bashiterm2iterm

new tab in iTerm2


Im using Iterm2 version Build 3.0.4 I want to create alias to open new tab from the command line (in bash) I tried this code:

    function tab () {
    osascript &>/dev/null <<EOF
activate application "iTerm"
    tell application "System Events" to keystroke "t" using command down
    tell application "iTerm" to tell session -1 of current terminal to write text "pwd"
EOF
}

but it isn't working. Can anyone solve the problem with this version (or newer version)?


Solution

  • iTerm2 v3 features much-improved AppleScript support, so you can now create tabs directly, without having to send keystrokes:

    tab() {
        osascript &>/dev/null <<EOF
          tell application "iTerm"
            activate
            tell current window to set tb to create tab with default profile
            tell current session of current window to write text "pwd"  
          end tell
    EOF
    }
    

    To split the new tab horizontally (as you would get by pressing ⇧⌘D), add:

    tell current session of current window to split horizontally with same profile
    

    To write pwd to the new session created by the split (the lower half of the new tab):

    tab() {
        osascript &>/dev/null <<EOF
          tell application "iTerm"
            activate
            tell current window to set tb to create tab with default profile
            tell current session of current window to set newSplit to split horizontally with same profile
            tell newSplit
              select
              write text "pwd"
            end tell    
          end tell
    EOF
    }
    

    To browse iTerm2's available AppleScript commands, open Script Editor.app, select File > Open Dictionary..., and then iTerm.app.

    Also consider my ttab CLI, which packages tab / window creation along with advanced features for both Terminal.app and iTerm2.app (but it doesn't support splitting a tab).