tmux

Terminal multiplexer

workhorse C tmux/tmux
54% pass rate
2/8 principles met

Spec Coverage

How many of the spec's requirements were verified for this tool. See /coverage for the full matrix.

LevelTotalVerifiedUnverified
MUST281711
SHOULD21138
MAY10100

human-tui Scored as a TUI: the non-interactive audits (P1) and the SIGPIPE audit (P6) have been suppressed — TUI apps intercept the TTY by design and install their own signal handlers.

This is an informational signal, not an authoritative verdict — see methodology. The per-audit evidence below is the ground truth.

Top Issues

All Audits

P1: Non-Interactive by Default

N/A by human-tuiNon-interactive by defaultsuppressed by audit_profile: human-tui
N/A by human-tuiNon-interactive gate flag advertised in --helpsuppressed by audit_profile: human-tui
SKIPFlags advertise env-var bindings in --helptarget exposes no flags in --help
PASSSecret-bearing flags expose stdin or *-file companion
WARN`--help` advertises default values for flagsno default-value annotations found in --help. SHOULD-tier — agents reading help text need to see what value a flag falls back to when omitted (`[default: <value>]` per clap convention).
WARNRich-TUI affordance for TTY contextsno rich-TUI affordance detected (no `--tui`/`--interactive`/`--ui` flag, no spinner/progress/tui mention in --help). MAY-tier — rich TUI in TTY contexts is a nice-to-have, not required.

P2: Structured, Parseable Output

OPT-OUTStructured output supportno --output/--format flag detected — tool does not ship structured output. Schema-discovery requirements (p2-must-schema-print, p2-should-schema-file) collapse to n/a via antecedent propagation.
N/AStructured-output CLI exposes its schema at runtimeantecedent `p2-json-output` is opt_out: no --output/--format flag detected — tool does not ship structured output. Schema-discovery requirements (p2-must-schema-print, p2-should-schema-file) collapse to n/a via antecedent propagation.
WARN--json / --jsonl short aliases for --outputno --json or --jsonl short alias found. Agents and pipelines benefit from short forms alongside the canonical `--output` enum.
WARN`--raw` flag for pipe-safe unformatted outputno `--raw` flag advertised. MAY-tier — useful for pipelines that want to strip formatting before piping to other tools.
SKIP`--output` advertises additional formats beyond text/jsonno `--output` or `--format` flag advertised; vacuous skip for MAY-tier extra formats.
WARNBad invocation exits with structured usage-error code (2)bad invocation exited with code 1. The 0/1/2/77/78 convention reserves code 2 for usage errors; using a different non-zero code (often 1) blurs the distinction between usage errors and general failure.
SKIPErrors emit JSON envelope with `error`/`kind`/`message` under `--output json`binary does not advertise `--output json` in --help; MUST applies only to CLIs that opt into the JSON contract.
SKIPJSON success and error envelopes share their non-payload key setbinary does not advertise `--output json` in --help; envelope-consistency only applies to CLIs that opt into the JSON contract.

P3: Progressive Help Discovery

FAILHelp flag produces useful output--help exited with code 1
FAILVersion flag works (`--version` plus short alias)`--version` exited with code 1
FAILVersion flag works (`--version` plus short alias)`--version` exited with code 1
WARN`examples` subcommand or `--examples` flag for curated usage patternsno `examples` subcommand or `--examples` flag found. MAY-tier — a curated usage block keeps agents from hunting through long help text.
SKIPShort `-h` summary differs from `--help` long formcould not probe both `-h` and `--help` cleanly
SKIPEach subcommand's `--help` ships at least one invocation examplebinary has no subcommands; MUST applies conditionally to CLIs that use them.
WARNHelp text pairs human and `--output json` example invocationsno paired text + `--output json` example found within 5 lines in top-level or any subcommand `--help`. Pairing keeps agents from reverse-engineering the JSON invocation from the text one.

P4: Fail-Fast, Actionable Errors

PASSRejects invalid arguments
FAILError messages include a hint or remediation phrasestderr lacks a hint phrase. Looked for one of: try , use , expected , did you mean, see , run , for more, tip:, help:, hint:, suggestion:, available . Error messages must name what to do next, not just the symptom.
SKIP`--output json` produces JSON-formatted errorsbinary does not advertise `--output json` in --help; SHOULD applies only to CLIs that opt into the JSON contract.

P5: Safe Retries & Mutation Boundaries

SKIPDestructive subcommands require `--force` or `--yes`no destructive subcommands detected; MUST applies conditionally to CLIs with destructive operations.
SKIPRead and write surfaces are both visible in subcommand listno recognizable read or write subcommand verbs; the read/write distinction is unobservable from the help surface alone.

P6: Composable, Predictable Command Structure

N/A by human-tuiHandles SIGPIPE gracefullysuppressed by audit_profile: human-tui
SKIPPager-using CLI ships --no-pager escape hatchno pager signal (less/more/$PAGER/--pager) in --help
PASSRespects NO_COLOR
SKIPSubcommand verbs follow community-standard namesno subcommands parsed from --help
WARN`--color` flag for explicit color controlno `--color` flag advertised. MAY-tier — `auto|always|never` lets agents and pipelines override the TTY-based default.
SKIPInput-accepting commands read from stdin when no file is givenno input-accepting subcommand detected (process/parse/convert/transform/analyze/validate/format/lint/audit); vacuous skip for the conditional SHOULD.
SKIPSubcommand naming follows a consistent verb/noun conventionfewer than 2 user-defined subcommands; vacuous skip for the conditional SHOULD.
PASSOperations are subcommands, not verb-shaped flags

P7: Bounded, High-Signal Responses

WARNQuiet mode availableno --quiet/-q flag detected in --help output
WARN`--verbose` flag for diagnostic escalationno `--verbose` / `-v` flag advertised. SHOULD-tier — agents debugging failures need a way to escalate diagnostic detail.
SKIP`--limit` / `--max-results` flag for list operationsno list-style subcommand detected (list/ls/search/query/find/show/get); vacuous skip for the list-only SHOULD.
SKIPCursor-based pagination flags for list traversalno list-style subcommand detected; vacuous skip for the list-only MAY.
SKIP`--timeout` flag for long-running operationsno long-running subcommand detected (serve/daemon/watch/tail/monitor/follow/run/start/stream); vacuous skip for the conditional SHOULD.
WARNHelp text advertises TTY-aware verbosity behaviorno TTY-aware language found in `--help`. MAY-tier — automatic verbosity reduction when stdout is piped or redirected lets agents skip the explicit `--quiet` flag. Behavioral probes cannot simulate a real TTY without a pty crate, so this audit relies on documented intent.

P8: Discoverable Through Agent Skill Bundles

PASSSkill bundle has install path (`tool skill install [<host>]`)
PASS`skill install --all` for multi-runtime install
PASS`skill update` / `skill upgrade` for bundle refresh

Details

Version scored
3.6
Audit date
2026-06-01 17:33:58 UTC
Duration
82ms
Platform
linux/x86_64
Mode
command
Anc build
0.5.0
Install
brew install tmux

Embed the badge

The badge floor is 70%; this scorecard is at 54% (16 points below). Once the score clears the floor, the embed snippet will appear here. The top issues above are the place to start.

Reproduce this scorecard for tmux locally and inspect the failing audits:

anc audit --command tmux --audit-profile human-tui --output json

Install anc first if you don't have it. Add --output json to get the same JSON shape committed under scorecards/.