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nerdr

Concepts

The screen

Section titled “The screen”
┌─────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────┬────┐
│ repositories│ last: fix the login redirect             │                     │ F1 │
│ ● web       │ status: tests pass, writing the PR text  │  review panel       │ F2 │
│   api       ├────────────────────┬─────────────────────┤  F1 code changes    │ F3 │
│             │ 1:claude ●         │ $ terminal          │  F2 GitHub          │ F4 │
│ tabs        │                    │                     │  F3 tasks           │ F5 │
│ ● fix-login │  the agent         │  your shell, in     │  F4 skills          │    │
│ ● 123-issue │                    │  the same worktree  │  F5 plugins         │    │
│ ○ refactor  │                    │                     │                     │    │
├─────────────┴────────────────────┴─────────────────────┴─────────────────────┴────┤
│ ctrl+q  c new tab  x close  w waiting  t panes  ? find a command                  │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  • The tab list, on the left or along the top, shows your repositories and, below them, the tabs of the one selected, each with its status light.
  • The status panel above the agent says what the tab is about: your last request, the agent’s recap, where its work stands, your note.
  • The workbench is the tab’s panes: its agent, and any terminals, other agents and code reviews you open beside it.
  • The review panel on the right holds five screens, F1–F5. Closed, it is a narrow column of F-keys; an F-key or a click opens it.
  • The bottom line shows the keys you can press, and nerdr’s messages.

Words

Section titled “Words”
  • Tab. One task. A tab has a branch, a worktree for that branch in each of its repositories, and an agent working there. See Tabs, branches and worktrees.
  • Group. Tabs are grouped by repository. A tab spanning several repositories belongs to a group whose name you choose, multi by default.
  • Worktree. A second checkout of a repository, on its own branch, in its own folder. Git lets one repository have many. nerdr puts them in ~/worktrees-nerdr, so your main checkout stays untouched.
  • Pane. A part of the workbench: the tab’s agent, a terminal, another agent or a code review. Panes are side by side; those used longest ago fold into a row above when there is no room.
  • Agent number. Each agent in a tab has a number, shown as 1:claude, 2:codex. Agents use it to send each other messages.
  • Status light. ● working, ● a background process runs, ● needs your input, ● done and not yet seen, ○ seen or idle, z asleep. See Progress and notifications.
  • Prefix. ctrl+q. Everything you type goes to the agent, except after the prefix, when the next key is a nerdr command. The prefix can be changed.
  • Skill. Instructions nerdr installs for the agents, so they know how to use nerdr: explain a change, ask for a review, message another agent. See Skills (F4).
  • Plugin. A custom script or tool — such as one that rebuilds your Docker setup or seeds a database — that agents can run with parameters, or that you can run directly in F5. See Plugins.