The Terminal Pane
The right pane runs a real terminal, and inside it a real AI CLI — Claude Code, Codex, pi, DeepSeek, and others. Not a simulated chat interface.
Two things follow directly: whatever the CLI can do, it can do here (read and write files, run commands, call tools); and because it's connected to Scholardo over MCP, it can read your papers and write your notes.
Sessions
The top row holds session tabs. Cmd+T starts a new one. Each session is its own conversation context, and you can run several in parallel — one hunting references, one revising a draft.
Closing a session keeps its record; you can find it again through conversation search.
Working directory
Below the tab row sits the current working directory — your project root. You can switch it to another directory, though you rarely need to: the agent works inside the project by default.
The composer
The composer sits at the bottom. Why not just type into the terminal? Because TUI interfaces inside a terminal handle input methods, multi-line editing, and long pastes badly. The composer is an ordinary text field — write, then send.
| Feature | Notes |
|---|---|
| Multi-line input | Newlines don't accidentally send |
/ commands | Type / to bring up the command list |
| Voice input | Microphone icon, or Cmd+Shift+T |
| Collapse | Fold it away to a mini bar when unused |
Input methods
The composer fully supports IME candidate selection for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Typing directly into a terminal TUI frequently breaks that — which is part of why the composer exists.
Voice input
Tap the microphone to start recording, tap again to stop and transcribe; the text drops into the input field. Shortcut: Cmd+Shift+T.
Transcription runs through a cloud STT service configured in Settings. With no microphone available the button reports "No microphone input is available."
Model picker
The composer has a model picker so you can switch models for the current session without restarting it.
Safety rails
Credential detection
If what you're about to send looks like it contains an API key or token, Scholardo stops to ask:
- Save with credential removed — strip it and send
- Keep original text — send as-is
Password input never hits disk
When the terminal enters a password prompt (a sudo challenge, say), that input is kept out of the session transcript.
Usage limits
As you approach or hit a subscription usage limit, the composer says so and pauses sending, resuming automatically once the limit resets.
Saving terminal content
Select text in the terminal — an agent's answer, a stretch of analysis — and save it straight to Notes.
Mouse selection captured by a TUI?
Some TUI programs take over mouse events and block dragging to select. Scholardo handles this case, and the right-click menu stays available inside a TUI.
Conversation history search
The magnifier opens conversation search — search everything you and your agents have discussed, across sessions.
Filters:
| Dimension | Options |
|---|---|
| Speaker | You / Assistant / any |
| Time | Today / last 7 days / last 30 days / any |
| Status | Active / Ended / any |
| Sort | Relevance / newest / oldest |
Sessions can also carry a color mark (red / orange / green / blue / purple), handy for separating phases of a project.
Clicking a result opens a reader view with in-session find (and a match counter); Esc exits.
How links open
Links in an agent's reply are routed intelligently:
- Web links → an in-app browser tab
- Note links → the Notebook
- Project files → the matching preview window in the middle pane
Nothing gets dumped wholesale onto the system browser.
Terminal tips
The question-mark icon in the toolbar opens a tips popover covering the difference between the CLI and GUI, common shortcuts, and why the composer beats typing into the terminal directly.
Going deeper
- Agent & MCP Tools — what Scholardo capabilities an agent can call
- Which AI should I choose? — the tradeoffs between CLIs