From 3489f6cc801eaa897254c226ef5a136a642d3e2a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Aamer Akhter <aakhter@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2026 13:26:04 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] fix(tmux): send prompts that start with a hyphen literally

`send-keys -l <text>` keeps parsing options after `-l`, so text starting
with `-` was read as a flag ("unknown flag -x", "invalid flag --") and
never typed. End option parsing with `--` at every send-keys -l site in
sendInput() and sendInputToPane(), as set-buffer already does.
---
 src/tmux-manager.ts            |  8 ++++----
 test/tmux-submit-paste.test.ts | 16 +++++++++++++---
 2 files changed, 17 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/tmux-manager.ts b/src/tmux-manager.ts
index d3a2d174..73bae4e2 100644
--- a/src/tmux-manager.ts
+++ b/src/tmux-manager.ts
@@ -3869,7 +3869,7 @@ export class TmuxManager extends EventEmitter implements TerminalMultiplexer {
         // highlighted option (see submitsAsKeys).
         if (submitsAsKeys(textPart)) {
           await execAsync(
-            `${this.tmux()} send-keys -t "${session.muxName}" -l ${shellescape(escapeTmuxTrailingSemicolon(textPart))}`,
+            `${this.tmux()} send-keys -t "${session.muxName}" -l -- ${shellescape(escapeTmuxTrailingSemicolon(textPart))}`,
             { timeout: EXEC_TIMEOUT_MS }
           );
         } else {
@@ -3885,7 +3885,7 @@ export class TmuxManager extends EventEmitter implements TerminalMultiplexer {
       } else if (textPart) {
         // Text only, no Enter
         await execAsync(
-          `${this.tmux()} send-keys -t "${session.muxName}" -l ${shellescape(escapeTmuxTrailingSemicolon(textPart))}`,
+          `${this.tmux()} send-keys -t "${session.muxName}" -l -- ${shellescape(escapeTmuxTrailingSemicolon(textPart))}`,
           { timeout: EXEC_TIMEOUT_MS }
         );
       } else if (hasCarriageReturn) {
@@ -4030,7 +4030,7 @@ export class TmuxManager extends EventEmitter implements TerminalMultiplexer {
 
       if (textPart && hasCarriageReturn) {
         execSync(
-          `${tmux} send-keys -t ${shellescape(target)} -l ${shellescape(escapeTmuxTrailingSemicolon(textPart))}`,
+          `${tmux} send-keys -t ${shellescape(target)} -l -- ${shellescape(escapeTmuxTrailingSemicolon(textPart))}`,
           {
             encoding: 'utf-8',
             timeout: EXEC_TIMEOUT_MS,
@@ -4042,7 +4042,7 @@ export class TmuxManager extends EventEmitter implements TerminalMultiplexer {
         });
       } else if (textPart) {
         execSync(
-          `${tmux} send-keys -t ${shellescape(target)} -l ${shellescape(escapeTmuxTrailingSemicolon(textPart))}`,
+          `${tmux} send-keys -t ${shellescape(target)} -l -- ${shellescape(escapeTmuxTrailingSemicolon(textPart))}`,
           {
             encoding: 'utf-8',
             timeout: EXEC_TIMEOUT_MS,
diff --git a/test/tmux-submit-paste.test.ts b/test/tmux-submit-paste.test.ts
index ba529f18..8d0756c1 100644
--- a/test/tmux-submit-paste.test.ts
+++ b/test/tmux-submit-paste.test.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@
  * submit (`sendInput`) goes in as ONE bracketed paste. Also `submitsAsKeys()`: a
  * single character is typed instead, since a selection dialog ignores a pasted `3`
  * and the Enter then confirms the highlighted option. And
- * `escapeTmuxTrailingSemicolon()`, which every literal text path runs through.
+ * `escapeTmuxTrailingSemicolon()`, which every literal text path runs through,
+ * and the `--` that ends tmux's option parsing before every `send-keys -l` text.
  *
  * Why: `send-keys -l` typed the text as an unmarked burst, and Codex's paste-burst
  * heuristic folded the Enter that followed 50 ms later into the paste as a newline,
@@ -163,13 +164,13 @@ describe('sendInput wiring', () => {
   it('types a single-character submit with send-keys -l, so a dialog answer selects', async () => {
     const body = await sendInputBody();
     const keysBranch = body.slice(body.indexOf('if (submitsAsKeys(textPart))'), body.indexOf('} else {'));
-    expect(keysBranch).toMatch(/send-keys[^`]*-l \$\{shellescape\(escapeTmuxTrailingSemicolon\(textPart\)\)\}/);
+    expect(keysBranch).toMatch(/send-keys[^`]*-l -- \$\{shellescape\(escapeTmuxTrailingSemicolon\(textPart\)\)\}/);
     expect(keysBranch).not.toContain('pasteText(');
   });
 
   it('escapes a trailing ";" on every send-keys -l in sendInput and sendInputToPane', async () => {
     const src = await source();
-    const typed = src.match(/send-keys[^`\n]*-l \$\{[^`\n]*\}/g) ?? [];
+    const typed = src.match(/send-keys[^`\n]*-l -- \$\{[^`\n]*\}/g) ?? [];
     const inSend = [await sendInputBody(), src.slice(src.indexOf('sendInputToPane(muxName'))]
       .map((b) => b.slice(0, b.indexOf('\n  }\n')))
       .join('\n');
@@ -177,4 +178,13 @@ describe('sendInput wiring', () => {
     expect(typedHere.length).toBe(4);
     for (const cmd of typedHere) expect(cmd).toContain('escapeTmuxTrailingSemicolon(textPart)');
   });
+  // tmux parses an argument after `-l` that starts with `-` as an option, so a
+  // prompt like `-x hello` or `--help` was refused instead of typed. `--` ends
+  // option parsing; set-buffer already gets one (buildPasteTextCommands).
+  it('ends option parsing with -- before the text on every send-keys -l', async () => {
+    const src = await source();
+    const literal = src.match(/send-keys -t [^`\n]*\s-l\s[^`\n]*/g) ?? [];
+    expect(literal.length).toBe(4);
+    for (const cmd of literal) expect(cmd).toMatch(/\s-l -- \$\{shellescape\(/);
+  });
 });