Workspaces, tabs, and panes#

This preview shows how Automexia is designed to arrange command-driven work around the way a task unfolds. Windows, tabs, panes, and sessions have different scopes. Follow the first-session guide for the Linux development workflow. Windows, macOS, and BSD bindings below describe planned support and are not package-availability claims.

If you are deciding where to put a task, start with the workspace hierarchy and the choice guide. If a second shell should start beside the first, compare fresh and cloned splits. For a lost pane or long log, go directly to moving between panes or searching scrollback. A saved workspace description is different from both a live layout and recovery after restart.

The workspace hierarchy#

text

OS window
└── window-level tab
    └── split layout
        ├── pane
        │   ├── local tab
        │   └── local tab
        └── pane
            └── local tab

Object	What it changes	Best use
OS window	Completely separate desktop window and PTY collection	Separate monitor, desktop, or independent project context
Window-level tab	Switches the whole workspace shown in that window	Large context changes: project A vs project B, local vs operations
Split pane	Shows another live session beside the current one	Work that must remain visible simultaneously
Pane-local tab	Replaces only one pane's active session	Alternate shells/tasks inside one region while sibling panes stay fixed
Session	The actual shell/program attached to a PTY	Where commands and terminal applications run

Which approach should I use?#

Use a window-level tab for a different workspace#

A window-level tab is the simplest way to separate substantial contexts without opening another desktop window.

Examples:

application work vs infrastructure work;
a data or media task vs its logs and generated output;
project A vs project B;
one long-running TUI workspace vs another.

Create one with:

Windows/Linux/BSD: Ctrl+T
macOS: Cmd+T

Switch with Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab. On macOS, Cmd+Shift+[ / Cmd+Shift+] also changes the window-level tab.

Use a split when two sessions must stay visible#

Splits are for simultaneous visibility: processing command + logs, source files + generated results, server + monitor, shell + database console, or local

remote.

Automexia offers two different split behaviors.

Fresh split: starts the default shell/session definition.

Windows/Linux/BSD: Alt+Shift+R for right, Alt+Shift+D for down.
macOS: Cmd+D for right, Cmd+Shift+D for down.

Clone split: starts an independent session using the active session's launch profile and validated working directory.

Windows/Linux/BSD: Alt+R for right, Alt+D for down.
macOS: Cmd+Alt+Shift+R for right, Cmd+Alt+Shift+D for down.

A clone is not shared terminal state. The new pane owns its own PTY and process tree. Think “start another session from the same launch context,” not “mirror this terminal.”

For example, keep a local build in the first pane and clone right to inspect its logs from the same project directory. Choose a fresh split instead if you want the configured default shell and do not need that launch context. Cloning a pane that currently runs ssh never reproduces the live remote process; connect in the new session yourself. Current-source defaults use R = right, D = down; Shift = fresh on Windows/Linux/BSD. Your configured bindings and keyboard profile can differ; the palette shows the effective keys.

Use a pane-local tab when a region needs alternatives#

A pane-local tab is useful when you want one area of the layout to switch between several independent sessions while other panes remain unchanged.

Create one with:

Windows/Linux/BSD: Ctrl+Shift+T
macOS: Cmd+Shift+T

Move between local tabs inside the active pane with:

Windows/Linux/BSD: Alt+PageUp / Alt+PageDown
macOS: Cmd+Alt+[ / Cmd+Alt+]

A pane displays its local tab rail only when it owns multiple local tabs and has enough height. If the rail disappears in a very small split, the sessions are not closed; keyboard and palette actions remain available.

Use a new OS window for desktop-level separation#

Use another OS window when you need true desktop independence: another monitor, separate virtual desktop, or a workspace you want to minimize/close without affecting the first window.

Windows/Linux/BSD: Ctrl+Shift+N
macOS: Cmd+N

Closing one Automexia window does not close sibling windows. The explicit application quit action is different from closing an individual window.

Window tabs can be selected directly or reordered through registered actions and platform bindings. Use them to move a whole project context, not to change only one split. A Quake-style drop-down window is also available where the platform and configured hotkey support it; a pure Wayland session does not gain an OS-wide hotkey automatically. Check Shortcuts for platform defaults before relying on either behavior.

Fresh split or cloned split?#

This is one of the most important Automexia choices.

Need	Fresh split	Clone split
Default configured shell	Yes	Maybe—the active launch profile is reused
Same validated working directory as active session	Not necessarily	Yes
Same launch profile/session type	No	Yes
Same live process state	No	No
Independent PTY/process tree	Yes	Yes
Best for “another standard shell”	Yes	Sometimes
Best for “another shell beside this project context”	Sometimes	Yes

Example: you are in D:\work\api using PowerShell and want another shell in the same project. Clone the pane. If instead you want a clean default shell that is unrelated to the current pane's launch profile, create a fresh split.

If the active shell is currently running an interactive child program such as ssh, cloning reproduces the Automexia session launch context; it should not be treated as duplicating the exact live child-process state.

Moving between panes#

Use geometric navigation when the layout is spatial:

Windows/Linux/BSD: Alt+Arrow
macOS: Cmd+Alt+Arrow

Use cycling when you just want the next/previous pane:

Windows/Linux/BSD: F6 / Shift+F6
macOS: Cmd+] / Cmd+[

The selected pane owns keyboard input, its local-tab scope, search state, selection, and footer emphasis.

