Influxx Cockpit: Terminals, Tabs, Quick Open, and Floating Workspace
Influxx is one multi-tab cockpit — not a separate notes app glued to a separate coding app. Everything you open lives in a single shell: one left sidebar, one middle tab strip, a right activity bar, and a status bar that keeps usage and connections in view. This guide walks through the cockpit layout, how terminals and agent tabs work, how Quick Open keeps you in flow, and how Floating Workspace holds scratch terminals and markdown outside any repo worktree.
Cockpit layout: one shell for everything
The cockpit is organized so you always know where chrome lives and where work lives. UX law is simple: one left sidebar, one middle tab strip. Projects, worktrees, notes lists, and setup prompts sit on the left. Terminals, agents, browser pages, markdown editors, emulators, and PR or issue surfaces open as tabs in the center. The right activity bar is for tools that inspect and control the active workspace. The status bar carries usage meters, connection pills, and integration status so you do not have to dig for system health while you work.
- Left sidebar: Notes, projects and worktrees, setup prompts, add project, and the setup guide
- Center: The tab strip for terminals, agents, browser, markdown and editor surfaces, emulator, and PR or issue views
- Right activity bar: Explorer, Agents (AI Vault), Source Control, Checks, Ports (SSH), and Attached worktrees
- Status bar: Usage meters, connection pills, and integration status
Why the layout matters
When notes, agents, browsers, and terminals share one chrome, you stop context-switching between “where did I put that file” and “which app owns this session.” A markdown plan can sit next to an agent tab that is already running inside the same worktree. A browser tab for a local preview can live beside the terminal that started the server. The cockpit is designed so those surfaces feel like peers in one strip rather than products that only talk through the clipboard.
Toggle the chrome without leaving the keyboard
Use the sidebar shortcuts when you need more room for the center strip or when you need both rails back. Open Settings the same way you would in a familiar desktop editor. These toggles do not close your tabs; they only show or hide the surrounding navigation so you can widen the active surface when a log, diff, or long markdown draft needs the full middle column.
- Toggle left sidebar: ⌘B on macOS, or Ctrl+B on Windows and Linux
- Toggle right sidebar: ⌘L on macOS, or Ctrl+L on Windows and Linux
- Open Settings: ⌘, on macOS, or Ctrl+, on Windows and Linux
Influxx is one multi-tab cockpit — not a separate notes app and coding app. Learn the strip once, and every surface you open follows the same rules.
Tabs and terminals: high-performance shells in the middle strip
Terminals in Influxx are high-performance, GPU-accelerated sessions with infinite splits and scrollback that survives restarts. You are not looking at a disposable pane that forgets history when you close a window; scrollback is built to remain available so long-running work does not vanish between sessions. Agent tabs are real CLI sessions launched inside worktree-scoped PTYs. Each agent tab is a shell session scoped to the worktree it belongs to, not a chat bubble pretending to be a terminal.
What opens as a tab
The middle strip is the place work becomes visible. New terminal tabs open shells for general command-line work. New agent tabs launch your default agent as a real session in the worktree. Browser tabs open pages you need beside your code. Markdown tabs open long-form docs, templates, and notes in the same chrome as everything else. Closing a tab uses the same shortcut family you already know from the rest of the desktop, so tab hygiene stays muscle memory rather than a new product vocabulary.
Create and close the surfaces you use every day
Most day-to-day cockpit motion is creating the right tab type, then closing it when that unit of work is done. Prefer dedicated shortcuts for terminal, agent, browser, and markdown so you do not interrupt flow with the mouse. When you need something less common, open the Quick Commands menu from the tab strip’s plus control and pick the surface from there.
- New terminal tab: ⌘T on macOS, or Ctrl+T on Windows and Linux
- New agent tab (default agent): ⌘⌥T on macOS
- New browser tab: ⌘⇧B on macOS, or Ctrl+Shift+B on Windows and Linux
- New markdown tab: ⌘⇧M on macOS, or Ctrl+Shift+M on Windows and Linux
- Close tab: ⌘W on macOS, or Ctrl+W on Windows and Linux
- Quick Commands menu: Open from the tab strip plus control when you need additional surfaces
Splits, agents, and working with files in the prompt
Terminal panes can split right or down so you keep related shells side by side — logs in one pane, a build or test runner in another, an interactive session in a third. Equalize and expand panes with the terminal shortcuts when a single stream needs the full width again. From the explorer, you can drag files or images into an agent prompt so the agent session receives the paths or media without you typing absolute paths by hand. If you prefer chat chrome over a raw terminal UI for agents, open agent tabs in chat-by-default from Settings.
