# User Interface Overview (/docs/verdent/getting-started/interface)

> Overview of the Verdent interface and components



Verdent provides a comprehensive development environment with integrated chat, editor, terminal, and diff viewing capabilities.

## What You'll Learn [#what-youll-learn]

* Navigate the main interface components
* Use the chat panel effectively
* Work with the integrated editor and terminal
* Review changes

***

## Interface Overview [#interface-overview]

Verdent uses a multi-panel layout with six main areas:

* **Top Bar** - Project switching, workspace management, and user account
* **Workspace Bar** - Current workspace, branch, workspace actions, and panel toggles
* **Left Panel** - Task list and task creation
* **Sidebar** - Source Control and Explorer tabs
* **Middle Panel** - Chat view, integrated editor, and terminal
* **Chat Input Box** - Text input with context controls, mode selection, and send button

<Frame>
  <img src="/docs-images/main-interface-layout.png" alt="Main Interface Layout" />
</Frame>

<Tip>
  Resize any panel by dragging its edges. Your layout preferences are saved automatically.
</Tip>

***

## Top Bar [#top-bar]

The top bar provides quick access to essential functions:

| Component           | Purpose                                              |
| ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| **Verdent**         | App menu (About, Settings, Reload)                   |
| **Home**            | Return to home screen                                |
| **Current Project** | Shows current project name, click to switch projects |
| **New Workspace**   | Create a new isolated workspace                      |
| **All Workspaces**  | Switch between active workspaces                     |
| **Feedback**        | Submit feedback or report issues                     |
| **Settings**        | Open settings modal                                  |
| **User Menu**       | Account info, credit balance                         |

**Key Actions:**

* Click **Verdent** → Access About, Settings, Reload
* Click **Home** → Return to home screen
* Click project name → Switch projects or access recent projects
* Click **New Workspace** → Create isolated workspace for parallel work
* Click **All Workspaces** → Switch between active workspaces
* Click **Feedback** → Submit feedback or report issues
* Click **Settings** → Configure Verdent preferences
* Click **User Menu** → View credits, account info

***

## Workspace Bar [#workspace-bar]

The workspace bar sits below the top bar and provides workspace-specific controls:

**Left Side:**

| Component             | Description                                                            |
| --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Current Workspace** | Shows the active workspace name                                        |
| **Branch**            | Indicates the current git branch (can change branch on base workspace) |
| **Delete Workspace**  | Remove the workspace (when available)                                  |
| **Workspace Actions** | Dropdown with Rebase to main branch, Sync with main branch             |

**Right Side:**

| Component                                       | Description               |
| ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| **Open in VS Code (Ctrl+E)**                    | Open workspace in VS Code |
| **Toggle Explorer and Source Control (Ctrl+B)** | Show/hide Sidebar         |
| **Terminal Panel (Ctrl+J or Ctrl+\`)**          | Toggle terminal panel     |
| **Editor (Ctrl+L)**                             | Focus the editor          |

***

## Left Panel: Tasks [#left-panel-tasks]

The left panel manages your tasks within the current workspace:

**Task List:**

* Lists all tasks in current workspace
* Each task is a separate conversation thread
* Click to switch between tasks

**Task Actions:**

| Action          | Description                           |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| **New Task**    | Start a new task (`Cmd+N` / `Ctrl+N`) |
| **Switch Task** | Click any task to switch to it        |

<Note>
  Tasks share the workspace file state. Context is preserved when switching between tasks.
</Note>

***

## Sidebar: Source Control & Explorer [#sidebar-source-control--explorer]

The Sidebar provides file management and version control:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Source Control">
    **Version Control:** (`Ctrl+Shift+G` / `Cmd+Shift+G`)

    * View changed files
    * Stage and commit changes
    * Diff view for individual files
    * Revert changes
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Explorer">
    **File Browser:** (`Ctrl+Shift+E` / `Cmd+Shift+E`)

    * Navigate project files
    * Open files in editor
    * Create, rename, delete files
    * Search within project

    **Additional Controls:**

    * **Create File** - Create a new file
    * **Create Folder** - Create a new folder
    * **Collapse All** - Collapse all expanded folders
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

**Panel Controls:**

| Control     | Description                  |
| ----------- | ---------------------------- |
| **Refresh** | Refresh file list and status |
| **Close**   | Hide the Sidebar             |

***

## Middle Panel [#middle-panel]

The middle panel displays your work and can show multiple views.

