Navigating the CLI

The Cosine CLI features an intuitive terminal-based user interface (TUI) with three main areas: the Sidebar Panel, the Timeline, and the Chat Input. This guide covers keyboard navigation, shortcuts, and how to move between different views.

Interface Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Sidebar Panel    │           Timeline (Main Chat)            │
│  (Overview,       │                                           │
│   Terminals,      │   User: How do I refactor this?         │
│   Agents,         │                                           │
│   Changes)        │   Assistant: Here's the solution...     │
│                   │   ┌─────────────────────────────┐         │
│                   │   │ Tool: code_edit             │         │
│                   │   │ File: src/utils.ts          │         │
│                   │   └─────────────────────────────┘         │
│                   │                                           │
├───────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  [Ctrl+P] Tools  │  [Shift+Tab] Mode: Auto  >  Type message │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The Three Main Views

1. Sidebar Panel (Right Side)

The panel provides contextual information and tools across four tabs:

Tab	Shortcut	Description
Overview	Ctrl+1 / Alt+1	Repository structure and context files
Terminals	Ctrl+2 / Alt+2	Active terminal sessions and output
Agents	Ctrl+3 / Alt+3	Background agent tasks and subagents
Changes	Ctrl+4 / Alt+4	Git diff and file changes

Panel Controls:

• Ctrl+/ - Toggle panel visibility on/off
• Ctrl+`` (backtick) - Toggle focus between panel and chat
• Tab / Shift+Tab - Cycle between sections (when panel is focused)
• Left / Right - Switch between panel tabs (when panel is focused)

2. Timeline (Center)

The timeline displays the conversation history, including:

• User messages
• Assistant responses
• Tool calls and their results
• Terminal output
• Plans and todo lists
• Reasoning blocks

3. Chat Input (Bottom)

The text area where you type messages to the AI agent.

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Timeline Navigation

The timeline supports powerful keyboard navigation for reviewing past conversations and copying content.

Navigating Between User Messages

When the timeline is focused, use these keys to jump between user messages:

Key	Action
↑ (Up) / k	Jump to previous user message
↓ (Down) / j	Jump to next user message
Space	Expand/collapse assistant response under selected user message
y	Copy the assistant’s response to clipboard

How it works:

1. Press Tab until the timeline is focused (or click in the timeline area)
2. Press ↑ or ↓ to navigate between your past questions/prompts
3. The assistant’s response to that message is highlighted
4. Press y to copy the entire assistant response to your clipboard
5. Press Space to expand or collapse the response for easier reading

Scrolling the Timeline

General scrolling works from any view:

Key	Action
PgUp / Ctrl+U	Scroll up one page
PgDn / Ctrl+D	Scroll down one page
Home	Jump to top of timeline
End	Jump to bottom of timeline

Pro tip: When your cursor is in the input box and it’s empty, the Up/Down arrows automatically scroll the timeline instead of moving the cursor.

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Execution Block Navigation

Execution blocks are groups of related activities (tool calls, terminal output, reasoning). You can navigate between them:

Key	Action
Shift+↑	Select previous execution block
Shift+↓	Select next execution block
Ctrl+O	Toggle expand/collapse selected execution block

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Section Navigation

Cycle between the main interface sections:

Key	Action
Tab	Move focus to next section (Input → Timeline → Panel → Input)
Ctrl+Tab	Quickly focus the chat input from anywhere

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Common Actions

Copy to Clipboard

Key	Action
y	Copy selected assistant output (timeline focused)

The copy action shows a brief visual confirmation when successful.

Expand/Collapse Content

Key	Action
Space	Expand assistant response under selected user message
p	Toggle plan visibility
Ctrl+O	Toggle execution block

Tool Confirmation

When a tool requires confirmation:

Key	Action
y / Enter	Confirm and execute tool
n / Esc	Reject tool execution

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Mode Switching

Switch between AI operation modes:

Key	Action
Shift+Tab	Cycle through modes: Normal → Auto → Plan → Swarm

Modes explained:

• Normal: Ask for confirmation before each mutating action (default)
• Auto: Automatically execute all tools without confirmation
• Plan: Read-only planning — explore code and create a plan before executing
• Swarm: Multi-agent orchestration with parallel subagents

For a detailed explanation of each mode, see Modes.

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Quick Reference: Essential Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+C	Interrupt/cancel current agent run
Esc	Cancel operation or close dialog
Enter	Send message (when in input)
Shift+Enter / Ctrl+J	New line in input (without sending)
Ctrl+Tab	Focus chat input
Ctrl+/	Toggle sidebar panel
Ctrl+P	Open tools/settings
Ctrl+L	Open event log (debug mode)
?	Open keyboard shortcuts help

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Tips for Efficient Navigation

1. Quick copy workflow: Press Tab to focus timeline, ↑/↓ to find the message, y to copy
2. Hide panel for focus: Use Ctrl+/ to hide the panel when you want more space for the conversation
3. Navigate while typing: Use Ctrl+Tab to jump back to input from anywhere
4. Review tool results: Use Shift+↑/Shift+↓ to jump between execution blocks
5. Scroll hands-free: When not typing, Up/Down arrows scroll the timeline; when typing in empty input, they also scroll

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See Also

• CLI Overview - General CLI documentation
• Configuration - Customize keybindings and behavior
• Browser Automation - Using Chrome with the CLI