Add a CLI executable for interacting with WT (wtcli.exe or something)

[3N4N]

Description of the new feature/enhancement

With the command sendInput I can invoke shell commands with a key-binding. But that would send the input directly to the pane currently in focus. I want to invoke a shell command in the background. Kind of like how moveFocus command operates.

The specific use-case I want this for is navigating between vim and wt splits with one set of keybindings. As of now, I have to use two sets: one for vim (ctrl-h/j/k/l) and another for wt (ctrl-alt-h/j/k/l). I'm used to tmux and had a config which achieved exactly this purpose.

I can do half of the work from vim: when inside vim, I can check if there are other vim splits in the direction I want to move focus toward, and if not, I move over to the wt split in that direction, with the command wt -w 0 mf <direction>.

But that's only half the work. Now I have to configure wt to send the key to vim if the current wt split is harboring a vim spawn. In tmux, I had a way to --

1. See if the focused split has vim open

   tmux display-message -p '#{pane_current_command}' | grep -iq vim

2. Bind a key to a complex bash command

   bind -n C-h run \
            "((tmux list-panes -F '#F' | grep -q Z && tmux send-keys C-h) || \
            ((tmux display-message -p '#{pane_current_command}' | grep -iq vim \
              && tmux send-keys C-h) || tmux select-pane -L ))"

None of which is achievable in wt. Or I haven't found a way.

By the way, I noticed that the shell command wt -w 0 mf <direction> is slower than the native moveFocus command. And I think the shell variant even opens a new wt window for a split second. Why is that?

[DHowett]

Why is that?

I can't address the rest of this request right now, but I can probably explain this!

When you run an external application from within Vim, it runs it through vimrun. vimrun is a console application, and every console application gets a new console window.

[3N4N]

I'm not invoking that wt -w 0 mf command from inside vim, though. I'm invoking it from a normal cmd. Let me see if I can create a GIF.

Edit(27/09/2021): Here is a video.

cropped.mp4

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Edit 2 (12/06/2022): As of now, it doesn't open a new windows-terminal. So that confusion is now beside the point. But -- and I'm sorry for pinging you again @DHowett -- have you guys added any functionality equivalent to tmux's pane_current_command which will let the user do stuff based on the program currently running on a pane?

[zadjii-msft]

Hey sorry for leaving this untriaged for so long.

This thread's a little hard to parse, but I suppose ultimately the request here was for something like

wt display-message -p '#{pane_current_command}'

(and other commandline output about the state of wt)

That's kinda Hard at the moment. This comment has details: #4570 (comment)

We actually don't have an issue open tracking a separate CLI exe for interacting with wt. Coulda swore we did, but until we do, this thread is gonna become that one. Thanks!

[zadjii-msft]

GAH no I found it. Sorry for the runaround!

/dup #7258

[ghost]

Hi! We've identified this issue as a duplicate of another one that already exists on this Issue Tracker. This specific instance is being closed in favor of tracking the concern over on the referenced thread. Thanks for your report!