Using the Built-in Terminal

Opening the Terminal

Toggle the terminal panel with ` (backtick, below Escape).

The terminal appears at the bottom of the window, below the file panes.

Directory Synchronization

The terminal automatically syncs with the active file pane:

• File pane -> Terminal: When you navigate to a directory in the file pane, the terminal cds to match
• Terminal -> File pane: When you cd in the terminal, the file pane updates to show that directory

This bidirectional sync means you're always working in the same context.

Shell Integration

Captain's Deck uses your default shell:

• zsh (default on modern macOS)
• bash
• fish

Your shell configuration (~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc, etc.) is loaded, so aliases and functions work normally.

Terminal Features

Full Terminal Emulation

• 256 color support
• Unicode and emoji
• Mouse support for compatible programs
• Scrollback buffer

Standard Controls

Running Commands on Selected Files

You can reference selected files from the file pane in your terminal commands:

1. Select files in the file pane
2. Switch to terminal (click or use `)
3. Type your command

Resizing the Terminal

Drag the divider between the file panes and terminal to resize:

• Drag up for a larger terminal
• Drag down for more file space
• Double-click divider to reset to default size

Multiple Shells

The terminal maintains a single shell session that persists while Captain's Deck is open. Background processes continue running even when the terminal is hidden.

Common Workflows

Git Operations

git status
git add .
git commit -m "Your message"
git push

Quick File Operations

# Create multiple directories
mkdir -p project/{src,tests,docs}

# Find large files
find . -size +100M

# Bulk rename
for f in *.txt; do mv "$f" "${f%.txt}.md"; done

Running Scripts

./build.sh
python script.py
npm run dev

Preferences

Terminal settings can be configured in Preferences -> Terminal:

• Font family and size
• Color scheme
• Cursor style (block, underline, bar)
• Scrollback lines

Next Steps