TUI Mode
Full-screen terminal UI for Codebolt. Same server, same features as the desktop app, but runs in a terminal. Good for:
- Remote machines you access via SSH.
- Terminal-first workflows.
- Screen-reader and accessibility use.
- Minimalist setups.
Launching
codebolt
This starts the server and opens the TUI automatically. The TUI is the default interface when you run codebolt without any flags.
To start with a specific project:
codebolt --project /path/to/project
Layout
┌── project ──────┬────── chat ──────────────┐
│ > README.md │ generalist ▾ │
│ src/ │ │
│ auth/ │ user: rename getUser │
│ api/ │ assistant: renamed 3 files
│ │ │
├── terminal ─────┴────── status ────────────┤
│ $ npm test │ ✓ Connected │ 14 phases │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Four panels:
- Project — file tree, search
- Chat — active conversation
- Terminal — shell
- Status — connection, active agents, diagnostics
Key bindings
Global
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Tab | Cycle focus between panels |
Shift+Tab | Reverse cycle |
Ctrl+P | Quick file open |
Ctrl+Shift+P | Command palette |
Ctrl+N | New chat tab |
Ctrl+W | Close current tab |
Ctrl+Q | Quit |
? | Show help overlay |
Esc | Cancel current action / stop current turn |
Chat panel
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Enter | Send message |
Shift+Enter | New line in composer |
Ctrl+K | Inline edit (when a file is open in a peer pane) |
Up / Down | Scroll message history |
PgUp / PgDn | Scroll faster |
Ctrl+Home | Jump to start of thread |
Ctrl+End | Jump to end |
Project panel
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Up / Down | Navigate tree |
Enter | Open file / expand directory |
/ | Fuzzy search |
r | Refresh tree |
Terminal panel
Normal shell keybindings pass through. Ctrl+C interrupts the running command.
Tabs
The chat panel supports multiple tabs just like the GUI. Switch with Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab. Each tab has its own agent binding and history.
SSH / remote use
For running on a remote machine:
ssh user@remote-box
codebolt # starts the TUI on the remote machine
Alternatively, start the server on the remote in headless mode and connect from your local machine:
# on remote
codebolt --server --port 12345
# on local
codebolt --connect 12345
Limitations vs the GUI
The TUI has most features of the desktop app but a few things differ:
- Images and rendered output are shown as placeholders (the terminal can't render images).
- Checkpoint diffs use text-diff views instead of side-by-side.
- The flow view is a tree rendering rather than a graph.
- Some panels (canvas, dynamic panels from extensions) aren't supported.
Everything core — chat, agents, tools, memory, checkpoints, trace — works identically.