kitten icat freezes the keyboard input when --hold option is presented in TMUX runs on Kitty

[dhay3]

Hi Kitty maintainers and expert users,

I've encountered a problem with kitten icat that I can't figure it out myself, might need some helps.

Problem

I want to display images foreground in Kitty while waiting for a keystroke to exit. And I found kitten icat has the exactly option --hold does what I want( so I can use kitten icat --hold "${@}" as an opener for Yazi terminal file manager ). But when using that option in TMUX, either Enter or Esc is not working to exit, it deems like freeze(the close_window keymap doesn't work either, but the close_tab keymap does), though images are displayed. However without TMUX it works like a charm.

The right window is not response when Enter or Esc has pressed.

I've read the documentation of Kitty which indicate that:

kitty’s image display protocol may not work when used within a terminal multiplexer such as screen or tmux, depending on whether the multiplexer has added support for it or not.

But it seems --hold option only relate to key-press not really about the protocol itself. I can't determine which group I should report that problem( might be a bug or a feature missing ). So I post it here as a discussion. And I've also searched in Kitty's and TMUX's issues and discussions, but not similar posts( if I don't miss something ).

How to Procedure

Open Kitty then run tmux and use kitten icat --hold <img> to display one image

Things I've Tried

Start Kitty with --debug-keyboard

The Enter key seems recognized in Kitty.

Key Codes Comparison

All the same, the left window is Enter key in Kitty and the right window is Enter key in Kitty with TMUX

debug_config Comparison

All the same, here is the detail

kitty 0.35.2 created by Kovid Goyal
Linux Hedwig 6.6.46-1-MANJARO #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Wed Aug 14 17:17:23 UTC 2024 x86_64
Manjaro Linux 6.6.46-1-MANJARO  (Hedwig) (/dev/tty)


DISTRIB_ID="ManjaroLinux"
DISTRIB_RELEASE="24.0.7"
DISTRIB_CODENAME="Wynsdey"
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Manjaro Linux"
Running under: Wayland (kwin 6.0.5) missing: single_pixel_buffer
OpenGL: '4.6 (Core Profile) Mesa 24.1.6-arch1.1' Detected version: 4.6
Frozen: False
Paths:
  kitty: /usr/bin/kitty
  base dir: /usr/lib/kitty
  extensions dir: /usr/lib/kitty/kitty
  system shell: /usr/bin/zsh
Loaded config files:
  /home/cc/.config/kitty/kitty.conf

