Vibe Workspace — User Guide

Welcome to Vibe Workspace, a desktop app for managing coding projects, running terminals, and working with AI coding tools — all in one place.

This guide is written for everyday users. No coding background required.

Table of contents

1. What is Vibe Workspace?
2. First launch
3. Tour of the main screen
4. Workspaces — your projects
5. Terminals & AI agents
6. Review panel — see file changes
7. Git Lens — deeper Git tools
8. Prompts & Skills
9. OpenSpec
10. Activity feed
11. Desktop pet
12. Settings
13. Keyboard shortcuts
14. Tips & common questions

What is Vibe Workspace?

Think of Vibe Workspace as your project command center:

• Organize work into workspaces (one folder or repo per project)
• Run multiple terminals side by side
• Launch AI coding assistants (Claude, Codex, Cursor Agent, and more) inside those terminals
• Review code changes without leaving the app
• Use Git tools to explore history, branches, and merges
• Copy ready-made prompts and install skills for your project

Everything is saved on your computer. Your workspaces, terminals, and settings stay on your machine.

First launch

When you open Vibe Workspace for the first time, you may see a license screen.

You have two options:

Start a free trial

1. Enter your email address
2. Click Start trial
3. You get 7 days of full access (internet required for the first sign-up only)

After that, the app works offline until the trial ends.

Activate a lifetime license

If you purchased a license:

1. Enter your email
2. Enter your activation key
3. Click Activate

You can manage your license anytime in Settings → License.

Tour of the main screen

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  [≡] [⚙] [OS] [Prompts] [Skills] [?] [Git]     Trial · Activity │  ← Top bar
├──────────┬──────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────┤
│          │                                      │             │
│ Workspace│         Terminals (main area)        │   Review    │
│ sidebar  │                                      │   panel     │
│          │                                      │  (optional) │
└──────────┴──────────────────────────────────────┴─────────────┘

Top bar buttons (left to right)

Workspaces — your projects

A workspace is a named project. Each workspace remembers its folder, color, and terminals.

Create a workspace from a local folder

1. In the left sidebar, click + (New workspace)
2. Enter a name (e.g. My Website)
3. Under Project source, choose Local folder
4. Click Choose and pick your project folder on disk
5. Optionally pick a color tag
6. Click Create

Your new workspace appears in the sidebar. Click it to switch to that project.

Create a workspace by cloning from GitHub

1. Click + (New workspace)
2. Under Project source, choose Clone from GitHub
3. If needed, sign in to GitHub:

• Copy the code shown in the app
• Click Open GitHub (opens your browser)
• Paste the code at github.com/login/device and approve

1. Browse or search your repositories
2. Select a repo
3. Choose a clone location (parent folder on your computer)
4. Click Clone & Create

The app downloads the repo and opens it as a new workspace.

Note: GitHub sign-in uses your GitHub account. You see your repos, not someone else’s. Sign in once in Settings → Storage (GitHub section) and reuse it later.

Edit or delete a workspace

• Use the ⋯ menu next to a workspace name to rename, change path, or delete
• Deleting a workspace removes it from the app only — it does not delete files on your disk

Multiple sources (advanced)

When creating a workspace, you can check Multiple sources. Each terminal in that workspace can point to a different folder. Useful when one “workspace” spans several codebases.

GitHub clone is not available for multiple-source workspaces.

Project file tree

Below your workspace list, you may see a file tree for the active project. Click files to preview them in the Review panel (when it is open).

Terminals & AI agents

The large center area is where you run commands.

Open a terminal

• When you create a workspace, a terminal is usually created automatically
• You can run up to 4 terminals at once in a grid layout
• Click a terminal pane to make it active (highlighted border)

Choose what runs in the terminal

Click the agent picker (or + on a terminal) to choose:

If an agent is not installed, the app may show an install hint. You need to install those tools separately on your computer (often via npm install -g ...).

Resuming AI sessions

Many agents support continue or resume. When an agent finishes a task, Vibe Workspace may mark the session as resumable so you can pick up where you left off.

Terminal font size

• Mac: ⌘ + to increase, ⌘ - to decrease
• Windows / Linux: Ctrl + and Ctrl -

You can also set a default size in Settings → Theme → Terminal font size.

