multi-agent-mux/skills/tmux-agent-orchestrate-delete/SKILL.md

---
name: tmux-agent-orchestrate-delete
description: "Terminate an agent tmux session (claude, antigravity/agy) and update .hermes/agent-sessions.yaml to mark it terminated with timestamp. Does NOT delete on-disk conversation artifacts (jsonl/db) — those are preserved for future resume. Use when ending a work session, switching to a different one, or cleaning up before a fresh start."
version: 1.0.0
author: godopu
license: MIT
platforms: [linux, macos]
environments: [terminal, tmux]
metadata:
  hermes:
    tags: [agent, tmux, claude, antigravity, agy, multi-agent, delete, terminate, cleanup]
    related_skills: [tmux-agent-orchestrate-create, tmux-agent-orchestrate-resume, tmux-agent-orchestrate-monitor]
    prereq_skills: [tmux-agent-orchestrate-create, tmux-agent-orchestrate-resume]
---

# Multi-Agent Delete — Terminate an Agent tmux Session

> **Companion skills**: `tmux-agent-orchestrate-create` (start), `tmux-agent-orchestrate-resume` (re-attach), `tmux-agent-orchestrate-monitor` (live status).
> **Tmux Isolation**: `delete` 명령은 YAML의 `tmux_server` 필드를 자동으로 파싱하여 해당 격리 서버의 세션을 안전하게 종료(kill)하므로, `TMUX_SERVER_NAME` 환경변수를 수동으로 지정할 필요가 없습니다.
> **Single source of truth**: `./.hermes/agent-sessions.yaml`.

## What this skill does

Stop an agent's tmux session and **mark the YAML entry as terminated**. Preserves:

- The tmux session's recorded `pane.pid / cmd / cwd / mcp_attachments` for audit
- The agent's on-disk conversation (claude `*.jsonl`, agy `conversations/*.db`) — so the user can `tmux-agent-orchestrate-resume` later
- The `start_command` so a future `tmux-agent-orchestrate-create --session <name>` reproduces the same tmux spec

The user explicitly chooses:

- **soft delete** (default): update YAML only; leave tmux running. Useful when "delete" really means "I'm done with this card".
- **hard delete**: `tmux kill-session` + update YAML. The default when the user says "kill it" or "end the session".

## Pre-flight

```bash
SESSION_NAME=<workspace>-creator-<agent>  # convention
AGENT_SESSIONS_YAML=.hermes/agent-sessions.yaml

# 1) Session is registered?
python3 -c "
import yaml
d = yaml.safe_load(open('$AGENT_SESSIONS_YAML'))
names = [s['name'] for s in d.get('tmux_sessions', [])]
if '$SESSION_NAME' not in names:
    print('NOT in YAML — refusing to delete (no audit trail). Use tmux-agent-orchestrate-create first, or pass --force-no-yaml.')
    raise SystemExit(1)
"

# 2) Already terminated?
ALREADY=$(python3 -c "
import yaml
d = yaml.safe_load(open('$AGENT_SESSIONS_YAML'))
s = [x for x in d['tmux_sessions'] if x['name']=='$SESSION_NAME'][0]
print(s.get('status', 'unknown'))
")
if [ "$ALREADY" = "terminated" ]; then
  echo "Already terminated at $(python3 -c "import yaml; d=yaml.safe_load(open('$AGENT_SESSIONS_YAML')); print([x for x in d['tmux_sessions'] if x['name']=='$SESSION_NAME'][0].get('terminated_at',''))")"
  echo "Re-running will just refresh the timestamp. Continue? (--yes to skip)"
fi
```

## Workflow

```bash
# 1. soft delete (YAML only — tmux left running)
bash skills/tmux-agent-orchestrate-delete/scripts/delete_session.sh \
  --session "$SESSION_NAME" --mode soft

# 2. hard delete (default — kill tmux + update YAML)
bash skills/tmux-agent-orchestrate-delete/scripts/delete_session.sh \
  --session "$SESSION_NAME" --mode hard

# 3. hard delete + clean up on-disk conversation (DANGEROUS)
#    — this prevents any future resume. Use only when user is certain.
bash skills/tmux-agent-orchestrate-delete/scripts/delete_session.sh \
  --session "$SESSION_NAME" --mode hard --purge-conversation
```

