Quick Start
This guide walks you through your first session with Séance.
Launching Séance
Run seance from your terminal or click the application icon. You'll see a full-screen GTK4 window with a scrolling pane layout.
Running Your First Agent
Séance auto-detects supported AI coding agents. Open a pane and start one:
- Press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to open a new column with a terminal pane.
- Run your agent:
claudeor
opencode- The sidebar (right side) shows the agent status immediately — a colored dot indicates whether the agent is working, idle, or waiting.
That's it. Séance tracks the agent lifecycle automatically — no configuration needed.
Navigating Panes
Séance uses a scrolling layout — panes are arranged in a horizontal strip you scroll through.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Focus left pane | Ctrl+Shift+Left |
| Focus right pane | Ctrl+Shift+Right |
| New column | Ctrl+Shift+Enter |
| Close pane | Ctrl+Shift+X |
| Move column left/right | Ctrl+Shift+A / Ctrl+Shift+D |
You can also scroll with the mouse wheel or trackpad to move between panes.
Understanding the Sidebar
The sidebar on the right shows all active agent sessions. Each entry has a status indicator:
- Running — the agent is actively processing (green dot)
- Waiting — the agent needs your input or permission (yellow dot)
- Idle — the agent has finished its task (gray dot)
Click any entry to jump to that pane.
Toggle the sidebar with Ctrl+Shift+B.
Notifications
Séance surfaces important events as desktop notifications:
- Permission prompts — when an agent needs approval for a tool call or command
- Task completions — when an agent finishes a task
- Unread indicators — panes with new activity show an unread badge
Jump to the next unread pane with Ctrl+Shift+U.
Open the notification panel with Ctrl+Shift+I.
Workspaces
Workspaces let you organize agents by project or task.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| New workspace | Ctrl+Alt+N |
| Close workspace | Ctrl+Alt+W |
| Switch workspace | Ctrl+Page Up/Down |
| Jump to workspace 1-9 | Alt+1 through Alt+9 |
Command Palette
Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the command palette. From here you can access any action — open settings, rename workspaces, toggle layout mode, and more.
What's Next
- Configuration — customize keybindings, appearance, and agent settings
- Keybindings — full list of keyboard shortcuts
- Agent Integrations — set up specific agents like Claude Code, OpenCode, or Kilo