- Split panes: Split right or down; equalize and expand when layout needs to change mid-session
- Drag into agents: Drop files or images from the explorer into an agent prompt
- Chat-by-default agents: Prefer chat chrome over raw TUI by enabling the option in Settings
- Worktree-scoped agents: Each agent tab is a real shell session launched inside a worktree-scoped PTY
- Surviving scrollback: Terminal history is designed to remain available across restarts
Agents as first-class tabs
Treating agents as tabs means you can open more than one, park them beside a markdown plan or a browser preview, and close them like any other surface. Because the session is a real PTY in the worktree, the agent’s working directory and environment match the project you selected rather than a generic home shell. That keeps agent work aligned with the same left-sidebar worktree model that drives Explorer, Source Control, and Sidebar Notes.
Every agent tab is a real shell session — not a detached chat island. Open it, split it, drag files into it, and close it with the same tab discipline as a terminal.
Quick Open: jump without leaving flow
Quick Open is the family of palettes and finders that move you between files, worktrees, and actions without hunting the sidebar. Go to File is the classic file finder. The Cmd+J / Ctrl+Shift+J family opens worktree and command palettes so you can switch context, run quick actions, or start something new while your hands stay on the keyboard. From the palette you can open workspaces, browser pages, settings, run quick actions, and start workspace creation — including New Markdown File.
Keyboard map for finding and switching
Memorize the small set of open-and-switch shortcuts first. Go to File gets you into a path quickly. The worktree and palette shortcut is the hub for broader jumps. Create worktree shortcuts spin up new workspace context when you need a clean branch of work. Explorer and Source Control shortcuts reveal the right activity bar view when you need trees and diffs rather than another search.
- Go to File: ⌘P on macOS, or Ctrl+P on Windows and Linux
- Switch worktree / palette: ⌘J on macOS, or Ctrl+Shift+J on Windows and Linux
- Create worktree: ⌘N or ⌘⇧N on macOS, or Ctrl+N on Windows and Linux
- Show Explorer: ⌘⇧E on macOS, or Ctrl+Shift+E on Windows and Linux
- Show Source Control: ⌘⇧G on macOS, or Ctrl+Shift+G on Windows and Linux
Palette as a launchpad
Think of the palette as more than a file list. It is the place you start workspace creation, open browser pages, jump into settings, and kick off markdown without leaving the current focus. When you are already deep in a terminal or agent session, palette-first navigation is faster than collapsing sidebars, scanning trees, and clicking through nested lists. Pair Go to File for path precision with the worktree palette for context switches, and the middle strip stays full of useful tabs instead of empty chrome.
Floating Workspace: terminals and notes outside a worktree
Floating Workspace is a panel for terminals and markdown notes that are not tied to a repo worktree. Enable it under Settings → Floating Workspace. Use it when you need a scratch shell, a personal note, or a temporary draft that should not land inside a project’s .influxx tree. Floating terminals can start in your home directory while markdown still saves to Influxx’s app-owned floating-workspace directory — not your home folder — so scratch docs stay organized under the app even when the shell feels “loose.”
Enable, open, and maximize the floating panel
Turn Floating Workspace on in Settings, then use the floating empty state to create or open markdown. Toggle the floating terminal when you need a shell that is not bound to the active worktree. Maximize the floating workspace when the scratch surface deserves the full focus for a stretch of writing or terminal work, then return to the main cockpit strip when the work belongs back with a project.
- Enable: Settings → Floating Workspace
- New Markdown Note / Open Markdown Note: Available from the floating empty state
- Markdown storage: App-owned floating-workspace directory (not your home folder), even if terminals start in $HOME
- Dev example path: ~/Library/Application Support/influxx-dev/floating-workspace
- Toggle floating terminal: ⌘⌥A on macOS
- Maximize floating workspace: ⌘⌥⇧A on macOS
Floating notes are a different storage root
Floating markdown notes do not appear in the per-worktree Sidebar Notes list. That is intentional: Sidebar Notes live with the worktree under project-bound storage, while floating notes live under the app’s floating-workspace root. If you cannot find a scratch note in the left rail Notes block, look in Floating Workspace instead of assuming it was lost. Choosing the right surface up front keeps project plans, long-form docs, and personal scratch clearly separated.
How this fits with other notes surfaces
Influxx has several notes surfaces that look similar in product language but store data differently. Sidebar notes sit in the left rail and open as middle editor tabs for plans bound to a workspace. Markdown tabs in the center strip open any .md path in a worktree or floating space. Review notes live with diffs and Source Control as worktree metadata for line comments you can send to an agent. Workspace comments are sticky one-liners on a worktree card. Floating notes are the scratch panel outside a repo. The primary model is still the same cockpit law: Sidebar Notes open as middle editor tabs with the same chrome as code and agents — not a second full-screen notes shell as the main UX.
