Working with AI agents
PATerminal works with any CLI agent, and has extra support for Claude Code (claude) and Codex (codex): it knows which pane is running which agent, which conversation it's in, and whether it needs you.
Written for PATerminal v1.8.3
Agent detection
Start claude or codex in any pane the way you normally would. PATerminal notices the process, labels the pane, and links it to the agent's saved conversation. There's nothing to configure and no wrapper command.
Running, waiting, and done
Every session shows Running, Waiting for input, or Done in the sidebar, even when it's off screen. Detection runs natively and ignores the noise agents produce when you merely look at them — switching sessions, focus changes, and terminal redraws don't count as work.
- A session becomes Running when you type into it, or when it keeps producing output for a few seconds.
- It becomes Done when that work stops. If you weren't looking, it gets an attention dot and joins the Unseen filter.
- Waiting for input means the agent is asking for an approval or an answer.
Desktop notifications
When a session you aren't looking at finishes or starts waiting for you, PATerminal sends a desktop notification — “Finished” or “Waiting for input” with the session's name. Sessions you're watching never notify. Turn notifications off in Settings → Notifications.
On macOS, allow notifications for PATerminal in System Settings → Notifications if none appear.
Conversations survive restarts
Quit PATerminal while agents are running, and the next launch reopens each one with its saved conversation (claude --resume <id> / codex resume <id>). If the ID can't be determined, PATerminal falls back to the folder's most recent conversation (claude --continue / codex resume --last).
If an agent exits on its own, a banner offers Resume conversation: click it to type the exact resume command and press Enter for you, or Dismiss it.
Note for Codex users
Codex 0.154.0 animates dots in its input area even while idle, which would keep the session on Running forever. PATerminal turns these decorative effects off for the Codex sessions it starts, and on startup saves whimsy = false under [tui] in ~/.codex/config.toml (or $CODEX_HOME/config.toml) so codex typed by hand behaves too. Other settings and comments in that file are preserved, and work spinners stay on.
This user-level setting also applies to Codex outside PATerminal. Restart Codex sessions that were already running to pick it up.
Going further
- History — reopen any past conversation in a new session, and review every prompt you sent.
- Pair mode — let two agents implement and review together.
- Broadcast input and Quick phrases — send the same instruction to many agents.
- Worktrees — give each agent its own checkout so they don't edit the same files.
Still stuck?
Check the FAQ, or email us with your OS, PATerminal version, and what you tried. We reply to every message.