CrewDock

A desktop workspace switcher for developers who want real shell sessions, fast tabbed context switching, and multi-pane terminal layouts without rebuilding their setup every time.

CrewDock is a Tauri app that binds each workspace tab to a real local project folder, boots PTY-backed shell panes inside that workspace, and keeps the rest of the working context close: Git, a docked file explorer, a lightweight text editor, workspace-scoped tasks, and Codex session restore. It is built for the moment when you are juggling multiple repos, multiple shell layouts, and multiple contexts, but you still want everything to feel immediate.

Why CrewDock

• Folder-backed workspace tabs instead of disposable terminal tabs
• Real shell sessions spawned by Rust with portable-pty
• Multi-pane grids powered by xterm.js
• Fast workspace switching without tearing down the current app-run sessions
• Docked file explorer per workspace with lazy directory loading
• Built-in text editor for workspace files with save, reload, conflict handling, and recovery drafts
• Workspace-scoped task list for next steps and reminders
• Quick switching and per-workspace context across multiple repos
• Codex session resume with context-aware titles and pane-level restore bindings
• Built-in source control for changes, branches, commit history, and sync
• Built-in launcher commands with path completion for opening and navigating folders quickly
• Themeable desktop chrome plus adjustable interface and terminal sizing
• Local persistence for tabs, layouts, active workspace, theme, sizing, and AI settings

Latest Workflow

The current build already supports the core loop inside one workspace:

• browse the repo from the docked explorer
• open and edit text files without leaving the terminal workspace
• recover unsaved drafts after restart
• jump from source control directly into the editor or reveal the file in the explorer
• resume Codex sessions back into the right pane after relaunch

Product Tour

Launcher Start from a folder picker or use the command bar to navigate and open a workspace.	Workspace Builder Choose how many terminals to boot up front, from a single shell to a dense grid.
Live Terminal Grid Work inside real shell panes, split them directionally, and keep the layout tied to that workspace.	Theme Switcher Swap the whole application chrome between built-in themes without losing workspace state.

Workflow

flowchart LR
    A[Choose or navigate to a folder] --> B[Create workspace]
    B --> C[Boot 1 to 16 shell panes]
    C --> D[Split, close, and arrange panes]
    D --> E[Switch between workspace tabs]
    E --> F[Restore tabs and theme on relaunch]

Loading

Architecture

flowchart TD
    UI[Static frontend in src-web] --> XTerm[xterm.js terminals]
    UI --> Bridge[Tauri invoke bridge]
    Bridge --> Rust[Rust application runtime]
    Rust --> PTY[portable-pty shell sessions]
    Rust --> Persist[JSON persistence]
    Persist --> Relaunch[Restore workspaces on next launch]

Loading

Current Capabilities

• Top workspace strip with folder-backed tabs, rename actions, git state, and unsaved editor draft indicators
• Inline workspace rename in the tab bar
• Workspace creation flow with launcher-based navigation, path completion, and 1 to 16 starting terminals
• Real directional pane splitting, pane maximize / restore, and pane close actions
• Per-pane shell input, resize wiring, and file-drop path insertion
• Docked file explorer with lazy folder expansion and per-workspace state
• Built-in text editor with save, reload, conflict detection, and recovery drafts
• Workspace task list with open / completed tracking
• Codex session picker with context-derived titles and pane-level auto-restore
• Source control drawer with staged / modified / untracked / conflicted sections, diff preview, commit entry, branch actions, commit graph history, and direct open-in-editor / reveal-in-explorer actions
• Git actions for stage, unstage, discard, commit, commit-all, fetch, pull, push, publish, upstream wiring, and branch management
• AI-assisted commit message generation using a saved key or OPENAI_API_KEY
• Quick switcher for moving between busy workspaces
• Settings for theme, interface text scale, terminal font size, and OpenAI API key storage
• Local persistence across app relaunches for workspaces, pane layouts, active workspace, settings, workspace tasks, file recovery drafts, and Codex restore bindings
• Six built-in themes

Getting Started

Download

Download the latest macOS build from the GitHub Releases page.

