TmuxSubagentCreation

Create Claude Code subagents via tmux automation of the /agents TUI command

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TmuxSubagentCreation

Create Claude Code subagents programmatically by automating the interactive /agents TUI via tmux.

When to Use

• Need to create a subagent without manual TUI interaction
• Want to use Claude's "Generate with Claude" feature programmatically
• Building agents that need their own skills preloaded

Prerequisites

• tmux installed (brew install tmux if needed)
• claude CLI available

Step-by-Step Process

1. Start Claude Code in tmux

# Kill any existing session
tmux kill-session -t cc 2>/dev/null || true

# Start new detached session with Claude Code
tmux new-session -d -s cc -x 120 -y 30 'claude'

# Wait for startup
sleep 4

# Verify it started
tmux capture-pane -t cc -p

2. Navigate to /agents

# Type the command
tmux send-keys -t cc '/agents' Enter

# Wait for menu to load
sleep 2

# Capture screen to verify
tmux capture-pane -t cc -p

3. Select "Create new agent"

# Press Enter (already highlighted)
tmux send-keys -t cc Enter
sleep 2

4. Choose Location

# Options: Project (.claude/agents/) or Personal (~/.claude/agents/)
# Use Down arrow to navigate, Enter to select
tmux send-keys -t cc Down Enter  # Select Personal
sleep 2

5. Choose Creation Method

# Select "Generate with Claude (recommended)"
tmux send-keys -t cc Enter
sleep 2

6. Enter Agent Description

# Type comprehensive description
DESCRIPTION="Your detailed agent description here..."
tmux send-keys -t cc "$DESCRIPTION"
tmux send-keys -t cc Enter

# Wait for generation (can take 10-20 seconds)
sleep 15

7. Configure Tools, Model, Color

# Tools - Enter to continue with defaults (all tools)
tmux send-keys -t cc Enter
sleep 2

# Model - Enter for Sonnet (recommended)
tmux send-keys -t cc Enter
sleep 2

# Color - Enter for automatic
tmux send-keys -t cc Enter
sleep 2

8. Save the Agent

# Press Enter or 's' to save
tmux send-keys -t cc Enter
sleep 2

# Verify creation
tmux capture-pane -t cc -p

9. Cleanup

# Exit agents menu
tmux send-keys -t cc Escape
sleep 1

# Exit claude
tmux send-keys -t cc '/exit' Enter
sleep 2

# Kill session
tmux kill-session -t cc

Adding Skills to Subagents

Subagents can have skills preloaded via the skills YAML frontmatter field:

---
name: my-agent
description: Agent description
model: sonnet
skills:
  - SkillName
  - AnotherSkill
---

System prompt here...

Skills are injected into the subagent's context at startup. Subagents do NOT inherit parent skills - list them explicitly.

Creating Skills for Subagents

If the subagent needs a custom skill, spawn the skill-writer agent:

Task(
  subagent_type: "skill-writer",
  description: "Create skill for subagent",
  prompt: "operation: create
name: SkillName
summary: What it does
triggers: trigger1, trigger2
content: |
  Full skill content here..."
)

Then reference it in the subagent's frontmatter.

Key tmux Commands Reference

Command	Purpose
tmux send-keys -t cc 'text' Enter	Type text and press enter
tmux send-keys -t cc Enter	Press enter
tmux send-keys -t cc Escape	Press escape
tmux send-keys -t cc Down	Arrow down
tmux send-keys -t cc Up	Arrow up
tmux send-keys -t cc Tab	Press tab
tmux capture-pane -t cc -p	Read current screen

Troubleshooting

Agent saved to wrong location: Check working directory. If Claude started in ~/.claude, a "project" agent saves to ~/.claude/.claude/agents/. Move file to correct location:

mv ~/.claude/.claude/agents/agent-name.md ~/.claude/agents/

Screen capture shows nothing: Increase sleep times - Claude Code may need more time to start or respond.

Generation takes too long: The "Generate with Claude" feature can take 15-30 seconds. Use longer sleep after description submission.