- Sidebar notes: Left rail → Notes; best for plans bound to a workspace and Run → agent flows
- Markdown tabs: Center tabs for long-form docs, templates, and wiki-style writing
- Review notes: Diffs and Source Control; line comments aimed at agents
- Workspace comment: Sticky one-liner on a worktree card
- Floating notes: Floating panel for scratch outside a repo
A practical cockpit workflow
Start from the left sidebar by selecting the worktree you care about. Open a terminal with ⌘T or Ctrl+T for general shell work, or open a default agent tab when you want a worktree-scoped agent session. Use Go to File to jump into a path, or the worktree palette to switch context or create a new worktree. Split the terminal when you need logs beside commands. Drag explorer files into an agent prompt when the agent needs concrete paths. Open a markdown tab for a plan that should live with the project, or use Floating Workspace for a note that should not touch the repo. Toggle sidebars when the middle strip needs room, and close finished tabs so the strip stays readable.
Keeping the tab strip healthy
Infinite splits and many tab types are powerful, but the strip works best when each tab still means something. Close finished browser previews. Park long-running agents intentionally rather than letting unused shells multiply. Prefer Floating Workspace for personal scratch so project Sidebar Notes stay about the worktree. Use the status bar’s connection and integration cues if something looks offline before you assume a terminal command failed for product reasons. Small hygiene habits keep the single-cockpit model fast instead of crowded.
Settings that change how the cockpit feels
Two settings families matter most for this guide. First, agent presentation: chat-by-default agent tabs if you want chat chrome over a raw TUI. Second, Floating Workspace enablement under Settings → Floating Workspace when you need the untethered panel. Sidebar visibility is not a permanent preference so much as a session control — toggle left and right rails as layout demands. Settings themselves open with ⌘, or Ctrl+, so configuration stays one chord away from the strip.
- Agent chrome: Prefer chat-by-default agent tabs in Settings when you want chat UI over raw TUI
- Floating Workspace: Enable under Settings → Floating Workspace before relying on floating terminals or notes
- Sidebar space: Hide left (⌘B / Ctrl+B) or right (⌘L / Ctrl+L) rails when the center strip needs width
- Quick Commands: Use the tab strip plus menu for surfaces you open less often than terminal, agent, browser, or markdown
Jump without leaving flow: Go to File for paths, the worktree palette for context, and Floating Workspace for scratch that must stay outside the repo.
Platform notes for shortcuts
Many shortcuts share a macOS and Windows/Linux pair. A few floating and agent shortcuts in this guide are documented for macOS (⌘⌥T for a new default agent tab, ⌘⌥A to toggle the floating terminal, ⌘⌥⇧A to maximize Floating Workspace). When a chord differs by platform, prefer the pair listed in each section rather than guessing modifier keys. If a shortcut conflicts with a system binding on your machine, the in-app Settings and Quick Commands menu remain the reliable fallback.
Troubleshooting common cockpit confusion
If a markdown note is missing from Sidebar Notes, check whether you created it as a floating note — different storage root, different list. If an agent seems to run in the wrong directory, confirm the worktree selected in the left sidebar before opening the agent tab; agents are worktree-scoped. If you need more horizontal room, toggle sidebars instead of closing tabs you still need. If you cannot find a non-worktree shell, enable Floating Workspace and toggle the floating terminal. If file open feels slow because you are browsing trees by hand, switch to Go to File or the worktree palette and stay in keyboard flow.
What this guide covered
You now have the cockpit map: left sidebar for notes and worktrees, center strip for every active surface, right activity bar for Explorer, Agents, Source Control, Checks, Ports, and attached worktrees, and a status bar for usage and connections. Terminals bring GPU-accelerated shells with splits and surviving scrollback. Agent tabs are real worktree-scoped sessions you can open, feed files into, and style as chat when you prefer. Quick Open and the palette family move you between files, worktrees, and actions without breaking focus. Floating Workspace holds terminals and markdown that deliberately stay outside a repo. Used together, those pieces make Influxx feel like one product — because it is one multi-tab cockpit.
- Layout: One left sidebar, one middle tab strip, right activity bar, status bar
- Terminals: High-performance sessions, infinite splits, scrollback that survives restarts
- Agents: CLI sessions in worktree-scoped PTYs; optional chat-by-default chrome
- Quick Open: Go to File, worktree palette, create worktree, Explorer, Source Control
- Floating Workspace: Untethered terminals and app-owned floating markdown storage
- Related notes model: Sidebar notes, markdown tabs, review notes, workspace comments, floating notes
Next steps in the product
Open Influxx, confirm you can toggle both sidebars and open Settings from the keyboard, then create a terminal tab and split it once so the muscle memory sticks. Open the worktree palette and Go to File so both jump paths feel natural. If you keep personal scratch notes, enable Floating Workspace and create one markdown note there so you can feel the storage boundary versus Sidebar Notes. When you are ready to go deeper on notes specifically, study Sidebar Notes, markdown tabs, and review notes as related surfaces that still obey the same middle-strip chrome.
