Deep Dive: Terminal & Command Blocks

This guide walks you through daily, hands-on usage of Warpai’s core terminal capabilities and integrated developer tools. It focuses strictly on how to use each feature: what to click, which keys to press, and how to navigate efficiently.

Part 1: Terminal Basics & Command Blocks

Unlike traditional terminals that treat output as an unstructured, scrolling stream of raw text, Warpai organizes every command into an atomic Block.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ❯ git status                                                 [0.08s] [✓ 0]  │
│ On branch main                                                              │
│ Your branch is up to date with 'origin/main'.                               │
│ nothing to commit, working tree clean                                       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

1. Navigating Blocks

• Mouse: Click any block in the terminal history to select it. A subtle highlight border indicates focus.
• Keyboard: Press Cmd + Up / Cmd + Down (Ctrl + Up / Ctrl + Down on Windows) to jump focus from one command block to another.

2. Copying Input vs. Copying Clean Output

• Copy Command Input: Click the small clipboard icon on the top right of a block, or press Cmd + Shift + C (Ctrl + Shift + C on Windows). Only the command line text (e.g. git status) is copied.
• Copy Clean Output: Press Cmd + Shift + O (Ctrl + Shift + O on Windows). Only the output text generated by the command is copied—with no prompts, prompt symbols (❯), or timestamps cluttering your clipboard.

3. Collapsing and Expanding Long Outputs

When a command outputs hundreds of lines (e.g., npm install or cargo build):

• Click the chevron icon (▼) on the top left of the block header.
• Or select the block and press Cmd + / (Ctrl + / on Windows).
• The output collapses to a single clean line, keeping your terminal viewport uncluttered. Click it again to expand.

Part 2: Smart Autocompletion & Command Palette

Warpai features intelligent command completion with built-in parameter signatures for Git, Docker, Cargo, NPM, Kubernetes, and hundreds of common CLI tools.

1. Using Smart Autocompletion

1. Start typing a command (e.g., git check).
2. An interactive popup appears displaying matching subcommands (checkout, check-ref-format, etc.) along with official documentation summaries.
3. Press Tab or Down Arrow to navigate options.
4. Press Enter or Tab to accept the highlighted completion.
5. If typing flags (e.g., git commit -), Warpai lists available options (-m, --amend, -a) with parameter explanations.

2. Global Command Palette (Cmd + P / Ctrl + P)

1. Press Cmd + P (Ctrl + P on Windows).
2. Type an action name (e.g., Split, Theme, Clear, New Tab).
3. Press Enter to execute the action immediately without touching your mouse.

Part 3: Tabs & Split Panes

Warpai provides flexible workspace layout management optimized for both widescreen monitors and multi-tasking.

1. Vertical vs. Horizontal Tabs

• Toggle Mode: Press Cmd + Shift + V (Ctrl + Shift + V on Windows) to switch between Vertical Tabs (pinned along the left of the terminal) and traditional horizontal tabs along the top.
• Why Vertical Tabs?: When working across multiple Git worktrees and server sessions, horizontal tabs quickly get squashed. Vertical tabs display full checkout names and branch labels with zero truncation.
• New Tab: Cmd + T (Ctrl + T on Windows).
• Close Tab: Cmd + W (Ctrl + W on Windows).

2. Splitting Panes

You can divide any terminal tab into multiple independent panes:

• Split Vertically (Side by Side): Press Cmd + D (Ctrl + Shift + D on Windows).
• Split Horizontally (Top & Bottom): Press Cmd + Shift + D (Ctrl + Shift + E on Windows).
• Navigate Between Panes: Press Cmd + Option + Arrow Keys (Alt + Arrow Keys on Windows).

Part 4: Project Explorer (In-Terminal File Manager)

The right-hand panel gives you full visibility into your project directory without needing Finder, File Explorer, or a separate IDE.

• Toggle Project Explorer: Click the Folder icon in the top right utility toolbar, or press Cmd + B (Ctrl + B on Windows).
• Operations: Right-click any file or folder to create files, rename, duplicate, or delete.
• Terminal Sync: Running cd <path> in the terminal automatically updates and highlights the folder in the Project Explorer.

Part 5: Built-in Code Editor & Vim Mode

Click any text or code file in the Project Explorer to open it in Warpai’s built-in editor:

• Vim Mode: Turn on Vim mode in Settings. Press Esc to enter normal mode, navigate with h/j/k/l, and type :w to save or :q to close.
• Syntax Highlighting: Supports Rust, Python, TypeScript, Go, C++, HTML, JSON, YAML, TOML, and Markdown.

Part 6: Live Markdown & Image Preview

Click any .md file in the Project Explorer, then toggle the Preview tab:

• Renders tables, checklists, callouts, and local/remote images.
• Updates in real-time as your coding agents edit or create documentation files.

Part 7: Terminal-Native Git Code Review

Inspect your working tree changes side by side before staging or committing:

• Shows Staged Changes, Unstaged Changes, and Untracked Files.
• Displays side-by-side or unified diffs with green additions and red deletions.