Loxel
GitHub

Getting Started

This page gets you from a fresh install to your first task, with an agent working in it, in a few minutes.

Add your first project

Click Add project at the bottom of the worktree sidebar. The dialog has two tabs: New Project creates a new folder and repository, and Import Existing brings in something you already have:

  • Detect — enter a path or browse to a folder on disk. Loxel identifies whether it’s a bare repo, a regular repo, or a non-repo folder.
  • Add — after detection, confirm to register the repo in Loxel’s project list.
  • Clone — paste a remote URL. Choose single-workspace (regular clone) or multi-workspace (bare repo + first worktree) before confirming.
  • Init — initialize git in an existing folder that isn’t yet a repo. Same single/multi choice as Clone.
  • Convert — choose multi-workspace on a detected regular repo to turn it into a bare repo with worktrees. Requires a clean working tree, a checked-out branch, and no existing linked worktrees.

For most cases, Detect + Add is the fastest path. If you’re planning to work on several tasks in parallel on the same repo, choose the multi-workspace option during Clone or Init — it sets up a bare repo from the start. See Worktrees & Tasks for the full breakdown.

Panel layout overview

Loxel’s interface is divided into five areas:

  • Left sidebar — the Project Files and Changes panels (Command+Shift+E, Command+Shift+C). The worktree sidebar with your projects and worktrees sits to its left (Control+Option+B).
  • Center — editors, diff views, terminals, and browsers. This is your main workspace.
  • Right sidebar — the Comments panel (Control+Shift+R); drag any tool panel here.
  • Bottom — the Git panel with the commit graph (Control+Shift+G) and the Logs panel.
  • Status bar — active branch, upstream tracking (↑ X ↓ Y), and working tree counts.

Panels are fully rearrangeable by drag and drop. Use Command+1–9 to focus a specific panel, Control+Tab / Control+Shift+Tab to cycle through open panels. See Panel Layout for rearranging panels and keyboard navigation.

Open a file and make a change

Open a file

Press Command+P to open Quick Open. Type any part of a file path — results filter with fuzzy matching. Press Return to open the file.

To jump to a specific line, append :line to the filename: for example, type app.ts:42 to land on line 42.

Make a change

Loxel autosaves 250ms after you stop typing, with a maximum 5s delay. Press Command+S to save immediately. Format-on-save runs on explicit save by default.

Review and commit

Open the Changes panel (Command+Shift+C) to see every changed file; double-click one (or press Return) to open its diff. Loxel has no staging or commit UI, so commit from a terminal (Command+T) — or let your agent do it.

Create a worktree for a new task

Every task gets its own worktree: a separate checkout and branch, with its own editors, terminals and layout. When you’re ready to start one without touching what you have open, create a worktree.

  • Click Add worktree under the project in the worktree sidebar.
  • Press Control+Option+N from anywhere in the app.

Type a name for the worktree and press Return. The new worktree appears in the sidebar; click it to switch to it — it has a clean working tree, its own editor layout, and its own terminals.

Switch back to your previous task by clicking its worktree in the sidebar, or use Control+Option+[ / Control+Option+] to go back and forward through the worktrees you visited. Your layout and open files are restored exactly as you left them.

See Worktrees & Tasks for bare repos, uncommitted changes across worktrees, and the worktree sidebar.

Start your agent

Now give the task to an agent. Switch to the new worktree and press Command+T: the terminal opens in the task’s worktree. Run Claude Code, Codex, or any other agent that works in a terminal, on your own subscription as usual:

claude

Tell it what to do, and go back to your other task while it works. Its terminal keeps running, and if your agent sends terminal notifications, a dot on the worktree in the sidebar tells you when it needs you.

Then teach your agent about Loxel. The loxel skill shows it how to open files for you to review, show its dev server or PR in a browser panel, and start commands in terminals of their own. For Claude Code, install it with:

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/loxel
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bizimind/loxel/main/skills/loxel/SKILL.md -o ~/.claude/skills/loxel/SKILL.md

See Running Coding Agents for other agents, notifications and multi-line prompts, and Working on Parallel Tasks for the rest of the loop: reviewing what the agent did and committing it.