**Task Changes** - Click to view all files changed within the current task. Shows modifications for the current workspace only, not across different workspaces.

**Context Remaining** - Indicates how much context remains within the model for the current conversation.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Chat View">
    **Chat Panel:**

    * Full conversation history with Verdent
    * Code blocks with syntax highlighting
    * File references and links
    * Expandable tool usage details

    **Chat Features:**

    * Scroll through conversation history
    * Copy code blocks with one click
    * Click file paths to open in editor
    * Expand/collapse long responses
    * **Rollback to this point** - Revert the chat to a specific point in time
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Editor View">
    **Integrated Editor:**

    * Full-featured code editor
    * Syntax highlighting for many languages
    * Line numbers and code folding
    * Find and replace

    **Editor Features:**

    * Multiple file tabs
    * Go to definition (for supported languages)
    * Keyboard shortcuts similar to VS Code
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Terminal View">
    **Integrated Terminal:**

    * Full terminal emulator
    * Command execution history
    * Multiple terminal tabs
    * Automatic working directory

    **Terminal Features:**

    * Copy/paste support
    * Scrollback buffer
    * Clear terminal
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Chat Input Box [#chat-input-box]

Chat Input Box is where you describe what you want Verdent to do. It supports natural-language requests, quick context attachments, and run settings.

<Frame>
  <img src="/docs-images/prompt-bar.png" alt="Chat Input Box" />
</Frame>

**Prompt Input & Send**

* Type your request in the input area.
* Press Enter or click Send to submit.
* Use `/` for commands.
* Use `@` to search files.

**Run Controls**

Use the controls below the input to configure how Verdent runs this request:

* **Mode**: choose how Verdent works, Agent Mode (execute) or Plan Mode (clarify + plan).
* **Model / Preset**: select the model used for this task.
* **Thinking depth**: adjust how deeply the model reasons (if available).

<Frame>
  <img src="/docs-images/run-controls.png" alt="Run Controls" />
</Frame>

**Context Attachments**

Attach files to improve accuracy:

* **@ (Codebase files)**: attach files from the current repository.
* **Pin (Local files)**: attach files from your computer.

<Frame>
  <img src="/docs-images/attachments.png" alt="Context Attachments" />
</Frame>

| Component          | Description                                       |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------- |
| **Text Area**      | Type your prompts and messages                    |
| **Send Button**    | Submit your message (`Enter`)                     |
| **Add Context**    | Reference files with @-mentions                   |
| **Add Images**     | Upload screenshots or diagrams                    |
| **Switch Mode**    | Toggle between Agent Mode and Plan Mode           |
| **Model Selector** | Choose AI model for the task (`Ctrl+/` / `Cmd+/`) |

**Input Tips:**

* Press `Enter` to send, `Shift+Enter` for new line
* Use `@filename` to reference specific files
* Drag and drop images directly into the input
* Switch modes with `Shift+Tab` or `Ctrl+.`
* Switch models with `Ctrl+/` or `Cmd+/`

***

## Review Changes Component [#review-changes-component]

After Verdent completes changes, the Review Changes component provides visibility:

**Tabs:**

| Tab             | Description                         |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| **Code Review** | Structured feedback and suggestions |

**Features:**

* View exact changes made by Verdent
* Natural language summaries of modifications
* File links to jump to specific changes
* Transparent view with no black boxes

<Note>
  In Agent Mode, changes execute autonomously. Use Review Changes after completion to understand what changed, then use Source Control to commit, modify, or revert.
</Note>

***

## Terminal Panel [#terminal-panel]

The integrated terminal provides command-line access:

**Terminal Features:**

| Feature             | Description                      |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| **Auto-Directory**  | Opens in project/workspace root  |
| **Multiple Tabs**   | Open multiple terminal instances |
| **Command History** | Access previous commands         |
| **Copy/Paste**      | Standard keyboard shortcuts      |

**Usage:**

* Terminal commands executed by Verdent appear here
* Manual command execution for testing
* View build output, test results, etc.