Review panel — see file changes

Open the Review panel with the panel-right button in the top bar.

Changes tab (Git projects)

If your workspace folder is a Git repository:

• See changed files (added, modified, deleted)
• Click a file to view a side-by-side diff
• Use previous / next change arrows to jump between edits

Files tab (preview)

Browse and preview any file in the project — even without Git changes.

The code viewer uses the same color theme as the rest of the app (see Settings → Theme).

Git Lens — deeper Git tools

Click the Git graph icon in the top bar to open Git Lens.

Git Lens is helpful when you need more than a simple diff — for example merging branches or resolving conflicts.

Prompts & Skills

Prompt library

Click Prompts in the top bar.

• Browse templates for developers, architects, and business analysts
• Copy a prompt and paste it into your AI terminal
• Search by keyword

Skill library

Click Skills in the top bar.

• Browse built-in skills (reusable instruction packs for AI agents)
• Install a skill into your current project folder
• Skills are copied into your project so agents can use them

Skills require an active project with a single folder path (not “multiple sources”).

OpenSpec

Click OS in the top bar.

OpenSpec is a separate tool for spec-driven development. From this screen you can:

• Check if OpenSpec is installed
• Install it if missing
• Read quick usage notes

When creating a workspace, you can optionally check Initialize OpenSpec to run openspec init in your project automatically.

Activity feed

Click Activity in the top-right.

The feed shows recent events, such as:

• An AI agent finished a task
• A file was generated or modified

Click an activity item to:

• Switch to the right workspace
• Jump to the terminal that ran the task
• Open the file in the Review panel

Use the settings icon inside Activity to control notifications and “mark as read” behavior.

Desktop pet

A fun optional companion that sits on your desktop while you work.

Enable it in Settings → Pet:

1. Turn Desktop pet on
2. Pick a character
3. Adjust size

The pet reacts when agents are working or when you hover over it. It does not affect your code — purely cosmetic.

Settings

Open Settings with the gear icon.

Storage

• See how much space workspaces, terminals, history, and settings use
• Clear individual categories or Clear all data (resets the app; does not delete your project files on disk)
• GitHub — sign in, sign out, or switch GitHub account for cloning

Theme

Pick a color theme. Options include:

• Default Dark / Default Light
• Ayu Dark / Ayu Mirage / Ayu Light

Themes apply to the app UI, terminals, and code viewers.

Also set your default terminal font size here.

Pet

Configure the desktop pet (see Desktop pet).

Help

Built-in shortcut reminder.

Updates

• Check for new versions from GitHub Releases
• Updates work in the installed desktop app (not in browser-only dev mode)

License

• View trial days remaining
• Enter an activation key
• Remove license (sign out)

Keyboard shortcuts

More shortcuts may be added over time. Check Settings → Help or the ? button in the top bar.

Tips & common questions

Where is my data stored?

In Settings → Storage, you’ll see the folder path on your computer where Vibe Workspace saves workspaces, terminals, and history. Your actual project code stays wherever you put it (or cloned it).

Why don’t I see my GitHub repos?

• Make sure you’re signed in under Settings → Storage → GitHub
• You only see repos your GitHub account can access
• Try Sign out and sign in again if the session expired

Why does “Open GitHub” not work?

Use the Copy code button and open github.com/login/device manually in your browser if needed. After approving, return to the app — it waits automatically.

The editor looks un-themed or too bright

Go to Settings → Theme and pick a theme. Open the Review panel again if it was already open.

Can I use Vibe Workspace without AI agents?

Yes. Choose Shell when creating a terminal and use it like a normal terminal app.

Does deleting a workspace delete my files?

No. It only removes the workspace from the app’s list. Files on disk are untouched.

Trial expired — what now?

Enter a lifetime activation key on the license screen, or open Settings → License.

Who do I contact for help?

• Check this guide and the in-app Contact section
• For license or purchase questions, use the support channel provided with your activation key
• For bugs or feature requests, use the project’s GitHub Issues page (if you received a link from the developer)

*Last updated for Vibe Workspace 1.0.x. Feature names may shift slightly as the app evolves.*