Wait for text

wait_for_text

wait_for_text

readonly tool

Wait for text to appear in a tmux pane.

Returns:

WaitForTextResult

Use when you need to block until specific output appears — waiting for a server to start, a build to complete, or a prompt to return.

Avoid when the expected text may never appear — always set a reasonable timeout. For known output, capture_pane after a known delay may suffice, but wait_for_text is preferred because it adapts to variable timing.

Side effects: None. Readonly. Blocks until text appears or timeout.

Example:

{
  "tool": "wait_for_text",
  "arguments": {
    "pattern": "Server listening",
    "pane_id": "%2",
    "timeout": 30
  }
}

Response:

{
  "found": true,
  "matched_lines": [
    "Server listening on port 8000"
  ],
  "pane_id": "%2",
  "elapsed_seconds": 0.002,
  "timed_out": false
}

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
pattern	str	yes	—	Text to wait for. Treated as literal text by default. Set regex=True to interpret as a regular expression.
regex	bool	no	False	Whether to interpret pattern as a regular expression. Default False (literal text matching).
pane_id	str	no	—	Pane ID (e.g. ‘%1’).
session_name	str	no	—	Session name for pane resolution.
session_id	str	no	—	Session ID (e.g. ‘$1’) for pane resolution.
window_id	str	no	—	Window ID for pane resolution.
timeout	float	no	8.0	Maximum seconds to wait. Default 8.0.
interval	float	no	0.05	Seconds between polls. Default 0.05 (50ms).
match_case	bool	no	False	Whether to match case. Default False (case-insensitive).
content_start	int	no	—	Start line for capture. Negative values reach into scrollback.
content_end	int	no	—	End line for capture.
socket_name	str	no	—	tmux socket name.
ctx	Context	no	—	FastMCP context; when injected the tool reports progress to the client. Omitted in tests.