List sessions through MCP
github.com/libtmux/libtmux-go/mcp · Source
This program creates a private tmux session, launches libtmux-mcp as a
child process with the inspect toolset, and calls
list_sessions. It checks the returned session
ID against the session it created, then closes the client and stops its server.
Run the example¶
Use Go 1.26 or newer and tmux 3.2a or newer on Linux, macOS, or WSL. The project pins the core library and MCP executable to their published releases. The client uses the official Go MCP SDK.
Create an empty directory:
$ mkdir inspect-mcp-sessionsEnter it:
$ cd inspect-mcp-sessionsInstall the MCP executable inside the project:
$ GOBIN="$PWD/.tools" go install \ github.com/libtmux/libtmux-go/mcp/cmd/libtmux-mcp@v0.0.1-alpha.12Save the module file:
module example.com/session-inspector
go 1.26.0
require ( github.com/libtmux/libtmux-go v0.0.1-alpha.9 github.com/modelcontextprotocol/go-sdk v1.6.1)
require ( github.com/google/jsonschema-go v0.4.3 // indirect github.com/segmentio/asm v1.1.3 // indirect github.com/segmentio/encoding v0.5.4 // indirect github.com/yosida95/uritemplate/v3 v3.0.2 // indirect golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.35.0 // indirect golang.org/x/sys v0.41.0 // indirect)Client program¶
Save this as main.go:
package main
import ( "context" "encoding/json" "errors" "fmt" "os" "os/exec" "path/filepath" "time"
"github.com/libtmux/libtmux-go/tmux" sdk "github.com/modelcontextprotocol/go-sdk/mcp")
func main() { if err := run(); err != nil { fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, err) os.Exit(1) }}
func run() (result error) { directory, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "libtmux-go-mcp-") if err != nil { return err }
server, err := tmux.NewServer(tmux.ServerOptions{ SocketPath: filepath.Join(directory, "tmux.sock"), ConfigFile: "/dev/null", }) if err != nil { return errors.Join(err, os.RemoveAll(directory)) } defer func() { cleanup, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 5*time.Second) defer cancel() if err := server.Kill(cleanup); err != nil { result = errors.Join(result, fmt.Errorf( "stop tmux; resources retained at %s: %w", directory, err, )) return } result = errors.Join(result, os.RemoveAll(directory)) }()
ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 20*time.Second) defer cancel() created, err := server.NewSession(ctx, tmux.NewSessionRequest{ Name: "demo", Command: "sh", }) if err != nil { return err }
binary, err := filepath.Abs(".tools/libtmux-mcp") if err != nil { return err } command := exec.Command(binary, "-socket-path", server.SocketPath(), "-binary", server.Executable(), ) command.Stderr = os.Stderr command.Env = []string{ "PATH=" + os.Getenv("PATH"), "HOME=" + os.Getenv("HOME"), "LANG=C.UTF-8", "TMPDIR=" + directory, "LIBTMUX_TOOLSETS=inspect", } client := sdk.NewClient(&sdk.Implementation{ Name: "session-inspector", Version: "1.0.0", }, nil) connection, err := client.Connect(ctx, &sdk.CommandTransport{ Command: command, TerminateDuration: 3 * time.Second, }, nil) if err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("connect MCP client: %w", err) } defer func() { if err := connection.Close(); err != nil { result = errors.Join(result, fmt.Errorf("close MCP client: %w", err)) } }()
reply, err := connection.CallTool(ctx, &sdk.CallToolParams{ Name: "list_sessions", Arguments: map[string]any{}, }) if err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("call list_sessions: %w", err) } if reply.IsError { for _, content := range reply.Content { if text, ok := content.(*sdk.TextContent); ok { return fmt.Errorf("list_sessions: %s", text.Text) } } return errors.New("list_sessions failed without a text explanation") }
data, err := json.Marshal(reply.StructuredContent) if err != nil { return err } var listed struct { Sessions []struct { ID string `json:"id"` Name string `json:"name"` Windows int `json:"windows"` Attached int `json:"attached"` } `json:"sessions"` } if err := json.Unmarshal(data, &listed); err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("decode sessions: %w", err) } if len(listed.Sessions) != 1 || listed.Sessions[0].ID != string(created.ID()) { return fmt.Errorf("unexpected session listing: %s", data) } session := listed.Sessions[0] fmt.Printf("%s: %d window(s), %d attached client(s)\n", session.Name, session.Windows, session.Attached, ) return nil}Resolve the module dependencies:
$ go mod tidyRun the program from the directory containing both files and .tools:
$ go run .Its stdout is:
demo: 1 window(s), 0 attached client(s)Read the result¶
tmux.NewServer configures the private endpoint, and Server.NewSession
starts the daemon with an empty tmux configuration. The MCP child connects to
that exact socket using the same tmux executable.
The SDK’s CallTool can return a protocol error before there is a tool result.
A returned reply can also set IsError; the program checks both before reading
StructuredContent. For this tool, structured content contains a sessions
array with id, name, windows, and attached fields.
The example decodes only the fields it needs and verifies that exactly one session is returned with the expected ID. It does not assume that the first item belongs to it. See the tool reference for all returned fields and the session-list handler for the selected release’s implementation.
Shutdown¶
Startup and requests share a 20-second context. During shutdown, the client closes the child’s stdin, then escalates to SIGTERM and SIGKILL if needed. It waits up to three seconds after each step. Deferred cleanup closes the client before stopping the owned tmux server with a fresh five-second context, so an expired request context does not skip daemon cleanup.
The child receives a curated environment with the selected socket and tmux
binary. Its temporary files live under the program’s owned directory through
TMPDIR. It does not inherit TMUX, TMUX_PANE, or unrelated LIBTMUX_*
settings from your interactive shell.
The program joins operation and cleanup errors. It removes its temporary
directory only after Server.Kill succeeds; otherwise, it prints the retained
directory for inspection. Its server cleanup implementation
defines the library’s kill behavior.
The connection guide covers connecting to an existing server instead. The example’s cleanup is appropriate because it creates its own private socket and session.