a developer
Every task in a window you can tell apart.
whyFive tasks in five grey tabs look the same.
asksOpen the billing terminal and start on the retry bug.
instibrain / works with / terminal
A window per task, named and coloured.
Say "open the website terminal", and a new window opens in iTerm2, Windows Terminal, GNOME Terminal, Konsole or xterm, coloured, with the task inside.
team/tools/terminal/terminal.md targets and coloursasked · an exampleOpen the SEO specialist terminal for the pricing page rewrite.
the AI, from the pageOpened window 7: SEO Specialist, pale blue, with your task as its first message.
who uses it, and why
Who opens windows by name.
Anyone running more than one AI at a time.
the head of ops
A server checked from your desk.
whyThe check needs Claude Code on the server itself.
asksOpen the production server's window and check the disk.
an engineer
A fact from code that lives on a server.
whyThe answer is in a codebase only the server holds.
asksAsk the api server which port the worker listens on.
what you can ask
Your AI opens a named window for each task, on your computer or a server.
Always a new window. An open window is never renamed for a new task.
Open a window by name
An operation, specialist, project or the curator, each coloured.
A window from the desktop button
Claude or Codex, fresh or resumed, in the target's colours.
A server's window
SSH first, then Claude Code. Questions stop for you.
Read a window before writing
A blocking question would take the next newline as an answer.
A fact from a codebase on a server
That project's Claude Code answers over SSH, or says not found.
A file to a server
Sent by scp; the remote path comes back.
where the credential stays
No credential. One Mac permission, once.
Windows open on your own computer. A server's login is yours.
on your computer
macOS asks once whether the launcher may control iTerm2. A new window is ready once Claude Code waits for input and its colour shows.
in your brain
Each space's terminal page keeps a row per target: name, path, colours.
what instibrain never touches
Your windows stay yours.
Our server stores the terminal page, with names and colours.
- Typing into a window you opened.
The AI types only into windows it opened, by id.
- A newline into a blocking question.
Such a window is left to you.
- A window found by what is in front.
Each window is found by its own fixed id, set when it opens.
the limits
Your AI gives each prompt one of nine colours.
Claude Code takes no other.
| Limit | What it means |
|---|---|
| Nine prompt colours | Red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange, pink, cyan or default. |
before you connect it
Your AI types only into the windows it opened.
What does a terminal page have to do with credentials?
Nothing. It opens windows; macOS asks once for permission.
Can the AI type into my terminal?
Only into windows it opened, after reading the screen.
Which terminals?
iTerm2 on a Mac, Windows Terminal on Windows, and GNOME Terminal, Konsole or xterm on Linux.
One window per task, never confused.
Keep each target's row on the terminal page. Every window opens right.