Working directories

A terminal has a configured working directory and may also remember where its live shell last reached a prompt. Saved commands have their own directory policy.

Configured directory #

Open the terminal's Edit window, set Working directory by typing a path or choosing a folder, and save. A local profile can use an absolute path or a home-relative path such as ~/code/documentation-demo/api. A warning identifies a directory that does not exist; saving a path does not create it.

For predictable service commands, give each demo terminal an explicit directory. Without an explicit directory or usable remembered directory, the new shell uses the app process's inherited directory. An explicit folder avoids depending on how the app was launched.

An attached saved command normally returns to the profile's configured directory before running. It can instead use a relative subdirectory or the live current directory; see Command directories. Global commands always use the live current directory.

CLI launches default to your home directory. Pass --cwd . to use the caller's directory, or supply another existing path. The CLI saves that directory in the new profile and returns to it before submitting the command, even if shell startup files change directories.

Remembered directory #

With supported shell integration, Terminalis remembers the directory reported at the shell prompt. For example, after Web runs cd src, a new shell for that profile first tries that remembered folder. If it no longer exists or the cache was removed, Terminalis falls back to the configured directory.

This does not rewrite the profile or change exported directory mappings. It is a disposable local cache, independent of saved scrollback. Clearing output leaves the remembered directory intact. A saved command using the default directory policy still returns to its configured directory, even if the interactive shell had moved elsewhere.

Go to working dir #

Select the terminal, then choose Action → Go to working dir or press Cmd+/. Terminalis changes directory inside the existing shell, retaining its session and visible output.

This action requires an explicit configured directory and a fully idle shell. It is unavailable during a managed run or a visible manual command, and the backend checks again for foreground work before sending cd. Stop or finish that work first. If the shell is already at the configured folder, the action has nothing to change.