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Split Panes & Workspace Layout

Lumide features a unified, flexible pane system. Any view—including text editors, terminals, the File Tree, Git (C.O.R.G.I.), search results, output logs, problems, and AI Agent chat—functions as a first-class tab that can be docked, split, and arranged across the workspace.

Split panes: a Markdown preview and a Dart editor side by side, Local History on the left and a terminal below

The 4 Dockable Workspace Regions#

Lumide divides the window into four dockable regions, each rendered via MultiViewFrame and managed by a recursive layout tree:

  1. Center Region (PaneRegion.center): Primary workspace for code editors, diff viewers, and side-by-side terminal or tool splits.
  2. Left Region (PaneRegion.left): Typically hosts the File Tree, Project Search, and C.O.R.G.I. Git client. Toggled with Cmd + 1 (macOS) / Alt + 1 (Windows/Linux) (or Cmd + B / Ctrl + B in VS Code preset).
  3. Right Region (PaneRegion.right): Dedicated container for the native AI Agent Chat and secondary tool inspectors. Toggled with Cmd + 3 (macOS) / Alt + 3 (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + Shift + F12 / Ctrl + Shift + F12.
  4. Bottom Region (PaneRegion.bottom): Typically hosts the Integrated Terminal, Output, Problems, and Debug Console. Toggled with Cmd + 2 (macOS) / Alt + 2 (Windows/Linux) or Alt + F12 (or Cmd + J / Ctrl + J in VS Code preset).

Any tab type can be moved to or split inside any of these four regions. For example, you can drag a terminal into the center area next to code, or move C.O.R.G.I. into the right sidebar.

Splitting Panes#

Keyboard Shortcuts#

  • Split Right: Cmd + \ (macOS) / Ctrl + \ (Windows/Linux)
  • Split Down: Cmd + Shift + \ (macOS) / Ctrl + Shift + \ (Windows/Linux)
  • Open to Side: Press Cmd + Enter / Ctrl + Enter in Quick Open (Cmd + Shift + O / Ctrl + Shift + N default, or Cmd + P / Ctrl + P in VS Code preset) to open a file into a new split pane immediately.

Edge Drop Zones (Interactive Drag & Drop)#

Drag any tab or file tree item toward the boundary of a pane:

  • Left / Right Edge (40px zone): Highlights that half of the pane; dropping splits the pane vertically.
  • Top / Bottom Edge (40px zone): Highlights that half of the pane; dropping splits the pane horizontally.
  • Tab Bar Center: Drops the item into the existing tab group without creating a new split.

The Add Pane Menu (+)#

Every pane group tab bar includes an Add Pane (+) button. Clicking it displays a cascade menu to add any tool view directly into that pane group:

  • Agent Chat: Open an AI Agent session.
  • Diff: Open a file comparison or compare with clipboard.
  • Files: Open an independent File Tree view.
  • Git (C.O.R.G.I.): Open the visual commit graph and staging interface.
  • Local History: Open point-in-time file revision snapshots.
  • Output: Open build and language server output logs.
  • Plugins: Browse and manage installed extensions.
  • Problems: View real-time compiler diagnostics and linter warnings.
  • Project Search: Open workspace full-text search.
  • Terminal: Open a new terminal instance, with quick submenus for configured shell profiles (zsh, bash, PowerShell).
  • Customize Tabs: Configure tab bar placement (Top, Bottom, Left, Right) and scroll orientation per group.

Pane Management & Resizing#

  • Resize Dividers: Click and drag the divider handle between any two split panes to adjust their relative fractions.
  • Automatic Collapse: Closing the last tab in a split group automatically collapses that split and expands adjacent panes to fill the reclaimed space.
  • Multi-View Synchronization: Opening the same file in multiple splits creates synchronized views. Text edits and dirty state sync instantly across all views, while preserving independent scroll offsets and cursor positions.
  • Layout Persistence: Your complete pane layout, active splits, and tab orders are automatically saved to disk and restored across app restarts and hot exits.

Next Steps#