Repository Browser Terminal :: DevCentr

DevCentr should include an integrated terminal in the repository browser so users can run commands in a repository without depending on VS Code or another editor.

This terminal is not meant to replace full terminal apps. It is a repo-scoped command workspace with better history visibility than a plain black console pane.

For the industry-wide stale-PATH problem, VS Code history, and OpenShellOrg product ownership, see Shell Environment Refresh.

Goals

Open a terminal directly in the selected repository directory
Keep the session independent from external editors and from agent-manager PTYs
Remain always accessible and visible while a repository is selected — not tied to a conversation view
Make command history easy to scan and revisit
Visually segment output by command
Preserve session history while still allowing environment refresh actions
Surface env drift outside the shell canvas and offer shell-aware refresh (visible command; optional auto-run)

Independence from IDE / agent-manager shells

Cursor and similar hosts often keep a shell alive for a workspace but still push users to reopen a shell per conversation view. Agent-manager terminals also usually lack env health chrome and OpenShellOrg-oriented refresh.

DevCentr’s repository browser terminal is the human ops shell for the selected repo:

Always available from the repository browser tool area while the repo is selected
Not reset when the user switches agent conversations in an external IDE
Owns Refresh / drift detection / shell-aware recipes (prefer env-refresh / shell-host on PATH)

Agent managers keep their own traces and approve gates. They do not replace this surface. AI Workflow Arrangement should attach “DevCentr shell on the environment host” as a fixed layer of every topology.

When the saved arrangement uses a remote env host, this component (or a sibling remote tab) should target that host so PATH awareness matches where tools actually run — see AI Workflow Arrangement and Agent control planes.

Placement

The terminal belongs to the repository browser tool area.

It should be available when a repository is selected.

The repository browser remains the owner of repo context, while the terminal component owns command execution and history rendering.

Main layout

The component uses these zones:

Left: command index list
Center: scrollable terminal viewer zone
Top or strip above/beside the viewer: env chrome (health + notice + command preview) — outside the classical shell surface
Bottom: compact toolbar

Terminal viewer zone

The viewer zone has:

Black outer background
Dark grey terminal surface by default
A stack of command blocks inside the scroll area

Each command execution creates its own block.

Env chrome (outside the shell canvas)

Env status must not live only in scrollback. A strip outside the viewer shows:

Health indicator — green when the session env matches the last known OS store snapshot; orange when drift is detected (for example PATH or other watched system/user vars changed)
Notice — short copy when orange, e.g. PATH changed — refresh this session?
Command preview — the exact shell-specific refresh command that Refresh will inject (so users can learn it)
Refresh control — triggers inject, or inject-and-run per settings

Command blocks

Every command runs in its own visual block, effectively creating "subterminals" within the same session history.

Each block should have:

Margin on all sides
Padding inside
Header area for the command line
Output area below

The block background color should differ between commands so users can visually separate them.

The output area should retain the normal terminal output background color even when the command block chrome changes state.

Command lifecycle colors

Before execution:

The command block starts as a single line
It shows only the editable command line

While running:

The command block chrome changes color to indicate active execution
The output area expands as output arrives

After completion:

The command block stays in history
The running highlight is removed
Exit status should be visible

Command index

The left index zone lets users jump quickly to any command block.

Each row represents one command execution.

Requirements:

Clicking an index row scrolls to that command block
Labels are truncated, not wrapped
If many commands share the same prefix, the UI should detect the next differing substring and show … for the repeated prefix

Example:

pnpm test --filter app-a
…app-b
…app-c

Toolbar

The bottom toolbar should stay small and unobtrusive.

It should include:

Run current command
Clear current input only
Refresh environment (same action as env chrome Refresh)
Open external terminal (prefer OpenShellOrg shell-host when installed; otherwise OS default)

Environment refresh

Refreshing the environment must not erase the session history.

Background and ownership: Shell Environment Refresh. Durable CLI and full terminal product: planned OpenShellOrg env-refresh and shell-host (see OpenShellOrg shell-architecture).

