Interactive TUI
Updated
RightNow Agent, the terminal coding agent, is paused. Its guides stay online as reference.
In the interactive TUI, inference goes to your configured provider and approved tools run on your machine.
Launch
Use an existing installation. Open your project directory in a terminal, then run:
Expected result: running the binary without -p, --prompt-json, --prompt-file, or a subcommand opens the TUI.
Without a usable provider key the Connect screen opens first; see Authentication, or set RIGHTNOW_API_KEY for RunInfra.
A quoted positional prompt becomes the first turn.
Native releases support Windows x64, Windows ARM64, macOS Apple Silicon, macOS Intel, Linux x64, and Linux ARM64. Windows 10 and 11 require PowerShell 5.1 or PowerShell 7 in a 64-bit host. Linux binaries are static and have no glibc requirement.
On Windows, automatic shell detection prefers PowerShell 7, then Windows PowerShell. RIGHTNOW_SHELL can explicitly select pwsh, powershell, bash, or cmd. The powershell override selects Windows PowerShell even when PowerShell 7 is installed.
Composer and context
Write a prompt
Type a request and press Enter. Responses, tool calls, command output, and file edits stream into the scrollback. Tab moves focus between the composer and the scrollback.
Attach files with @
@ opens a fuzzy file picker that respects .gitignore and hides dotfiles; @! includes hidden files. Add a line range for precise context.
Run a command yourself
Type ! on an empty composer for shell mode. The command runs without a model call; its output lands in the scrollback and joins the conversation as context.
Cancel and quit
During a turn, Esc cancels from the composer or the scrollback and keeps your draft. In fullscreen vim mode, Esc leaves the turn running; use Ctrl+C there. With a draft present, the first Ctrl+C only clears it.
Press Ctrl+Q twice to quit. In VS Code-family terminals, press Ctrl+D twice instead.
Commands and render modes
Ctrl+P opens the searchable command palette: actions, slash commands, keyboard shortcuts, and available skills. With scrollback focused, ? also opens it. Typing / in the composer opens the slash-command menu.
| Mode | How to enter | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Fullscreen | /fullscreen or --fullscreen | Standard full-screen TUI with the dashboard, theme picker, timeline, and scrollback search. |
| Minimal | /minimal or --minimal | Experimental scrollback-native mode in the terminal's own palette, with minimal-only actions such as /expand. |
Switching reopens the same conversation in the other mode for the current session only. Set the default in /settings or with screen_mode under [ui] in the config file.
Prompt queue and steering
Keep typing while a turn runs. With the default queue behavior, Enter queues the message for the next turn; Enter on an empty composer sends the first queued item now. Ctrl+; opens the queue pane, with Ctrl+' as a Windows alternative.
With [ui].follow_up_behavior set to steer, queued text is injected at the next safe model or tool boundary. The send-now chord cancels the foreground turn and starts your message next: Ctrl+Enter, with Ctrl+I as the stable Windows alternative; VS Code-family terminals use Ctrl+L. See Keyboard Shortcuts for every terminal.
Blocking cards
Questions, permission requests, and the cancel-turn panel take the keyboard while open. Tab and Shift+Tab move through the current card; Enter confirms the focused choice.
| Card | Esc |
|---|---|
| Question | Clears a selection first, then parks focus in scrollback. Press Tab to return. |
| Permission | Parks focus in scrollback without approving or denying the request. |
| Cancel turn | Chooses keep running and closes the panel. |
Themes
rightnow-night is the shipped default. In fullscreen mode, /theme (alias /t) previews and selects the other bundled themes. Minimal mode ignores theme settings and uses the terminal's own palette.
Provider inference is remote, but file, shell, search, and editing tools execute locally under the active permission policy.
Related
Next step
Find the commands for your active pane in Keyboard Shortcuts.