Organizing panels and tabs

Organizing the Terminal screen does not change the project or what is running: it changes the screen’s arrangement. Every arrangement is saved and comes back on the next opening.

Split a panel

There are three paths to split, and all of them reach the same result:

1. From the tab menu — the split-terminal option, with the direction to choose.
2. From the panel header — the panel’s own menu, which splits from it.
3. From the split shortcuts of the active panel.

What you need to know before splitting:

• The direction is horizontal or vertical. Any other value is refused before the split happens.
• Splitting by shortcut inherits the working directory of the source panel — that is what lets you split and already be in the same place.
• If a panel is expanded, the split leaves expanded mode first. This exists so the new panel receives correct dimensions instead of being born squashed.
• You can open a command right inside the new panel. If the command is invalid, the failure happens after the panel exists: you are left with one extra panel to close.

Cycle focus, equalize and expand

Action	How it works
Cycle focus	Moves from one panel to the next in a cycle. Requires more than one panel — and, if one is expanded, it is collapsed before the switch.
Equalize sizes	Makes the divisions equal. It is blocked while a panel is expanded, because there is nothing to equalize in that state.
Expand / restore	Makes the active panel fill the whole area and come back. Also requires more than one panel.

Maximizing a panel is only a screen arrangement: sessions keep running, including those of the hidden panels.

Rename tabs and panels

• Tab: from the tab menu, in the item that changes the title.
• Panel: from the panel’s context menu, in the item that sets the title — and there is a separate item to clear the title and go back to automatic.
• The same two gestures exist as shortcuts.
• A panel title is saved in the arrangement immediately: it comes back on the next opening, along with position and size.
• Beware of duplicate titles: the command line selects sessions by title or identifier. Two identical titles make selection ambiguous — prefer the identifier when automating.
• Clearing the title restores the automatic name derived from what is running.

Pin and color tabs

• The tab bar is shared with other tab types, so tab actions apply to more than one kind of content.
• Pinning protects the tab: a pinned tab is not closed by the ordinary close item, and closing it asks for confirmation.
• Color is a visual marker of the tab — useful to separate, for example, what is an agent from what is a shell.
• Pinning and coloring do not change the process or what is running in the tab.

Closing a tab and closing a panel can end a process.

Identifiers

The panel menus let you copy the terminal identifier and the panel identifier. They are the input for commands that target a specific session — and that is exactly why they demand attention: a swapped identifier can point at another session in a destructive command.

Arrangement persistence

• Divisions, sizes, titles and the active panel are kept in the screen arrangement.
• Tabs that leave the visible area go to rest and come back when you return to them.
• The arrangement returns when you reopen the app; the process does not (see Resuming after a restart).

On the command line

Splitting and renaming have their own commands, with direction, initial command and title. See Terminal command reference.