One panel, four tools
The left activity rail selects Files, Terminal, Undotree, or Harpoon. Opening one tool gives it the existing panel; the previous tool disappears from that space. Clicking the active tool or repeating its shortcut hides it.
The preferred panel width adapts between 48 and 72 columns, capped at 45% on narrow terminals. The five-column activity rail uses three-row buttons. The file icon is the Nerd Font nf-fa-folder_open glyph.
| Action | Editor Normal mode | Terminal input |
|---|---|---|
| File explorer | Space, Tab | Ctrl-Tab |
| Terminal | Space, \ | Ctrl-\ |
| Undotree | Space, u | Ctrl-U |
| Harpoon list | Space, h | Ctrl-H |
| Move between panes | Space, arrow | Ctrl-arrow |
Space is always literal in terminal input. Ctrl mappings apply immediately, without waiting for a second key. Distinct modified keys depend on your terminal's key protocol.
Terminal lifetime
Each tab creates one shell lazily, in its current workspace or standalone file's directory. The shell buffer and process are separate from the panel window.
| Action | Effect on the shell |
|---|---|
| Hide the panel / switch tools | Keeps running; reopening restores the same session. |
| Visit the dashboard / close the tab | Keeps running. Hidden terminal buffers remain visible in :ls!. |
| Change the workspace | Keeps its current directory. Use cd in the shell to change it. |
Type exit | Ends the shell. Its output remains; it is not silently replaced. |
| Exit Neovim | Ends the lifetime of these terminal sessions. |
All splits use the terminal app's font and size. AutoVim does not change fonts or require a specific terminal application.
Harpoon pins
Space, a adds the editor's current file, including when a tool panel has focus. Ctrl-A does the same from terminal input. Duplicate pins are avoided.
- The top bar shows numbered, clickable file names beside AutoVim.
- Space, 1–9 opens the matching pin; terminal input uses Ctrl-number.
- The first Harpoon panel row clears the list.
- Enter opens a file. d removes it and renumbers the remaining entries.
- Lists persist per workspace, or per standalone file's parent directory.
- q or Escape closes the list.
Undo history
Undotree shows branching edit history in the shared panel. Enter selects the highlighted history state. Normal editor undo and redo remain u and Ctrl-R. Undo files persist across editor restarts.
The optional Undotree diff window is disabled so this tool keeps the same single-panel layout. q or Escape closes it.
Editor bars
The top-left brand stays AutoVim; the remaining top bar contains Harpoon pins. The statusline shows the workspace-relative file path, or the workspace directory when no file is open, along with mode, modifications, diagnostics, type, encoding, and cursor position. Attached LSP server names appear when the terminal is wide enough.