The script:
1. Verifies the session is in agent-sessions.yaml
2. If `delegate_job_id` is set, automatically publishes a `progress --detail "terminating"` event to the tmux-agent-orchestrate-delegate-job registry
3. Captures the `last_visible_status` from `tmux capture-pane` (so we have a final TUI snapshot for audit)
4. For `hard` mode: `tmux kill-session -t <name>` (which auto-SIGTERMs children including the agent)
5. For `purge-conversation`: deletes `~/.claude/projects/.../jsonl` (claude) or `~/.gemini/antigravity-cli/conversations/...db` + `brain/...` (agy)
6. Updates the YAML entry
7. If `delegate_job_id` is set, publishes a `completed` event to the tmux-agent-orchestrate-delegate-job registry
8. Updates the YAML entry:
   ```yaml
   - name: <SESSION_NAME>
     status: terminated
     terminated_at: 2026-06-17T...Z
     terminated_at_epoch: ...
     # all original fields preserved
   ```

## Pitfalls

- **`tmux kill-session` doesn't just kill the session — it sends SIGHUP to the pane's child processes too.** This is usually what you want (the agent process dies, no zombie reparenting to init). But if you wanted to keep the agent running outside tmux for some reason, use `soft` mode.
- **Don't delete on-disk artifacts by default** — the agent's `*.jsonl` / `conversations/*.db` is the data that `tmux-agent-orchestrate-resume` needs. `--purge-conversation` is for when the user is genuinely done with the conversation and wants zero recovery chance.
- **YAML is append-only until you write a delete** — if a previous run left the entry as `running` but tmux is actually dead (crash, host reboot), the YAML is stale. Running `tmux-agent-orchestrate-delete --mode hard` will detect "tmux already dead, just update YAML" and proceed.
- **Don't delete the `claude_session_id_own: null` placeholder** — when the user creates a fresh session with `tmux-agent-orchestrate-create` and never sent a message, the entry has `claude_session_id_own: null`. Deletion must preserve that field (it's the audit trail showing "this tmux session never produced a session id of its own").
- **Monitor skill may still be tracking** — if `tmux-agent-orchestrate-monitor` is running a heartbeat loop, deleting a session while it watches will trigger its `tmux ls != yaml` reconciliation. That's expected — let the monitor run, it will mark the entry as `terminated` on its own. Don't fight it.

## Verification

```bash
# 1. tmux gone
tmux has-session -t "$SESSION_NAME" 2>/dev/null && echo "STILL ALIVE" || echo "OK: tmux gone"

# 2. YAML has terminated entry
python3 -c "
import yaml
d = yaml.safe_load(open('$AGENT_SESSIONS_YAML'))
s = [x for x in d['tmux_sessions'] if x['name']=='$SESSION_NAME'][0]
assert s['status'] == 'terminated', f'expected terminated, got {s[\"status\"]}'
assert s.get('terminated_at'), 'missing terminated_at'
print(f'OK: terminated at {s[\"terminated_at\"]}')
print(f'  preserved: pane.pid={s[\"pane\"][\"pid\"]}, cmd={s[\"pane\"][\"cmd\"]}, cwd={s[\"pane\"][\"cwd\"]}')
"

# 3. (if --purge-conversation) disk artifacts gone (CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR env var overrides default $HOME/.claude/projects)
[ -f "${CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR:-$HOME/.claude/projects}/<projkey>/<uuid>.jsonl" ] && echo "WARN: jsonl still exists" || echo "OK: jsonl purged"
```

## When NOT to use this skill

- **Just detaching** → `tmux detach` (Ctrl-B d) or just close the terminal. The tmux session keeps running.
- **Stopping the agent inside but keeping tmux** → send `Ctrl-C` or `/exit` (claude) / `Ctrl-D` (agy) via `tmux send-keys`. The tmux session stays but the agent process is gone; you can then `tmux-agent-orchestrate-create` again to spawn a fresh agent in the same tmux session.
- **Replacing an existing session with a new one** → `tmux-agent-orchestrate-delete --mode hard` first, then `tmux-agent-orchestrate-create`.