Send Message to Agent

Overview

This skill guides you through sending messages to running autonomous agents via their tmux sessions.

When to Use

• Agent needs additional context or clarification
• You want to redirect the agent's focus
• Providing feedback on work in progress
• Sending error messages for the agent to fix
• Interrupting to change priorities

Prerequisites

• Agent must be running in a tmux session
• Know the agent's session name (usually agent-ISSUE-ID)

Quick Command

# ALWAYS use pan tell - it handles Enter correctly
pan tell ISSUE-123 "Your message here"

DO NOT use raw tmux send-keys - agents frequently forget the separate Enter command, causing messages to sit unsent in the terminal.

Why pan tell?

1. Automatically sends Enter - No forgotten second command
2. Properly escapes quotes - Handles special characters
3. Saves to mail queue - Backup if agent misses the message
4. Validates session exists - Fails fast if agent not running

Workflow

1. Find the Agent Session

# List all agent sessions
tmux list-sessions | grep agent

# Example output:
# agent-MIN-123: 1 windows (created Mon Jan 20 10:00:00 2025)
# agent-MIN-456: 1 windows (created Mon Jan 20 11:00:00 2025)

2. Check Current Agent Status

# See what the agent is currently doing
tmux capture-pane -t agent-ISSUE-123 -p | tail -20

3. Send Your Message

# Send the message (Enter is sent automatically)
pan tell ISSUE-123 "Please focus on the login bug first, then the signup flow."

4. Verify Message Was Received

# Wait a moment, then check
sleep 2
tmux capture-pane -t agent-ISSUE-123 -p | tail -10

Common Message Types

Provide Additional Context

pan tell ISSUE-123 "Additional context: The user table has a unique constraint on email. Make sure to handle duplicates."

Report Errors

pan tell ISSUE-123 "Error from testing: TypeError: Cannot read property 'id' of undefined at line 45 in UserService.ts"

Change Priorities

pan tell ISSUE-123 "Pause current work. Priority change: Fix the production bug first, then return to this feature."

Request Status Update

pan tell ISSUE-123 "Please update STATE.md with your current progress and any blockers."

Provide Approval/Feedback

pan tell ISSUE-123 "Looks good! Please commit your changes and update the issue status."

Tips

1. Be specific - Agents work best with clear, actionable instructions
2. Include error details - Copy exact error messages when reporting issues
3. Reference files - Mention specific file paths when relevant
4. Check receipt - Always verify the agent received and responded to your message

Troubleshooting

Session not found:

# List all sessions to find the correct name
tmux list-sessions

# Check if agent is running
pan status

Message not received:

# If you used raw tmux, the Enter was probably forgotten
# Always use pan tell instead:
pan tell ISSUE-123 "Your message here"

# Check the pane
tmux capture-pane -t agent-ISSUE-123 -p | tail -20

Agent not responding:

# The agent might be in the middle of a long operation
# Wait and check again, or attach to watch
tmux attach -t agent-ISSUE-123
# Ctrl+b d to detach

Related Skills

• /pan:status - Check agent status
• /pan:kill - Stop an agent
• /pan:approve - Approve and merge agent work