Terminal

Qualia includes a full-featured terminal so you can run shell commands directly in the app. Each terminal runs in its own tab and persists across sessions. In cloud workspaces, only the workspace owner can use the integrated terminal. Editors can ask their agents to run shell commands.

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Opening a terminal

There are several ways to open a new terminal:

• Press Ctrl+`
• Choose View → New Terminal
• Click + in the terminal panel once it is open

Ctrl+` opens a terminal in the focused pane when that pane can host one — typically the editor. If the focused pane cannot, Qualia opens it in the bottom terminal panel.

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Terminal basics

The terminal is a standard shell session with full access to your system:

• Run any shell command (ls, git, npm, python, etc.)
• Navigate directories with cd
• Install packages and manage dependencies
• Run scripts and executables

The terminal uses your system’s default shell, or you can configure a specific shell in Settings.

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Working with multiple terminals

You can open multiple terminals simultaneously:

• Each terminal appears as a separate tab
• Drag terminal tabs between panes in split view
• Close terminals by clicking the X on the tab or typing exit

When you close and reopen Qualia, your terminal sessions are preserved, though the shell state (environment variables, current directory) resets.

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Local terminals and notebooks

Local terminals and local notebooks share the same workspace context:

• Both see the same files and directories
• Changes made in the terminal (new files, installed packages) are immediately available in notebooks
• The default Python environment from Settings is automatically activated in new terminals

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Terminals in the cloud

In the browser app, the terminal opens a bash session inside your workspace’s cloud environment rather than on your own machine. You can open a cloud terminal without starting a notebook. It uses a separate workspace environment; notebook kernels have their own processes and installed packages, while shared workspace files are accessible from both.

• It starts in your workspace directory and sees the files shown in Files
• Use it for the things a shell is for — git clone, pip install, running workspace scripts, tailing the output of a long run
• The Terminal Shell setting below applies to desktop terminals only; cloud terminals always run bash
• A terminal keeps running while its tab is open. Closing the tab ends the session, and sessions end when the workspace environment shuts down

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Shell configuration

Configure your terminal shell in Settings > Environments > Terminal Shell:

• Leave empty to use your system’s default shell
• Set a specific path like /bin/zsh or /bin/bash
• The setting applies to new terminals only

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Keyboard shortcuts

Standard terminal shortcuts work as expected — Qualia doesn’t intercept them. Ctrl+` opens a new terminal in the focused pane when that pane can host one.