Prerequisites

• Node.js and npm
• Rust toolchain
• macOS system dependencies required by Tauri/WebKit

Run locally

npm install
npm run check
npm run dev

npm install syncs the vendored xterm.js assets into src-web/vendor. npm run dev then launches the native Tauri app.

Using CrewDock

1. Launch the app.
2. Click Open workspace or use the launcher command bar.
3. Pick a folder and choose the starting terminal count.
4. Switch workspaces from the top strip as you move between repos.
5. Rename a workspace directly from the top bar when the default folder name is not enough.
6. Open Files to browse the repo tree, then open a text file into the built-in editor.
7. Use the pane context menu or keyboard shortcuts to split, maximize, or close panes.
8. Open source control with the footer action or Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+G to review diffs, branches, commit history, or jump directly into the editor.
9. Use Tasks to keep workspace-specific next steps visible.
10. Use Codex to resume the right session back into the right pane.
11. Use Cmd/Ctrl+K to quick-switch workspaces.
12. Open settings with the gear icon or Cmd/Ctrl+, to switch themes, adjust sizing, and manage the local OpenAI key used for AI commit messages.

Launcher Commands

Command	What it does
help	Show supported launcher commands
pwd	Print the current launcher base path
ls	List the current folder
ls ../another-folder	List a different folder without switching into it
cd ..	Move the launcher base path
open .	Create a workspace from the current launcher path
clear	Clear launcher output and command history from the current session

Tab completion is supported in the launcher for path-aware commands such as ls, cd, and open.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	What it does
Cmd/Ctrl+,	Open settings
Cmd/Ctrl+K	Open the quick switcher
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+G	Open source control for the active workspace
Tab	Complete launcher paths
Cmd/Ctrl+D	Split the active pane to the right
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+D	Split the active pane downward
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Enter	Maximize or restore the active pane
Cmd/Ctrl+W	Close the active pane
Esc	Dismiss overlays, drawers, and inline rename state

Source Control

CrewDock's source control drawer is deeper than a simple status badge. The current implementation includes:

• Change lists grouped by staged, modified, untracked, and conflicted files
• Read-only diff previews for working tree and staged states
• Open-in-editor and reveal-in-explorer actions for changed files
• Commit entry with Commit, Commit All, and AI-assisted message generation
• Branch search plus create, checkout, rename, delete, publish, and upstream actions
• Commit graph browsing with detail inspection, ref labels, and branch-from-commit actions
• Fetch, pull, and push controls that run through PTY-backed Git tasks

Editing and Recovery

CrewDock now ships with a lightweight built-in editor for workspace files. V1 is intentionally narrow and terminal-friendly:

• text-file editing only
• explicit save / reload actions plus Cmd/Ctrl+S
• external-change conflict detection before overwrite
• recovery drafts persisted per workspace so unsaved work can come back after relaunch
• explorer and source control handoff so navigation and editing stay in one workspace surface

Project Layout

src-web/    Frontend UI, layout rendering, workspace strip, themes, xterm mounting
src-tauri/  Rust backend, PTY lifecycle, persistence, Tauri commands

Developer Docs

If you are new to the codebase, start here:

• docs/developer-guide.md for architecture, state flow, persistence, PTY lifecycle, and the main places to edit when adding features
• docs/codex-plan.md for the current refactor and product direction notes

Status

CrewDock is still early-stage, but the core interaction model is already in place: open folder, create workspace, split panes, switch contexts, and come back to the same setup later.

Current areas to push next:

1. Tighten native QA and polish around the editor / explorer / source control workflow.
2. Restore scrollback and session metadata more gracefully across relaunches.
3. Add richer editor ergonomics without turning CrewDock into a full IDE shell.
4. Expand workspace reordering, keyboard shortcuts, and external-app handoff.

Open Source

CrewDock is being shaped as an open source developer tool. Issues, design feedback, and pull requests are all useful, especially around terminal UX, workspace management, and persistence behavior.