Influxx Floating Workspace: Scratch Notes Outside a Repo
Floating Workspace in Influxx is the scratch surface for terminals and markdown that are not tied to a repo worktree. Enable it under Settings → Floating Workspace, then use the floating panel for personal checklists, meeting notes, cross-project ideas, and throwaway shells that should never land inside a project’s .influxx tree or git status. This guide explains how floating notes differ from Sidebar Notes, review notes, and workspace comments—and how to promote a floating idea into a worktree plan when it is ready to ship.
What Floating Workspace is (and is not)
Floating Workspace is a separate panel for terminals and markdown notes outside any project checkout. It is not a second full-screen notes app, and it is not a substitute for Sidebar Notes bound to a worktree. Markdown created there is saved in Influxx’s app-owned floating-workspace directory under application userData—not your home folder—even when floating terminals start in $HOME. That split keeps scratch docs organized under the app while still letting shells feel “loose.”
Floating Workspace at a glance:
- Enable: Settings → Floating Workspace
- Create: New Markdown Note / Open Markdown Note from the floating empty state
- Storage: App userData floating-workspace root (not a project’s .influxx/notes/)
- Dev example path: ~/Library/Application Support/influxx-dev/floating-workspace
- Terminals: May start in $HOME; markdown still saves under the app-owned directory
- Sidebar Notes list: Floating markdown does not appear there—different storage root by design
Use Floating Workspace when the writing is not about a specific repo checkout. Use a worktree when the writing should become code, a Run-as-agent plan, or something teammates might see in git.
Open Floating Workspace and create a note
Confirm Floating Workspace is enabled under Settings. Open the floating panel from the product chrome (or use the keyboard shortcuts below). From the floating empty state, choose New Markdown Note to create a fresh file, or Open Markdown Note to reopen an existing floating document. Edit in the same markdown editor modes you use elsewhere in the cockpit. Save as you go—the file lives under the app’s floating-workspace directory, so it stays out of every project’s git status unless you deliberately copy it into a checkout.
Keyboard (macOS defaults; remappable in Settings → Shortcuts):
- Toggle floating terminal: ⌘⌥A
- Maximize floating workspace: ⌘⌥⇧A
Where floating notes live vs project notes
Influxx has several “notes” surfaces that look similar in marketing copy but store data differently. Floating notes live under app userData/floating-workspace and are best for scratch outside a repo. Sidebar notes live under .influxx/notes/*.md in the selected worktree and are the primary path for plans you Run into an agent. Markdown tabs can open any .md path—worktree or floating—for long-form docs. Review notes are line comments on diffs stored as worktree metadata. Workspace comments are a short sticky field on the worktree card (worktree.comment), not a document file.
Choose the right surface:
- Floating notes: Meeting scratch, personal checklists, cross-project ideas—not bound to a checkout
- Sidebar notes: Plans bound to a workspace; Run builds a context pack and launches an agent
- Markdown tabs: Long-form docs, templates, wiki links on a concrete path
- Review notes: Line feedback on diffs to send back to an agent
- Workspace comment: One sticky one-liner on a worktree card for board scanning
If you cannot find a scratch note in the left rail Notes block, look in Floating Workspace instead of assuming it was lost. Sidebar Notes only list files under the selected worktree’s .influxx/notes/. Floating markdown never appears in that list because ownership and path are different. Choosing the right surface up front keeps project plans, long-form docs, and personal scratch clearly separated—and keeps agent Run actions pointed at the files that belong to the checkout.
Promote floating scratch into a worktree plan
When a floating idea becomes work you want an agent to execute, copy or save the content into the active worktree under .influxx/notes/. Open it from the Sidebar Notes list, refine acceptance criteria, then use Run so Influxx builds a context pack and launches a CLI agent with that note as the prompt. Keep ephemeral lists floating so project directories stay clean; promote only what should ship as a plan or be reviewed in git with the team.
Floating terminals vs floating markdown
Floating terminals and floating markdown share the panel but not the same storage rules. A floating shell can start in your home directory for quick system tasks that are unrelated to any repo. Markdown still writes to the app-owned floating-workspace directory so notes do not scatter across $HOME as anonymous .md files. Treat floating terminals as disposable PTYs; treat floating markdown as app-managed scratch that you can still open later from the floating panel.
Floating Workspace does not replace worktree isolation. Agents that implement code still run inside a selected project worktree with its own checkout, terminals, browser tabs, and .influxx/notes. Floating is for the moments when you need a notepad or shell that intentionally stays outside that isolation boundary—before you decide which project owns the work, or when the note should never appear in that repo’s status at all.
Practical day-to-day pattern
Morning: jot priorities and meeting bullets in a floating markdown note. Midday: when a bullet becomes a coding task, paste it into a new Sidebar note under the right project worktree, add acceptance criteria, and Run. Evening: leave personal leftovers floating; delete or archive floating files you no longer need from the floating panel. Never expect Floating Workspace files to show up in Source Control for a project—they are not on that tree.
Related cockpit surfaces:
- Settings → Floating Workspace: Enable or confirm the panel
- Left sidebar Notes: Worktree-bound plans under .influxx/notes/
- Source Control review notes: Diff line comments for agent feedback
- Edit Worktree Details → Comment: Sticky card label, not floating storage
- New Workspace (⌘N / Ctrl+N): Create an isolated worktree when scratch becomes real work
Floating is for outside the repo. Sidebar Notes are for plans inside the worktree. Review notes are for the diff. Keep those three paths straight and Influxx stays calm under parallel work.
Canonical product path reminder: Influxx is one multi-tab cockpit—one left sidebar, one middle tab strip. Sidebar Notes open as middle editor tabs next to agents and code. Floating Workspace is an additional panel for unbound scratch, not a parallel notes product. Prefer local files you can find on disk (userData for floating; .influxx/notes for project plans) so UI, search, and agents stay aligned with reality.