Config options different from defaults:
active_tab_font_style        (False, False)
background_image_layout      scaled
confirm_os_window_close      0
copy_on_select               clipboard
cursor                       None
cursor_blink_interval        0.0
enable_audio_bell            False
enabled_layouts              ['splits', 'fat', 'grid', 'horizontal', 'tall', 'vertical', 'stack']
font_family                  Hack Nerd Font
font_size                    12.0
kitty_mod                    super
mouse_hide_wait              -1.0
scrollback_indicator_opacity 0
selection_background         None
selection_foreground         None
shell_integration            frozenset({'disabled'})
strip_trailing_spaces        smart
tab_bar_edge                 1
tab_bar_margin_height        TabBarMarginHeight(outer=0, inner=10.0)
tab_bar_style                custom
tab_title_template           {fmt.fg.tab}  {index}
underline_hyperlinks         always
url_prefixes                 ('file', 'ftp', 'ftps', 'gemini', 'git', 'gopher', 'http', 'https', 'kitty', 'magnet', 'mailto', 'news', 'sftp', 'ssh', 'ss', 'trojan', 'vless', 'vmess')
url_style                    1
wheel_scroll_multiplier      1.0
window_alert_on_bell         False
window_resize_step_cells     1
window_resize_step_lines     1
Added shortcuts:
	ctrl+insert →  copy_to_clipboard
	ctrl+shift+- →  change_font_size all -1
	ctrl+shift+0 →  change_font_size all 0
	ctrl+shift+= →  change_font_size all +1
	ctrl+shift+c →  copy_to_clipboard
	ctrl+shift+down →  scroll_line_down
	ctrl+shift+end →  scroll_end
	ctrl+shift+home →  scroll_home
	ctrl+shift+kp_add →  change_font_size all +1
	ctrl+shift+kp_subtract →  change_font_size all -1
	ctrl+shift+page_down →  scroll_page_down
	ctrl+shift+page_up →  scroll_page_up
	ctrl+shift+up →  scroll_line_up
	ctrl+shift+v →  paste_from_clipboard
	kitty_mod+x > f1 →  scroll_page_down, scroll_page_up, scroll_line_up, scroll_line_down, scroll_end, paste_from_clipboard, copy_to_clipboard, select_tab, next_layout, toggle_layout stack, move_tab_forward, move_tab_backward, nth_os_window +1, nth_os_window -1, goto_tab 9, goto_tab 8, goto_tab 7, goto_tab 6, goto_tab 5, goto_tab 4, goto_tab 3, goto_tab 2, goto_tab 1, select_tab, next_tab, previous_tab, neighboring_window right, neighboring_window left, neighboring_window bottom, neighboring_window top, set_tab_title, close_os_window, close_tab, new_os_window, combine : new_tab : set_tab_title, new_tab, launch --location=hsplit, launch --location=vsplit, load_config_file, kitten show-key, debug_config, show_kitty_doc conf
Removed shortcuts:
	ctrl+shift+tab →  previous_tab
	ctrl+tab →  next_tab
	kitty_mod++ →  change_font_size all +2.0
	kitty_mod+, →  move_tab_backward
	kitty_mod+- →  change_font_size all -2.0
	kitty_mod+. →  move_tab_forward
	kitty_mod+0 →  tenth_window
	kitty_mod+1 →  first_window
	kitty_mod+2 →  second_window
	kitty_mod+3 →  third_window
	kitty_mod+4 →  fourth_window
	kitty_mod+5 →  fifth_window
	kitty_mod+6 →  sixth_window
	kitty_mod+7 →  seventh_window
	kitty_mod+8 →  eighth_window
	kitty_mod+9 →  ninth_window
	kitty_mod+= →  change_font_size all +2.0
	kitty_mod+[ →  previous_window
	kitty_mod+] →  next_window
	kitty_mod+` →  move_window_to_top
	kitty_mod+a > m →  set_background_opacity default, set_background_opacity 1, set_background_opacity -0.1, set_background_opacity +0.1
	kitty_mod+alt+t →  set_tab_title
	kitty_mod+b →  move_window_backward
	kitty_mod+backspace →  change_font_size all 0
	kitty_mod+c →  copy_to_clipboard
	kitty_mod+delete →  clear_terminal reset active
	kitty_mod+down →  scroll_line_down
	kitty_mod+e →  open_url_with_hints
	kitty_mod+end →  scroll_end
	kitty_mod+enter →  new_window
	kitty_mod+escape →  kitty_shell window
	kitty_mod+f →  move_window_forward
	kitty_mod+f1 →  show_kitty_doc overview
	kitty_mod+f10 →  toggle_maximized
	kitty_mod+f11 →  toggle_fullscreen
	kitty_mod+f2 →  edit_config_file
	kitty_mod+f5 →  load_config_file
	kitty_mod+f6 →  debug_config
	kitty_mod+f7 →  focus_visible_window
	kitty_mod+f8 →  swap_with_window
	kitty_mod+g →  show_last_command_output
	kitty_mod+h →  show_scrollback
	kitty_mod+home →  scroll_home
	kitty_mod+j →  scroll_line_down
	kitty_mod+k →  scroll_line_up
	kitty_mod+kp_add →  change_font_size all +2.0
	kitty_mod+kp_subtract →  change_font_size all -2.0
	kitty_mod+l →  next_layout
	kitty_mod+left →  previous_tab
	kitty_mod+n →  new_os_window
	kitty_mod+o →  pass_selection_to_program
	kitty_mod+p > f →  kitten hints --type hyperlink, kitten hints --type linenum, kitten hints --type hash --program -, kitten hints --type word --program -, kitten hints --type line --program -, kitten hints --type path, kitten hints --type path --program -
	kitty_mod+page_down →  scroll_page_down
	kitty_mod+page_up →  scroll_page_up
	kitty_mod+q →  close_tab
	kitty_mod+r →  start_resizing_window
	kitty_mod+right →  next_tab
	kitty_mod+s →  paste_from_selection
	kitty_mod+t →  new_tab
	kitty_mod+u →  kitten unicode_input
	kitty_mod+up →  scroll_line_up
	kitty_mod+v →  paste_from_clipboard
	kitty_mod+w →  close_window
	kitty_mod+x →  scroll_to_prompt 1
	kitty_mod+z →  scroll_to_prompt -1
Changed shortcuts:
	shift+insert →  paste_from_clipboard
Colors:
	active_tab_background        #9c7bd7   
	active_tab_foreground        #ffffff   
	background                   #111111   
	color0                       #1a1c1d   
	color1                       #ff5894   
	color10                      #b5e354   
	color11                      #feed6b   
	color12                      #0b72c1   
	color13                      #9d6efe   
	color14                      #889ba1   
	color15                      #f8f8f2   
	color2                       #81b313   
	color3                       #fd961e   
	color4                       #4e81aa   
	color5                       #8b54fe   
	color6                       #465456   
	color7                       #cbcbc5   
	color8                       #505354   
	color9                       #f92571   
	foreground                   #a0a0a0   
	inactive_tab_background      #545b7d   
	inactive_tab_foreground      #ffffff   

