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Work with tabs and layouts

Tabs and layouts help you keep several terminal jobs visible without opening a pile of separate windows.

Create terminal tabs

Click + in the top bar to open a new terminal. The menu shows:

  • the default shell
  • shells ButtonsCLI detected on your machine
  • custom shell profiles you saved in Settings
  • web and built-in display tab options

New terminal tabs receive focus after they open, so you can start typing immediately.

Rename tabs

Rename tabs so the workspace describes the job, not the order you opened it.

  1. Double-click a tab title, or open the tab’s three-dot menu.
  2. Choose Rename.
  3. Enter a name like server, tests, logs, or deploy.
  4. Save the change.

Named tabs also help local automation target the right terminal.

Close and recover tabs

Use the tab action menu or terminal context menu to close a terminal. ButtonsCLI keeps a short undo window for recently closed tabs.

At least one terminal stays open so the workspace does not collapse into an empty state.

Choose a shell

ButtonsCLI detects common shells, including PowerShell, Command Prompt, WSL distributions, Bash, Zsh, and shell profiles exposed through Windows Terminal sources.

Add your own shell in Settings under Advanced:

  1. Find Custom Shell Profiles.
  2. Add a label.
  3. Add the command to launch the shell or wrapper.
  4. Save Settings.

Your custom profile appears in the + menu and the default-shell picker.

Arrange panes

Layout buttons arrange open tabs into visible panes.

  • Side by side: show selected tabs left and right
  • Stacked: show selected tabs top and bottom
  • Grid: tile open tabs
  • Collapse: return to one active tab

Open the tabs first, then choose a layout. The buttons do not create a new shell by themselves.

Work inside a layout

When a split or grid layout is active:

  • visible tabs are marked in the tab strip
  • clicking a visible tab focuses that pane
  • clicking a hidden tab swaps it into the focused pane
  • pane dividers can be dragged
  • each pane keeps its own terminal output

Use layouts for work you need to monitor, such as an app server, a test watcher, and logs.

Open a web page tab

Use + and choose Open web page tab to open a normal http:// or https:// URL inside ButtonsCLI.

Some sites block embedded display with browser security headers. If the tab shows a warning or blank page, open the page in your browser or in a separate window.