Command Terminal

The Command Terminal gives you instant access to your default agent without creating a task on the board. Use it for one-off actions like creating releases, running queries, or any ad-hoc interaction that doesn’t need to be tracked as a task.

Opening the Command Terminal

Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+P (macOS), or click the terminal icon in the title bar (next to the settings gear).

A full-screen overlay opens with an agent session running at your project root, using whichever CLI is set as the project’s default agent (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Cursor, Copilot, Aider, or Warp).

How It Works

The Command Terminal spawns a transient session — a lightweight agent process that is fully independent of your board tasks:

• Runs at the project root on the configured default base branch
• Before spawning, Kangentic runs git fetch and fast-forwards the base branch so the session starts against the latest remote state
• Does not appear in the bottom panel’s terminal tabs
• Does not count toward the concurrent session limit
• Produces no toast notifications on exit
• Preserved across project switches — switch to another project and back, and the session is still running
• Non-resumable — closing the overlay ends the session permanently

A shimmer overlay shows while the agent CLI initializes, then lifts to reveal the clean TUI. An idle indicator appears when the session is waiting for input. The Command Terminal session is included in the focused-session set for live PTY data, and idle notifications clearly label it as a Command Terminal session.

You can also open the Changes panel from the Command Terminal dialog to review the diff against the base branch while working.

Branch Picker

The header includes a branch picker that lets you switch branches without leaving the overlay:

1. Select a different branch from the dropdown
2. The current session is killed
3. A new session spawns on the selected branch

Note

If git checkout fails when switching branches (e.g., due to uncommitted changes), a warning toast explains the issue and the session stays on the current branch.

Closing

Press Ctrl+Shift+P again, click the backdrop outside the overlay, or press Escape. The PTY process is killed and the session directory is cleaned up immediately.

When to Use It

• Quick questions — ask Claude about the codebase without creating a task
• Releases — run release scripts or tag management
• One-off fixes — small changes that don’t warrant a tracked task
• Exploration — investigate code or debug issues interactively