Add IPC protocol layer for clean separation of core and integration concerns

[Copilot]

Implements Unix socket-based IPC protocol inspired by claude-canvas to decouple core Zellij operations from AI assistant integrations.

Architecture

Before: Monolithic MCP server mixing core Zellij operations with OpenCode-specific code.

After: Layered architecture enabling separate integration repositories:

zellij-pane-tracker (core)          zellij-pane-opencode (separate repo)
├── Plugin (Rust/WASM)               ├── MCP server (uses IPC client)
├── IPC protocol (TypeScript)  ◄────┤ └── OpenCode-specific features
├── Canvas API (abstraction)         
└── Reference MCP (example)          

Changes

IPC Protocol (ipc/)

• types.ts: JSON message protocol (getPanes, dumpPane, runInPane, newPane, renameSession)
• server.ts: Unix socket server with multi-client support
• client.ts: Client with automatic retry logic
• ipc-server-standalone.ts: Standalone server binary
• ipc-client-cli.ts: CLI test client

Canvas API (api/)

• canvas-api.ts: High-level Zellij abstraction hiding CLI complexity
• Methods: listPanes(), dumpPane(), runInPane(), createPane(), renameSession()

Documentation

• Protocol specification with message examples
• Integration guide for creating separate repos
• Testing procedures, ADR, quick reference

Usage

Start IPC server in Zellij:

bun run ipc/ipc-server-standalone.ts

Connect from separate integration repo:

import { connectWithRetry, getSocketPath } from "zellij-pane-tracker/ipc";

const client = await connectWithRetry({
  socketPath: getSocketPath(),
  onMessage: (msg) => { /* handle responses */ }
});

client.send({ type: "dumpPane", paneId: "terminal_2", options: { lines: 50 } });

Benefits

• Separation: Core repo handles plugin + protocol, integrations are independent repos
• Extensibility: Multiple AI assistants (OpenCode, Claude Desktop) can connect simultaneously
• Language agnostic: Any language can implement IPC client (Python example included)
• Testability: Each layer independently testable

Migration Path

Existing MCP server remains functional. Users can migrate to IPC-based integrations at their own pace.

Original prompt

There is a ipc protocol or something that this repo uses. We could somehow mimick this in a way and fork this for opencode making another repo that references this one in a clear sepaarations of convern method. you feel me? https://github.com/dvdsgl/claude-canvas

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[theslyprofessor]

Is there a way to abstract this further so to create IPC directly within Zellij so that zellij pane dump calls that native primitive directly? And when I do create the claude-canvas clone it uses the native ipc as well? Any developments on this?