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Layout & Workspace

NyaTerm is built around a composable workspace rather than a single terminal tab. You can open multiple sessions, split panes inside a tab, and keep common tools docked around the sides of the app.

Workspace areas​

A typical workspace is made up of these areas:

  • Center area — tabs and terminal panes
  • Left activity bar / panels — file explorer, network, Security/Auth, Cloud Sync
  • Right activity bar / panels — saved connections, active sessions, command history, resource monitor
  • Bottom helper area — quick commands, serial send, recording, lock actions

These areas are not isolated pages. They cooperate around the currently active session.

Tabs​

Each tab can hold a session, and each tab can also be split into multiple panes.

Common tab actions include:

  • Creating a new session
  • Closing the current tab
  • Switching between tabs
  • Renaming a tab
  • Setting a tab color
  • Duplicating the current session, optionally with a startup command
  • Dragging a tab into another dock/split area
  • Reconnecting a session
  • Viewing session details

This makes NyaTerm a good fit for separating:

  • Different environments
  • Different projects
  • Different task phases

Command Palette and session quick switcher​

The Command Palette helps you find app actions, session entry points, and common workspace workflows. Open it from the top menu or keyboard shortcut, then filter by keyword.

It is useful for:

  • Opening or switching to an existing session
  • Creating new SSH or Local Terminal sessions
  • Finding settings, panel toggles, lock actions, and other app-level commands
  • Staying keyboard-first while navigating the workspace

Session quick switcher​

When you have many tabs and connections open, the session quick switcher is the fastest way to navigate. It is a command-palette-style searchable dialog that you open via its keyboard shortcut or activity-bar entry.

  • Search across saved connections and local sessions by name
  • Open or switch to a session with the keyboard or mouse
  • Use the built-in shortcut to create a new SSH session right from the dialog

Split panes​

Right-click a tab to split the current session into:

  • Horizontal Split
  • Vertical Split

The panes still belong to the same tab, but each pane can hold its own independent session content. Newer workspace builds also let you drag tabs into target docking areas, which is a more visual way to move sessions into horizontal or vertical splits. This is useful for:

  • Watching logs in one pane and running commands in another
  • Comparing two hosts side by side
  • Keeping a local terminal next to a remote SSH session
  • Watching serial output while running SSH troubleshooting commands

Sessions and workspace structure​

There are two concepts that are easy to mix up:

  1. Logical tabs / pane tree — how a tab is split internally
  2. Runtime window layout — where tabs are currently attached in the live workspace

For day-to-day usage, the simple mental model is:

  • Tabs organize tasks
  • Splits let you observe things side by side
  • The active pane decides where input goes

Layout restoration and workspace padding​

NyaTerm saves the terminal window layout and tries to restore tabs, splits, and active positions when the workspace is reopened. This helps if you maintain the same set of hosts, logs, and local build tasks over time.

If you want clearer visual separation between terminal areas, adjust Workspace Padding in terminal-related settings. This only changes the workspace spacing; it does not change remote or local shell behavior.

Left and right panels​

Left side​

The left side is mainly for capability entry points:

  • File explorer
  • Network
  • Security/Auth
  • Cloud Sync

The Cloud Sync panel is a runtime entry point for cross-device config sync. It surfaces current status, recent sync activity, and direct conflict-handling actions when a conflict is detected.

Right side​

The right side is mainly for live state and navigation:

  • Saved connections
  • Active sessions
  • Command history
  • Resource monitor, GPU monitor, process manager, and Docker manager (SSH sessions)

If your workflow is "pick a connection, then inspect live state," this split feels natural.

The GPU monitor, process manager, and Docker manager panels are off by default; enable them per panel in Settings → Terminal. When a panel is disabled its activity-bar icon is hidden, and monitor panels only bind to a genuinely active SSH session.

Bottom helper area​

The bottom area is used for features that do not need to permanently occupy a sidebar, such as:

  • Quick Commands — reusable commands with variable prompts
  • Serial Send — useful when repeatedly sending fixed text to a serial device
  • Recording — start or stop session recording
  • Lock — quickly lock the app

This is one of the differences between NyaTerm and a basic multi-tab terminal: it organizes the actions around sessions, not just the terminal surface itself.

Child windows​

Some flows open dedicated child windows instead of replacing the main workspace, such as:

  • Settings
  • New session / connection creation
  • Quick command editing
  • Auto-upload prompts

This helps because it:

  • Avoids interrupting the main workspace
  • Gives complex configuration its own focused space
  • Makes screenshots and demos easier to structure

Tray, child windows, and window state​

If Minimize to tray when closing is enabled in Settings → General, closing the main window keeps the app running in the background instead of quitting immediately. The main window can also be hidden and restored later from the tray or system entry point.

NyaTerm also tries to remember child-window size, position, and modal relationships. Settings, new-session, remote-file editing, and auto-upload windows should reopen with more stable focus and window state.

This is useful when you want to:

  • Keep active sessions alive
  • Let sync or backup continue in the background
  • Reopen the main workspace quickly from the tray

Recommended workflow combinations​

Local + remote​

  • Tab 1: SSH session to the target host
  • Tab 2: Local Terminal for builds or Git commands
  • Right panel: Command History

Dual-pane troubleshooting​

  • Left pane: live logs
  • Right pane: diagnostic commands
  • Resource Monitor open to watch CPU / memory changes

File + terminal workflow​

  • SSH terminal enters the target directory
  • File explorer syncs to the same path
  • Open a remote file, edit it locally, then upload it back
Screenshot suggestion
  • Suggested image path: /img/docs/layout/quick-start-split-workspace.png
  • Show a split workspace with one SSH session and one Local Terminal
  • Another good image path: /img/docs/readme/main-workspace.png
  • Include the activity bars, center terminal area, and bottom helper area together