fix(respawn): use screen -X stuff for reliable input delivery

When writing to an attached PTY connected to screen, the input doesn't
reliably reach Claude CLI. This fix uses `screen -X stuff` command to
send input directly to the screen session, bypassing the PTY attachment.

Research findings:
- Claude CLI uses Ink (React for CLI) for terminal UI
- Ink's parseKeypress detects \r as key.return (Enter)
- screen -X stuff with $'...' syntax reliably sends literal characters

Changes:
- Add ScreenManager.sendInput() using screen -X stuff
- Modify Session.write() to prefer screen -X stuff when available
- Keep \r as Enter key (what Ink expects for key.return)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
arkon
2026-01-19 15:33:04 +01:00
co-authored by Claude Opus 4.5
parent 39c4a15ff3
commit a0fc82222f
3 changed files with 37 additions and 4 deletions
+4 -4
View File
@@ -355,7 +355,7 @@ export class RespawnController extends EventEmitter {
this.stepTimer = setTimeout(() => {
const prompt = this.config.kickstartPrompt!;
this.log(`Sending kickstart prompt: "${prompt}"`);
this.session.write(prompt + '\r'); // \r for PTY Enter key
this.session.write(prompt + '\r'); // \r triggers key.return in Ink/Claude CLI
this.emit('stepSent', 'kickstart', prompt);
this.setState('waiting_kickstart');
this.promptDetected = false;
@@ -416,7 +416,7 @@ export class RespawnController extends EventEmitter {
this.terminalBuffer = ''; // Clear buffer for fresh detection
this.stepTimer = setTimeout(() => {
const input = this.config.updatePrompt + '\r'; // \r for PTY Enter key
const input = this.config.updatePrompt + '\r\n'; // CRLF for screen + Claude CLI
this.log(`Sending update prompt: "${this.config.updatePrompt}"`);
this.session.write(input);
this.emit('stepSent', 'update', this.config.updatePrompt);
@@ -432,7 +432,7 @@ export class RespawnController extends EventEmitter {
this.stepTimer = setTimeout(() => {
this.log('Sending /clear');
this.session.write('/clear\r'); // \r for PTY Enter key
this.session.write('/clear\r\n'); // CRLF for screen + Claude CLI
this.emit('stepSent', 'clear', '/clear');
this.setState('waiting_clear');
this.promptDetected = false;
@@ -445,7 +445,7 @@ export class RespawnController extends EventEmitter {
this.stepTimer = setTimeout(() => {
this.log('Sending /init');
this.session.write('/init\r'); // \r for PTY Enter key
this.session.write('/init\r\n'); // CRLF for screen + Claude CLI
this.emit('stepSent', 'init', '/init');
this.setState('waiting_init');
this.promptDetected = false;
+22
View File
@@ -457,4 +457,26 @@ export class ScreenManager extends EventEmitter {
return false;
}
}
// Send input directly to screen session using screen -X stuff
// This bypasses the attached PTY and sends input directly to the screen
sendInput(sessionId: string, input: string): boolean {
const screen = this.screens.get(sessionId);
if (!screen) {
return false;
}
try {
// Use screen -X stuff with $'...' syntax to send literal characters
// \r (carriage return) is what Claude CLI expects for Enter
execSync(`screen -S ${screen.screenName} -X stuff $'${input.replace(/'/g, "'\\''")}'`, {
encoding: 'utf-8',
timeout: 5000
});
return true;
} catch (err) {
console.error('[ScreenManager] Failed to send input:', err);
return false;
}
}
}
+11
View File
@@ -898,7 +898,18 @@ export class Session extends EventEmitter {
}
// Send input to the PTY (for interactive sessions)
// When using screen, prefers screen -X stuff for reliable input delivery
write(data: string): void {
// Try screen -X stuff first if we have a screen session
// This is more reliable for sending Enter key to Claude CLI
if (this._screenManager && this._screenSession) {
const success = this._screenManager.sendInput(this.id, data);
if (success) {
return;
}
// Fall through to PTY write if screen command failed
}
if (this.ptyProcess) {
this.ptyProcess.write(data);
}