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Multiple clients and sizing

A terminal has one PTY row/column size. Multiple desktop, phone and tablet viewers must coordinate resizing so every client window change does not reflow the running program.

Owner, follower and size lock

The owner can request terminal resizing; followers display the existing size. A size lock keeps dimensions stable. The owning daemon arbitrates these operations.

Size ownership is not an access-control role. A follower is not necessarily read-only. Use pairing scope for authorization decisions.

Screenshot to add · Resize ownership

Explain viewing versus controlling terminal dimensions.

Capture instructions · tui-size

Open one demo terminal on desktop and phone; capture owner/follow/lock indicators and the phone view.

Desktop and phone workflow

  1. Set appropriate dimensions on the desktop.
  2. Open the same task on your phone as a follower.
  3. Request ownership only if you need the program to reflow for the phone; desktop viewers will see that change too.
  4. Take ownership again on the desktop when returning.

Built-in TUI panel mode uses a to request ownership and s to toggle size lock. Check the resulting status rather than assuming the request succeeded.

Automatic ownership

version: 1
tui:
  terminal:
    auto_take_owner: false

With false, the TUI stays a follower until you request ownership. The default true requests ownership only when the daemon reports no current owner; it does not unconditionally displace another client.

Diagnose display problems

Check owner/lock state, other connected clients, then distinguish remote PTY dimensions from local font or window width. CLI capture’s --cols formats captured text; it does not resize the running terminal.