Docs
Written for somebody who has just installed it and wants to get something running.
Getting started
Terminal Deck runs the agent CLIs you already have. Install at least one of Claude Code, Codex CLI or Gemini CLI and sign in to it in a terminal, exactly as you would without this app. Settings › Coding AIs is where the app shows the agents it found and the logins they use.
Open a project
⌘O opens a folder as a project, and ⌘⇧N makes a new one.
Start sessions
⌘T starts a session. ⌘⇧T asks first: where it runs, the project or folder, the agent, the login, and whether to remember the choice. ⌘⇧R resumes the last session in the folder. A new session starts as a chat unless you choose a terminal; Sessions has the rest.
The layout
The sidebar holds, from the top: New session, Hoot, the pages you pinned, a More menu, your projects, the running sessions, and archived chats. Settings is at the bottom, with the update card just above it when a new release is out. ⌘B hides or shows the sidebar.
Pages you can pin: Agents and Tasks (pinned to start with), Artifacts, Projects, Servers, Devices, Receiver, MCP servers, Store and Overview. A project opens its own panels: Files, Source control, GitHub, AI readiness, Hooks and Simulators.
Sessions and browser tabs share one tab strip in the window’s toolbar.
Command palette
⌘K opens it. Start with > for a command, ? to
search past sessions, or just type a file name to open it; :42 jumps to
a line.
Session search
⌘⇧F, or ? in the palette, searches past Claude Code
transcripts. Results are ranked and the match is highlighted, and each says whether
it came from you, the assistant, its thinking, a tool or the system. A search reads
the transcripts within a twelve-second budget, and a new search cancels the one
still running.
Sessions, panels, browser and phone
Each has one page of its own:
- Sessions — chats and terminals, the status dot, split and swarm view, logins.
- Panels — Hoot, routines, tasks, agents, files, source control, GitHub, MCP servers, hooks, AI readiness, the Receiver, the Store, servers and devices.
- The browser — marking elements, device sizes, screenshots, the recorder, and handing the page between you and an agent.
- From your phone — pairing, the phone apps and the web version.
- Usage and context — the usage bar and the session inspector.
Settings
⌘, opens Settings. There is no OK button: every change is saved as you make it. Check for updates is in General.
On the Mac the sections are General, Appearance, Notifications, Dynamic Island, Coding AIs, Outside AI apps, Agents, Browser, Tasks, Voice, Plugins, Advanced and About. Hoot’s settings are on the Hoot page.
On Windows they are General, Appearance, Notifications, Coding AIs, Outside AI apps, Agents, Browser, Tasks, Advanced and About.
Keyboard shortcuts
⌘/ shows this list in the app. Everything else reaches the agent: CtrlC and Esc do in a session what they do in your own terminal.
| macOS | Windows | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| ⌘T | CtrlT | New session |
| ⌘⇧T | CtrlShiftT | New session with options (on Windows: new chat) |
| ⌘⇧R | CtrlShiftR | Resume the last session in this folder |
| ⌘1 – ⌘9 | Ctrl1 – Ctrl9 | Jump to a session |
| ⌃Tab | CtrlTab | Next session |
| ⌘O | CtrlO | Open a project |
| ⌘⇧N | CtrlShiftN | New project |
| ⌘P | CtrlP | Quick open a file |
| ⌘K | CtrlK | Command palette |
| ⌘⇧F | CtrlShiftF | Search past sessions |
| ⌘⇧I | CtrlShiftI | Session inspector |
| ⌘\ | Ctrl\ | Swarm view: every session at once |
| ⌘D | CtrlD | Split view |
| ⌘⌥← / ⌘⌥→ | CtrlAlt← / CtrlAlt→ | Move to the left or right pane |
| ⌘B | CtrlB or CtrlShiftS | Show or hide the sidebar |
| ⌘⇧E | CtrlShiftE | Files |
| ⌘⇧G | CtrlShiftG | Source control |
| ⌘⇧A | CtrlShiftA | Artifacts |
| ⌘⇧D | CtrlShiftD | Project dashboard |
| ⌘F | CtrlF | Find in a terminal |
| ⌘⇧K | CtrlShiftK | Clear a terminal |
| ⌘/ | Ctrl/ | The shortcuts list |
| ⌘, | Ctrl, | Settings |