Navigation, Saved Views and shortcuts

For a step-by-step workflow, read the related guide. For current provider support, consult Capabilities; this chapter describes reviewed surfaces and their limits.

Choose the scope before saving

Concept	What it preserves	What it does not do
Workspace	Project membership and the current fleet filter.	Copy project files or conversations.
Saved View	Pane layout, complete tab order and selection, and per-chat configuration.	Migrate a native session between providers.
Agent workbench	An isolated Git working tree and branch.	Automatically approve, verify or merge work.
Project	A registered folder and project contract.	Authenticate a provider account.

These are different kinds of state. Follow the linked scope before changing it.

Switch a fleet filter, not a project folder

Replace WORKSPACE with an existing workspace name. Listing is read-only; selecting or clearing changes the active local filter. No files move and no agent starts.

commandem workspace ls --json
commandem workspace use WORKSPACE
commandem workspace use --clear

Expected result: the list shows workspace membership, selection filters the fleet, and clearing returns to all projects. See workspace commands. To preserve pane configuration instead, save a project layout.

Find the actual isolated checkout

Replace PROJECT with a registered project name. This inspects workbench paths and divergence; it does not create or land a branch.

commandem workbench ls PROJECT

Expected result: existing workbench directories and their relationship to trunk, or an empty list if none exist. Review pending work before any workbench landing operation.

Saved Views and project defaults

Save the current layout from the palette, inspect Saved Views, and assign an appropriate saved layout as the project's default. A Saved View captures pane destinations, split direction and divider, follow/pin behavior, complete displayed chat/file tab order and selection, and each chat's provider, account, model, effort, mode and workbench choice. The original chat can be reordered or absent when other tabs remain. Newly created chats start fresh; a reused existing chat may retain its conversation. Prompts, transcripts, credentials and session identities are not copied. Review manual replacement and automatic restoration before applying it.

Boundary and recovery: Verify project, pane and provider/account/model selections before sending. Restoring a layout is not native session migration or authentication.

Workspace scope

A Workspace groups projects and filters status/sidebar views. Select it with the workspace switcher; All projects clears that filter. Workspace export/import is distinct from layout saving.

Boundary and recovery: A filtered list can hide existing projects; it does not delete them. Do not confuse a Workspace with a Saved View or an agent workbench.

Agent workbenches

A workbench is an isolated Git working tree used for concurrent implementation. The primary checkout is the integration lane; branches are reviewed, tested, committed and landed back to trunk.

Boundary and recovery: Infrastructure visibility is configurable in Layout; hidden workbenches still exist. Isolation does not excuse modifying another agent's files or skipping commit gates.

Command palette and menu routes

Use the configured command-palette shortcut to discover global actions, Settings destinations and saved layouts. Static destinations are listed below; project-specific or user-defined entries may also appear.

Boundary and recovery: An entry opens a surface or performs its named action; visibility is not permission for broad mutations. Commands and shortcuts can be customized locally.

Project tab layout

The project tab bar groups Chat, Code, Terminal, Activity, Insights, Actions, Roadmap and Board. Layout preferences can hide/reorder groups, use icons and adjust sizes; Quick Open/shortcuts still reach hidden tabs.

Boundary and recovery: Keep at least one usable tab visible. Reset tab layout when a hidden destination looks missing rather than recreating the project.

Click the active activity icon again to toggle its panel. Files, Search and Changes depend on a selected project; Projects and Agents are global. Workspace filters and collapsed groups affect what is visible, not what exists.

Global project list, current selection and workspace scope. If the panel appears empty, check selection and workspace scope before changing the project registry.

File navigation for the selected project; no selection means no project file root. If the panel appears empty, check selection and workspace scope before changing the project registry.

Search within the selected project; separate from conversation/Matrix retrieval. If the panel appears empty, check selection and workspace scope before changing the project registry.

Repository changes for the selected project; inspect base and worktree before review. If the panel appears empty, check selection and workspace scope before changing the project registry.

Global agent/run visibility and entry points. If the panel appears empty, check selection and workspace scope before changing the project registry.

Configurable shortcut defaults

Mouse gestures switch tabs/projects, close and undo close from each pane’s gesture strip. A preview appears while the right button is held; release executes an exact match once. Escape or an unmatched stroke cancels. Configure and practice in Settings → Input. Command+Shift+T also invokes Undo Close Tab in the focused chat pane.

Selected .md/.markdown tabs search their bounded read-only document preview; other file tabs and the inline Files source editor retain their existing Find behavior. Open Fleet from Tools → Fleet. Input settings expose an assignable Fleet action, with no default key assigned; this does not add a ninth built-in shortcut.

Open Settings → Input to edit keyboard bindings. These are source defaults, not a dump of current user settings. Focus and context matter; ordinary arrows navigate focused lists. Restore a binding if an override conflicts with an OS shortcut.

Command–T creates a chat tab in the primary pane. Option–Tab / Option–Shift–Tab select the next / previous chat tab there; these are distinct from macOS window tabs. Command–F and Command–W first use the most recent click that still identifies a pane in that window, then the pane containing the focused control, then the pane under the pointer. A click outside the panes does not override valid pane focus. Command–W closes the selected chat or file tab in that pane; with no active chat/file tab it closes the window. Chat and Roadmap keep their existing search; Files, Diff, Log, Activity, History, Board, Notes and Links have pane-local Find or filtering. A selected file tab within Chat, or an inline source editor open in Files, retains its editor’s native Find behavior. Read each pane’s search scope and limits. Search, Shell, Matrix, Stats, Config and Actions keep their existing keyboard behavior.

Open selected project

Command–O: Opens the selected project surface; requires a meaningful selection. Local overrides can change this binding.

Acknowledge attention

Command–D: Mutes current attention until project state changes; does not fix the condition. Local overrides can change this binding.

Snooze selected project

Command–E: Snoozes attention for 24 hours; project history is preserved. Local overrides can change this binding.

Open command palette

Command–P: Discovers app commands and destinations. Local overrides can change this binding.

Previous project

Command–[: Navigates the available project list in the current scope. Local overrides can change this binding.

Next project

Command–]: Navigates the available project list in the current scope. Local overrides can change this binding.

MRU project switcher

Control–Tab: Hold Control to cycle recent projects; add Shift for Control–Shift–Tab to move backward. Release Control to select the highlighted project, or press Escape to cancel. This is not the OS Command–Tab switcher. Local overrides can change this binding.

Open Notifications

Command–Shift–B: Opens the unified notification surface, not the OS Notification Center. Local overrides can change this binding.

Static palette entries

These source-declared entries are discoverable through the command palette. User-defined commands and Saved View names are intentionally excluded from the published inventory. Each entry remains subject to selection, permissions and the underlying feature limits.