Resize a split#

Resize the selected split with:

Windows: Alt+Shift+Arrow
Linux/BSD: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Arrow
macOS: Ctrl+Cmd+Arrow

Automexia clamps extremely small layouts so terminal rows remain usable. Pane-local tab rails and footers can temporarily fold away at tiny sizes and return when the pane grows.

The registered zoom split action focuses one region temporarily; equalize splits returns divider sizes to a balanced layout. For example, zoom the log pane to read a stack trace, then restore the multi-pane view. These actions change layout, not the jobs or command state inside the panes. Search the palette or inspect the effective action list if they have no shortcut in your profile.

Close the thing that currently owns focus#

The standard close-session action is scope-aware:

Windows/Linux/BSD: Ctrl+Shift+W
macOS: Cmd+W

Depending on focus/layout it closes the selected local tab, split, or window-level tab. This is intentionally different from “quit every Automexia window.”

Use extra care when the selected session has a running process. If you are unsure what scope is selected, use the visible tab/pane close target or the command palette so the intended action is explicit.

The current source can temporarily undo a recent topology close while its healthy sessions remain available. That is different from recovery after a restart: it is not a saved process and cannot revive a shell that already exited. Close one OS window without choosing application Quit when the other windows should continue running.

Selection is pane-local#

Terminal selection belongs to the selected pane.

Drag with the primary/left button for normal mouse selection.
Shift+Arrow starts keyboard selection at the terminal insertion cursor and extends it.
Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right extends by Unicode-aware word boundaries.
Ctrl+C copies when a non-empty terminal selection exists; otherwise it remains the normal shell/application interrupt.
Typing, pasting, or pressing an Arrow without Shift exits terminal selection before that input is sent to the shell.

This behavior prevents Automexia's selection controls from secretly changing shell-editor history or line-editor state.

For deliberate output capture, registered actions can write the visible screen, retained scrollback, or current selection to a file. Those actions write local data; review the destination and the output for secrets before sharing. Clearing screen or retained history is a separate destructive view action, not a shell command and not a substitute for deleting a saved log.

Search scrollback without changing the shell command#

Search is a terminal view operation, not a shell command:

Pane search: Windows/Linux/BSD Ctrl+F; macOS Cmd+F forward or Cmd+B backward.
All-visible-pane search: Windows/Linux/BSD Ctrl+Shift+F forward or Ctrl+Shift+B backward; macOS Cmd+Shift+F forward or Cmd+Shift+B backward.

Pane search replaces the selected pane's footer; an exceptionally narrow pane falls back to the same safe bottom position without changing its pane scope. All-visible-pane search is bottom-centered above the footer and cannot cover top-level tab or window-close controls. Its deterministic scope is the active local tab in every visible split of the selected workspace tab; hidden local tabs and other window tabs are not activated. The PANE / ALL PANES chip, themed icon, placeholder, and colored close control keep scope and actions recognizable without relying on color alone. The full surface captures pointer input so a click cannot activate UI behind it.

Inside search mode:

Key	Result
`Enter` / `Shift+Enter`	Next / previous result
`Esc` or `Ctrl+C`	Cancel search
`Ctrl+U`	Clear query
`Ctrl+W`	Delete previous query word
`Ctrl+P` or Up	Older search-history query
`Ctrl+N` or Down	Newer search-history query

Use the command palette when you forget the hierarchy#

Open the command palette with:

Windows/Linux/BSD: Ctrl+Shift+P
macOS: Cmd+Shift+P

The palette is the discoverable path for tab, split, pane, config, image-preview, and other registered actions. It is often the better approach for occasional operations because you can search by intent rather than memorize every key chord.

A useful layout pattern#

For a typical multi-step task:

Start Automexia in the working directory with automexia --working-dir <path>.
Keep the left pane as the primary shell or control point.
Clone right for a second shell in the same context.
Create a fresh split down when you want a clean independent task runner.
Add a pane-local tab only when one region needs multiple alternate sessions.
Create another window-level tab when the entire task context changes.

This keeps the visual hierarchy meaningful: tabs separate contexts; panes preserve simultaneous visibility; local tabs provide alternatives inside one region.

Saved workspace descriptions#

Current source also offers a declarative workspace library for describing related connection entries and layout intent. This is different from both a live window-tab layout and session recovery. A saved description does not start a terminal, run a recipe, reconnect SSH, or deploy anything by itself.

Use automexia workspaces list to discover saved IDs and automexia workspaces show WORKSPACE_ID to inspect one. For example, a description for a development service can group its API and database connections for review without claiming either connection is active. automexia workspaces restore WORKSPACE_ID --generation N reviews a fresh restore plan; it does not create a PTY. recipe-plan similarly shows ordered proposed steps for a selected profile without executing them. broadcast is review-only in the current source: it cannot run a command across connections.

Creating or removing a description uses workspaces put or remove with a strict document and a preview-first revision check. Run automexia workspaces --help for the exact schema and flags in your source revision, inspect the preview, and apply only with the current library and entity revisions it reports. A stale revision fails rather than overwriting another edit. Keep secrets out of workspace names, descriptions, and files; Connection Hub saved metadata is not a credential store. Use the normal shell and installed connection tools for the actual work.

For the complete binding table, see Keyboard and input reference.