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Each worktree in Termpad has a full terminal emulator. This guide covers how to create, manage, and customize your terminals.

Terminal Tabs

Worktrees can have multiple terminal tabs:
  • Main terminals: For running AI CLIs (you can have many)
  • User terminals: For running other tasks like tests, dev servers, builds, etc.

Creating a new tab

1

Select a worktree

Click on a worktree in the sidebar.
2

Click the + button

In the terminal area, click the + button to create a new tab.
3

Choose how to open

Select from:
  • Plain shell
  • A preset (pre-configured command, like claude, codex, etc.)

Managing tabs

Keyboard navigation

View all keyboard shortcuts in Settings > Keyboard Shortcuts.

Terminal Presets

Presets let you create terminals that automatically run your preset command. Commands can include flags (e.g., claude --dangerously-skip-permissions).

Creating a preset

1

Open Settings

Click the gear icon to open settings.
2

Go to Terminal Presets

Click the terminal tab and find the preset configuration section.
3

Click Add Preset

Click the button to create a new preset.
4

Configure the preset

Enter:
  • Name: What to call the preset (e.g., “Claude”)
  • Command: What command to run (e.g., claude)
  • Icon: Which icon to display

Suggested presets

Using presets

When creating a new terminal tab:
  1. Click the + button
  2. Select a preset from the dropdown
  3. The terminal opens and runs your command automatically

Shell Configuration

Termpad auto-detects available shells on your system:

Changing the default shell

1

Open Settings

Navigate to terminal settings.
2

Find Default Shell

Look for the shell selection dropdown.
3

Select your shell

Choose from the detected shells for your platform.

Adding a custom shell

If your shell isn’t automatically detected:
1

Open Settings

Navigate to terminal settings.
2

Click Add Custom Shell

Open the shell configuration dialog.
3

Enter shell details

  • Name: Display name (e.g., “Nushell”)
  • Path: Full path to the executable
  • Args: Any arguments to pass

Terminal Themes

Customize the terminal appearance:
1

Open Settings

Navigate to terminal settings.
2

Find Theme

It’s in the appearance tab in the terminal theme section.
3

Choose a theme

Select from available themes:
  • Dracula
  • One Dark
  • Nord
  • Solarized Dark
  • Solarized Light
  • And more

Common Terminal Tasks

Copy and paste

Many terminals also copy on select—just selecting text copies it to clipboard.

Clear the terminal

Or type clear in the terminal.

Scroll through history

WSL Support (Windows)

Termpad fully supports Windows Subsystem for Linux:

Using WSL

1

Install WSL

If not already installed, set up WSL with your preferred distribution.
2

Select WSL in Termpad

Go to Settings > Terminal > Default Shell and select your WSL distribution.
3

Create terminals

New terminals now open in WSL.

Path handling

Termpad automatically handles path translation between Windows and WSL, so your projects work seamlessly.