Agent skill · software engineering · cursor
control-cli
Build or adapt a local harness to drive, inspect, and profile an interactive CLI or TUI without external services. Use for CLI UX checks, startup regressions, memory leaks, hangs, prompt flows, or terminal demos.
Why this skill is useful
Adds executable scripts for profiling and testing interactive CLIs that aren't commonly documented.
What it needs
Requires python, tmux installed locally. About 3k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-06. 2,555 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Control CLI Use a repeatable local harness to exercise an interactive CLI instead of poking at it manually. First reuse the repo's own test/demo harness if it exists; otherwise assemble a temporary harness from standard local tools. What It Is Used For Reproducing CLI/TUI bugs with deterministic input. Verifying keyboard flows, prompts, interrupts, resize behavior, and terminal layout. Capturing before/after transcripts for bug fixes. Profiling startup time, slow operations, hangs, or memory growth. Recording a short terminal demo when output is easier to show than explain. Harness Loop 1. Identify the command under test and the smallest reproducible workspace. 2. Discover existing local harnesses: package scripts, e2e tests, demo recorders, expect scripts, or PTY helpers. 3. If no harness exists, launch the CLI in an isolated terminal session with deterministic env vars. 4. Capture the current screen before interacting. 5. Send one action at a time: text, Enter, arrows, Escape, Ctrl-C, resize. 6. Wait for a concrete screen pattern or prompt before the next action. 7. Save the transcript and any profile artifacts. 8. Kill the session cleanly. Harness Options Repo-native harness: prefer checked-in scripts because they know the app's startup, env, and prompts. tmux: managed sessions, capture-pane, send-keys, attach/detach. PTY probe: use a short Python, Node, or Expect script when tmux is unavailable. Runtime inspector: use Node or Bun inspector for CPU profiles, heap snapshots, and live evaluation. Terminal recorder: use repo-local demo tools or asciinema-compatible tools when the user asks for a demo. Minimal tmux Harness For Node CLIs: Read the terminal output to find the inspector URL, then use Chrome DevTools-compatible tooling if profiling is needed. Minimal PTY Harness Use a PTY script when you need deterministic waits in a repo that does not have tmux or a demo harness. Keep it temporary unless the user asks to add a reusable test. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills cursor/control-cli