Every Whim task includes a live terminal that streams the AI agent’s work to your browser. You can watch commands execute, send follow-up instructions, and run your own commands alongside the agent.
Terminal sessions
Each task provides two independent sessions sharing the same filesystem and environment:
- Whim terminal — the AI agent’s session where it reads your prompt, runs commands, and writes code.
- Shell terminal — a separate shell for your own use (running tests, checking files, etc.).
Changes made in either session are immediately visible in the other.
Live streaming
Terminal output streams over WebSocket — you see every line as it happens with no polling or refresh. If you navigate away and come back, the terminal reconnects and restores recent output automatically.
The terminal supports full ANSI escape codes (syntax highlighting, colored diffs, progress bars). Built-in themes: Dark (default), Light, and Dracula — follows your workspace appearance settings.
The terminal keeps 10,000 lines of scrollback. Use your mouse wheel, trackpad, or touch to scroll through history.
Resizing
The terminal auto-resizes to fit your browser window, adjusting column and row count when you resize, switch layouts, or toggle panels.
Interaction
Click or tap the terminal to focus it, then type. In the Whim terminal, pressing Enter sends input immediately — this is how you answer agent prompts or send follow-up instructions. In the Shell terminal, keyboard works like a normal terminal with full line editing and command history.
Follow-up prompts
Type into the Whim terminal to steer the agent mid-task — change approach, fix something, or continue to the next step — without creating a new task.
Read mode
Press Cmd+. (Mac) or Ctrl+. (Windows/Linux) to toggle read mode, which formats output as a scrollable conversation view.
In read mode:
- Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search terminal output
- Enter or Cmd+G jumps to the next match; Shift+Enter or Shift+Cmd+G for previous
- Escape closes the search bar
Read mode is useful for reviewing what the agent did after it finishes — scroll through the full conversation without accidentally sending input.
Mobile
The terminal works on phones and tablets:
- Tap to bring up the keyboard
- Swipe to scroll output
- A keyboard toolbar provides special keys:
| Button | Sends |
|---|
| Esc | Escape key |
| Tab | Tab character |
| ← → ↑ ↓ | Arrow keys |
| Paste | Clipboard paste |
| Attach | File picker |
| Enter | Enter / Return |
Session persistence
Terminal sessions run on the task’s cloud container, not in your browser:
- Refreshing the page reconnects to the same session — running processes, working directory, and environment are preserved.
- Closing and reopening picks up where you left off.
- Switching between tasks keeps each terminal running in the background.
Reconnection
If your connection drops (network interruption, Wi-Fi switch, laptop wake), the terminal reconnects automatically with a short backoff. Cached output displays immediately; fresh output resumes once the connection is live. If the container has stopped, you’ll see a status message explaining why.
Terminal cache
Whim caches recently viewed terminals for instant switching:
| Device | Cached terminals |
|---|
| Desktop | Up to 15 |
| Mobile | Up to 8 |
| iOS Safari | Up to 5 |
Shell history sync
Whim syncs shell history across all tasks in your workspace using Atuin. Press Ctrl+R in any shell terminal to search cross-task command history.
History is scoped to your workspace — commands from other workspaces won’t appear.
Keyboard reference
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Cmd+. / Ctrl+. | Toggle read mode |
| Cmd+F / Ctrl+F | Search (in read mode) |
| Enter | Send input / next search match |
| Shift+Enter | Previous search match (in read mode) |
| Escape | Close search bar |
| Ctrl+R | Search shell history (Atuin) |
