CodeShellManager
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A Windows desktop app for running multiple AI coding agents side-by-side — Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, or any CLI tool — in a tabbed and grid-layout terminal host.
Built with WPF + xterm.js + Windows ConPTY for full pseudo-terminal fidelity.
Features
- Multi-terminal grid — run up to 18 sessions simultaneously in configurable layouts (1, 2, 3, 4, 6 columns; 2×2, 6×2, 6×3 grids); the active pane is highlighted with a 2px accent ring so it's easy to spot
- Sidebar groups — organise sessions into named groups with their own color and filter strip; bulk actions (sleep / close / re-group) operate on the active group
- Sleep & wake — 💤 button parks a session: PTY torn down, but the session (and its notes) stays in the sidebar so you can wake it later from where you left off. Great when you have many long-running projects but only need a few live at once.
- Recently closed — Ctrl+Shift+T reopens the last-closed session (browser convention); the New Session dialog also lists the last 10 closed sessions for one-click revival
- Per-session run commands — define a list of labelled commands per session (Test, Build, Watch…); ▶ runs the default, F5 / Shift+F5 run/stop it, output streams into a side drawer without touching the parent terminal. Optional post-run URL opens in your browser on exit code 0.
- Full-text search — all terminal output indexed to SQLite FTS5; instant search across every session, ever
- Per-project notepad — collapsible 📝 notes panel on every terminal, auto-saved and searchable
- Alert detection — detects when Claude is waiting for input or tool approval; green/orange dot indicators
- Git status — shows branch and dirty state in the sidebar per session
- Session rename — double-click any session name or click ✏ to rename inline
- Shell integration — programs running in a session can push their accent color, git branch / dirty state, and tab title to CSM via OSC 9001 (handy for SSH overlays). See
docs/shell-integration.md.
- Auto-resume — automatically resumes the last Claude Code session when restoring on startup (
--resume ); toggleable in Settings
- SSH remote sessions — connect to remote hosts using your existing SSH config; sessions persist across restarts
- Windows Terminal profile import — opt-in import of profiles from Windows Terminal's
settings.json; pick a profile in the New Session dialog to stamp its font, color scheme, cursor and padding onto the new terminal
- Launch & shutdown spinners — every starting session shows a brief overlay (
Starting … or Connecting to …) until the first PTY byte arrives; closing the window shows a "Shutting down…" overlay during session disposal
- WSL sessions — first-class session type for any installed WSL distro: distro picker (auto-detected via
wsl -l -v), Linux working folder, optional -u user override; git status works via the \\wsl$\ UNC view
- Session history — clicking a search result from a closed session offers to relaunch it
- Configurable launch commands — customise the commands available in the New Session dialog
- Claude badge — sessions running
claude commands get a visual indicator
- Tray icon — minimises to system tray; balloon notifications for alerts
- Settings window — all options configurable; persisted as JSON
Requirements
> Note: The .msi installer does not bundle the WebView2 runtime. If you're on Windows 10 and see a blank terminal pane, install the WebView2 runtime from the link above.
Installation
winget (recommended)
winget install UmageAI.CodeShellManager
Future updates pick up automatically with winget upgrade UmageAI.CodeShellManager (or winget upgrade --all).
Chocolatey
choco install codeshellmanager
Upgrade with choco upgrade codeshellmanager (or choco upgrade all).
Download from Releases
- Go to Releases
- Download either:
CodeShellManager-x.y.z-Setup.msi — installer (adds Start Menu + Desktop shortcuts, supports uninstall via Apps & Features)CodeShellManager-x.y.z-win-x64.zip — portable; extract and run CodeShellManager.exe
Build from source
Requirements: .NET 10 SDK, Windows 10/11
git clone https://github.com/umage-ai/CodeShellManager.git
cd CodeShellManager
dotnet run --project src/CodeShellManager/CodeShellManager.csproj
Command-line flags
| Flag | Effect |
|---|
--clean | Start with no preloaded sessions and skip writing state.json for the run. Useful when developing — your saved sessions/settings are left untouched. |
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|
Ctrl+T | New session |
Ctrl+Shift+T | Reopen the most-recently-closed session |
Ctrl+Alt+T | Duplicate the active session |
Ctrl+W | Close active session |
Ctrl+F | Toggle search |
Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab | Cycle sessions |
F5 | Run the active session's default run-command |
Shift+F5 | Stop the active session's running run-command |
Escape (in search) | Close search panel |
Layout Options
Click the layout buttons in the toolbar (right side):
| Button | Layout |
|---|
| ▣ | Single pane |
| ▥ | 2 columns |
| ▦ | 3 columns |
| ⊞ | 2×2 grid |
| ⇔ | 2 rows |
| 4 | 4 columns |
| 6 | 6 columns |
| 6×2 | 6 columns × 2 rows (12 panes) |
| 6×3 | 6 columns × 3 rows (18 panes) |
Contributing
Issues and pull requests are welcome. See CLAUDE.md for architecture notes and coding conventions.
License
MIT — see LICENSE.
By umage.ai