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Vibex TUI is a character-grid client in the same family as the desktop and mobile apps: it renders projections from the authoritative runtime and sends typed mutations. It does not open the database, the browser runtime, or the media stack itself. It is built for SSH, tmux, servers, and people who do not want to leave the terminal. The TUI ships inside every desktop package:

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Start

It attaches to the runtime for that home, starting one if needed. Common commands: Run vibex status first when something is wrong: it prints the home, flavour, mode, endpoint, and reason.

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Local and remote modes

If the home is locked and the desktop has not allowed TUI attachment, the client prints the endpoints it tried and three ways out: enable Settings → General → Vibex TUI in the desktop, quit the desktop, or connect to another runtime with vibex connect.

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The screen

The interface is one stack of full-width bands: status, transcript, turn status, composer, and a shortcut bar. When the terminal narrows, decoration, the queue, and status bands give way first; the transcript and composer remain. There is no minimum size and no “window too small” notice.
  • A settled turn folds behind ▸ Worked for 12s; click it or press e to expand.
  • A prompt that scrolls away stays pinned above the viewport.
  • / searches the transcript with smart-case regular expressions; n / p step through matches.
  • Drag-selecting text copies it over OSC 52, which works over SSH and inside tmux.
  • Long pastes collapse into a [Pasted: 42 lines] chip; images attach from the clipboard, a paste, or a dropped file.
  • The status band shows the workspace, connection state, and mode; the turn status row shows running tools, elapsed time, and approval count.

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Composer

A message written while a turn is running is held in the queue and sent when the turn ends. The queue belongs to the session it was written for: leave and come back, and it is still there.

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Sessions

vibex opens on the new-session page for the current directory, with the directory and last-used runtime already filled in. Type the first message to create the session; the title comes from that message.
  • n creates a session, Ctrl+W changes the workspace, and Ctrl+G opens Agent setup.
  • Ctrl+L or 1 opens the session list; Esc switches between the composer and the list.
  • The list mirrors the desktop’s arrangement and supports pins, rename, fork, archive, groups, and drag ordering.
  • Delegated child sessions appear as branches; the control at the end of a row expands the branch.
  • e opens the selected row’s details, c closes every detail card, and y copies session information.

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Approvals, questions, and the queue

Agent requests appear in place:
  • Approvals are cards on the page: a allows, d denies, Ctrl+A allows for the session.
  • Questions use the composer band; Tab moves between fields and Enter submits.
  • Auto-continue keeps the desktop’s five-second countdown; t stops the current continuation.
  • In the queue, Alt+↑↓ selects a row, Alt+E pulls it back into the draft, Alt+X drops it, Alt+J/K reorders it, and Alt+Enter interrupts the turn and sends it now.
  • Alt+D opens the Dock, which collects running child Agents, the plan, and held messages.

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Management, pairing, and settings

Management is a desktop-style configuration centre: Agents, Providers, Model, MCP, Skills, Prompts, and Pairing & remote access. Only operations the runtime can actually serve are shown; an operation this device’s grant does not permit explains itself instead of disappearing. The pairing page puts Pair, Paired devices, and Remote access on one tab strip:
  • QR code, one-time code, and link are generated in the panel.
  • An offer carries every route the runtime publishes; [ / ] switch routes.
  • Local-network pairing uses a to allow and r to refuse.
  • Paired devices can be revoked and the remote-protocol audit can be inspected.
Settings include theme and light/dark mode (20 themes), language (en / zh-CN / zh-TW), icon set, landing logo, motion, reasoning display, default workspace, and key bindings. Choices are written to ~/.vibex/tui-interface.json; bindings to ~/.vibex/tui-keys.toml.

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Shortcuts

Bindings can be edited in Settings. A chord another action already owns is refused and the owner is named. The TUI also reads ~/.vibex/tui-keys.toml.

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Notifications and terminal behaviour

Notifications are delivered through terminal escape sequences. When attached to a desktop, the desktop’s channel takes precedence, so one event arrives from one channel. The TUI takes ownership of the terminal’s keyboard protocol: terminals that support extended keys distinguish Enter from Shift+Enter; others fall back to Ctrl+J. Copying uses OSC 52, so it works over SSH and tmux.

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Limits

The TUI focuses on sessions and runtime operations; it is not a full replacement for the desktop workbench:
  • No file editor, Markdown/PDF/Office preview, embedded browser, or computer-use panel.
  • Image attachments render the way the terminal can render them; complex images are better viewed on the desktop.
  • Remote mode has no native steering; Ctrl+S degrades to interrupt and resend.
  • The browser and computer-use live frames are not available in the TUI.

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Troubleshooting