Important environment variables seen by the kitty process:
	PATH                                /home/cc/.local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/opt/cuda/bin:/opt/cuda/nsight_compute:/opt/cuda/nsight_systems/bin:/var/lib/flatpak/exports/bin:/usr/lib/jvm/default/bin:/opt/nessus/bin:/opt/nessus/sbin:/usr/bin/site_perl:/usr/bin/vendor_perl:/usr/bin/core_perl:/opt/rocm/bin
	LANG                                en_US.UTF-8
	SHELL                               /usr/bin/zsh
	DISPLAY                             :1
	WAYLAND_DISPLAY                     wayland-0
	USER                                cc
	LC_ADDRESS                          en_US.UTF-8
	LC_IDENTIFICATION                   en_US.UTF-8
	LC_MEASUREMENT                      en_US.UTF-8
	LC_MONETARY                         en_US.UTF-8
	LC_NAME                             en_US.UTF-8
	LC_NUMERIC                          en_US.UTF-8
	LC_PAPER                            en_US.UTF-8
	LC_TELEPHONE                        en_US.UTF-8
	LC_TIME                             en_US.UTF-8
	XDG_DATA_DIRS                       /home/cc/.local/share/flatpak/exports/share:/var/lib/flatpak/exports/share:/usr/local/share:/usr/share
	XDG_RUNTIME_DIR                     /run/user/1000
	XDG_CONFIG_DIRS                     /home/cc/.config/kdedefaults:/etc/xdg:/usr/share/manjaro-kde-settings/xdg
	XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP                 KDE
	XDG_MENU_PREFIX                     plasma-
	XDG_SEAT                            seat0
	XDG_SEAT_PATH                       /org/freedesktop/DisplayManager/Seat0
	XDG_SESSION_CLASS                   user
	XDG_SESSION_DESKTOP                 KDE
	XDG_SESSION_ID                      2
	XDG_SESSION_PATH                    /org/freedesktop/DisplayManager/Session1
	XDG_SESSION_TYPE                    wayland
	XDG_VTNR                            1

English is not my native language; please excuse typing errors. And It would be highly appreciate if any hints.

Best regards

[kovidgoyal]

tmux doesnt support the kitty keyboard protocol which that functionality uses. If and when it finally does it should work. I'm afraid I don't have the interest to try to workaround tmux's endless limitations.

[kovidgoyal]

Oh and for your original problem you can simply run some other program after icat to wait for keyboard input such as read. Write a script that first runs icat and then read. and make that your opener.

[dhay3]

Thanks,

It will try it.