The composer

The composer is the input at the bottom of the terminal, where every instruction starts. Typing anywhere in the terminal focuses the composer. Enter sends; Shift+Enter starts a new line. Pasted text stays in the draft until you press Enter.

Steer a running task

You can send while the terminal is working: the message waits and is taken up at the next break in the work, so you can steer a running task ("use the T-12, not the budget") while it runs.

A message that's waiting can still be changed. With nothing typed in the composer, press Up to pull the most recent waiting message back in, edit it, and press Enter to put it back in line.

Esc stops the terminal mid-work. With messages waiting, Esc means stop now and take my input immediately.

Send running work to the background

When a step holds up the rest of the work, its line reads "running… (Ctrl+B to send to background)". Press Ctrl+B and it keeps going on its own while the terminal moves on to the rest, so you carry on in the same session.

A suggested next message

After a reply lands, a likely next message sometimes appears greyed out in the empty composer. Press Tab to put it in the composer, then send it as-is or edit it first. Start typing your own message and it goes away.

Reference files

Type @ to open the file picker and reference a specific file. You can also drag a file row from the Workbench onto the terminal; the reference lands at the cursor. Commands accept @ references the same way.

Dictate instead of typing

Hold ⌥Space, speak, and release. What you said lands in the composer as ordinary text; review and edit it, add @ references or wrap a command around it like any other draft, and press Enter when you're ready to send.

Microphone access is granted in your browser, not in Cap Orbit. If "Microphone blocked" appears, allow the microphone for this site in your browser's settings and dictate again. "No speech detected" means nothing usable was captured; hold and try again.

Keyboard shortcuts

Learn more

• Permission modes: what Shift+Tab cycles through and what each mode allows.
• While the terminal works: following progress, asking side questions, and steering.
• Commands: the slash commands behind the / menu.