***

## Keyboard Shortcuts [#keyboard-shortcuts]

| Action                  | Windows                 | macOS                  |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
| **Send Message**        | `Enter`                 | `Enter`                |
| **New Line**            | `Shift+Enter`           | `Shift+Enter`          |
| **New Task**            | `Ctrl+N`                | `Cmd+N`                |
| **New Workspace**       | `Ctrl+Shift+N`          | `Cmd+Shift+N`          |
| **Switch Mode**         | `Shift+Tab` or `Ctrl+.` | `Shift+Tab` or `Cmd+.` |
| **Switch Model**        | `Ctrl+/`                | `Cmd+/`                |
| **Open in VS Code**     | `Ctrl+E`                | `Cmd+E`                |
| **Open Explorer**       | `Ctrl+Shift+E`          | `Cmd+Shift+E`          |
| **Toggle Sidebar**      | `Ctrl+B`                | `Cmd+B`                |
| **Terminal Panel**      | `Ctrl+J` or ``Ctrl+` `` | `Cmd+J` or ``Cmd+` ``  |
| **New Terminal**        | ``Ctrl+Shift+` ``       | ``Cmd+Shift+` ``       |
| **Open Source Control** | `Ctrl+Shift+G`          | `Cmd+Shift+G`          |
| **Open Settings**       | `Ctrl+,`                | `Cmd+,`                |
| **Editor**              | `Ctrl+L`                | `Cmd+L`                |
| **Next Workspace**      | `Ctrl+Tab`              | `Ctrl+Tab`             |
| **Previous Workspace**  | `Ctrl+Shift+Tab`        | `Ctrl+Shift+Tab`       |

See [Keyboard Shortcuts](/docs/verdent/reference/shortcuts) for the complete list.

***

## Customization [#customization]

**Theme Settings:**

* Light, Dark, or System theme
* Settings → General → Appearance

**Layout Settings:**

* Panel sizes (adjustable)

**Editor Settings:**

* Font family and size
* Tab size and indentation
* Line numbers and word wrap

***

## FAQs [#faqs]

<Accordion title="How do I resize the panels?">
  Drag the borders between panels to resize. Your layout preferences are saved automatically.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Can I detach panels into separate windows?">
  Currently, all panels remain within the main window. This helps maintain context between chat, editor, and terminal.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="What's the difference between a workspace and a task?">
  A workspace is an isolated git worktree for parallel work. A task is a conversation thread within a workspace. Multiple tasks can run in the same workspace and share the workspace file state.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="How do I switch between workspaces?">
  Click **All Workspaces** in the top bar to see and switch between active workspaces.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Can I run multiple tasks in the same workspace?">
  Yes. Tasks share the workspace file state, and context is preserved when switching between tasks.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="How do I see what files changed in my current task?">
  Click **Task Changes** in the middle panel to view all files changed within the current task. This shows modifications for the current workspace only, not across different workspaces.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="What does 'Context Remaining' mean?">
  Context Remaining shows how much model context is left for the current conversation. When context runs low, consider starting a new task.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="How do I revert changes made by Verdent?">
  Use Source Control (`Ctrl+Shift+G` / `Cmd+Shift+G`) to discard or revert specific file changes.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="How do I rollback a conversation?">
  Hover over any message in the chat and click **Rollback to this point** to revert the conversation to that point in time.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Can I use Verdent alongside VS Code?">
  Yes. Click **Open in VS Code** (`Ctrl+E` / `Cmd+E`) in the workspace bar to open the current workspace in VS Code.
</Accordion>

***

## See Also [#see-also]

<CardGroup cols="2">
  <Card title="Keyboard Shortcuts" icon="keyboard" href="/docs/verdent/reference/shortcuts">
    Complete keyboard shortcuts reference
  </Card>

  <Card title="Settings" icon="gear" href="/docs/verdent/configuration/settings">
    Configuration options
  </Card>
</CardGroup>