Modes

Mode Behavior

Mode	Behavior
Preview + confirm (default)	Fill the command input (and show preview in env chrome). User runs it explicitly — good for learning.
Inject and run	Inject the shell-appropriate command and submit it without requiring Enter. Controlled by a setting such as `envRefresh.autoRun`.

Preview + confirm (default)

Fill the command input (and show preview in env chrome). User runs it explicitly — good for learning.

Inject and run

Inject the shell-appropriate command and submit it without requiring Enter. Controlled by a setting such as envRefresh.autoRun.

Preference order for how to refresh

If OpenShellOrg env-refresh (or equivalent) is on PATH, prefer invoking that (visible in the preview).
Else inject a built-in shell-aware recipe for the active shell.
Native in-process env rebuild only if the platform supports it safely for this session model without lying about host inheritance.

Do not recommend Chocolatey refreshenv as the primary path.

Shell-aware inject recipes

Detect the session shell type and inject the matching command. Illustrative recipes (implementations may call env-refresh instead when available):

Shell Inject target (illustrative)

Shell	Inject target (illustrative)
Nushell	Reload PATH and documented keys into `$env` from the OS store (preferred when Nushell is the configured system shell)
PowerShell 7 / Windows PowerShell	`$env:Path = [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path","Machine") + ";" + [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path","User")` (and broader reload via `env-refresh` when present)
cmd.exe	Helper/`set` sequence that rebuilds PATH from Machine + User
bash / zsh	Re-source login PATH sources, or `exec $SHELL -l` when a full login re-entry is appropriate
fish	fish-appropriate PATH reload from system sources

Nushell

Reload PATH and documented keys into $env from the OS store (preferred when Nushell is the configured system shell)

PowerShell 7 / Windows PowerShell

$env:Path = [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path","Machine") + ";" + [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path","User") (and broader reload via env-refresh when present)

cmd.exe

Helper/set sequence that rebuilds PATH from Machine + User

bash / zsh

Re-source login PATH sources, or exec $SHELL -l when a full login re-entry is appropriate

fish

fish-appropriate PATH reload from system sources

Implementation status: env chrome, OS PATH fingerprint watch, shell-aware recipes (prefer env-refresh when on PATH), Auto-run / preview modes, and session command execution via the resolved shell are in the app (env_refresh.d, repo_terminal_widget.d). OpenShellOrg env-refresh / shell-host remain preferred when installed.

Monitoring

Watch for changes that should turn health orange:

Windows — Machine and User environment (registry and/or WM_SETTINGCHANGE where available); at minimum PATH; preferably other system/user vars the session cares about
Unix-like — best-effort sources (for example profile/path files the product documents); polling is acceptable for v1

On change: update health light, show notice, keep command preview in sync with the active shell.

Relation to OpenShellOrg shell-host

When OpenShellOrg shell-host is installed:

Open external terminal should prefer launching shell-host in the repo directory
Future: optional embed or "use OpenShellOrg shell-host" handoff for richer PTY + chrome

Until then, DevCentr keeps the built-in inject path so refresh works without the external app.

Fonts

Terminal command headers, output panes, and the command input use the user-selected code font from Appearance settings.

Default: Cascadia Mono
Alternate: JetBrains Mono

See Appearance (code font). Do not use ligature-heavy faces (e.g. Cascadia Code) as the default terminal face.

Process model

The integrated terminal should maintain session continuity per repository tab or per selected repository instance.

Commands within the same terminal session should share:

Current working directory
Environment mutations made in that session
Shell type

Relation to repository tools

The terminal should register itself with the repository tools registry as an attached tool.

This lets the repository browser show terminal presence alongside editors and Git tools.

Non-goals

The first version does not need:

Full terminal emulation parity with external terminal apps (that is OpenShellOrg shell-host's job)
Tabs inside the integrated terminal
Multiplexing remote shells

The core value is command segmentation, repo scoping, environment refresh without history loss, and a better visual history than a plain terminal pane.