -t '=work-one'
"$binary" -S "$socket" has-session -t '=work-two'
```

Save the complete program as `src/main/clojure/libtmux/examples/api/connect.clj`, creating its parent directories. Closing its client leaves the launcher's server running.

[Source example](https://github.com/libtmux/libtmux-java/blob/5f88402151ff08fc0390dd438b90963692ec3fe4/examples/src/main/clojure/libtmux/examples/api/connect.clj).

```clojure
(ns libtmux.examples.api.connect
  "Connect to the private server supplied by run.sh."
  (:require [libtmux.core :as tm]))

(defn -main [& args]
  (when-not (= 3 (count args))
    (throw (IllegalArgumentException. "expected: tmux-binary socket-path config-file")))
  (let [[binary socket config] args]
    (with-open [server (tm/open! {:binary binary :socket-path socket
                                 :config-file config})]
      (let [snapshot (tm/snapshot! server)]
        (assert (seq (:tmux/sessions snapshot)))
        (println "connected=true")))))
```

Run it with the private fixture. Set TMUX_BIN to select another tmux binary:

```console
$ sh run.sh clojure \
  -J-Dclojure.main.report=stderr \
  -M \
  -m libtmux.examples.api.connect
```

Expected output:

```text
connected=true
```

## Parameters

- `options`

## Guides

Pages that discuss `open!`.

### Concepts

- [Server, session, window, pane](/en/clojure/latest/concepts/server-session-window-pane/)

### Guides

- [Getting started](/en/clojure/latest/guides/getting-started/)

## In other ports

A tmux server

| Language | Equivalent |
| --- | --- |
| Python | [`libtmux.Server`](/en/py/latest/reference/libtmux-server/) (class) |
| Ruby | [`LibTmux::Server`](/en/ruby/latest/reference/libtmux-server/) (class) |
| Lua | [`libtmux.Server`](/en/lua/latest/reference/libtmux-server/) (class) |
| PowerShell | [`LibTmux\New-TmuxServer`](/en/powershell/latest/reference/libtmux-new-tmuxserver/) (cmdlet). This cmdlet constructs a shared .NET `LibTmux.Server` handle without contacting tmux. |
| Julia | [`LibTmux.Server`](/en/julia/latest/reference/libtmux-server/) (struct). `Server` describes an endpoint without contacting tmux. Read its hierarchy with `snapshot`. |
| Erlang | [`tmux_server`](/en/erlang/latest/reference/tmux_server/) (module). `open/1` observes an existing daemon and starts an endpoint owner. Domain rows remain immutable values. |
| Elixir | [`LibTmux.Server`](/en/elixir/latest/reference/libtmux-server/) (struct). `Server` describes an existing server by executable and socket. It neither connects nor reserves the server’s identity. |
| Haskell | No public Haskell equivalent is implemented; the current modules expose scalar values and version parsing. |
| TypeScript | [`server.Server`](/en/ts/latest/reference/server-server/) (class) |
| Rust | [`server.Server`](/en/rs/latest/reference/server-server/) (struct) |
| Go | [`tmux.Server`](/en/go/latest/reference/tmux-server/) (struct) |
| Java | [`io.github.libtmux.Server`](/en/java/latest/reference/io-github-libtmux-server-server/) (class) |
| Kotlin | [`io.github.libtmux.kotlin.Server`](/en/kotlin/latest/reference/io-github-libtmux-kotlin-server/) (class) |
| Scala | [`io.github.libtmux.scaladsl.Server`](/en/scala/latest/reference/io-github-libtmux-scaladsl-server/) (typealias) |
| C# | [`LibTmux.Server`](/en/csharp/latest/reference/libtmux-server/) (class) |
| F# | [`LibTmux.FSharp.Server`](/en/fsharp/latest/reference/libtmux-fsharp-server/) (module). This F# module provides functions over the shared .NET `LibTmux.Server` type. |
| C++ | [`libtmux::Server`](/en/cxx/latest/reference/libtmux-server/) (class) |
| Swift | [`Server`](/en/swift/latest/reference/server/) (struct) |
| OCaml | [`Libtmux_unix.Client.t`](/en/ocaml/latest/reference/libtmux_unix-client-t/) (typealias). A client is a live, generation-bound server connection. Endpoint describes a socket without connecting; closing a client releases its resources. |
| Perl | [`LibTmux::Server`](/en/perl/latest/reference/libtmux-server/) (class). Construction records connection settings without tmux I/O. Optional LibTmux::Async::Server returns standard Future results for operations. |

No equivalent is recorded in Common Lisp.