CodeShellManager

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A Windows desktop app for running multiple AI coding agents side-by-side — Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, or any CLI tool — in a tabbed and grid-layout terminal host.

Built with WPF + xterm.js + Windows ConPTY for full pseudo-terminal fidelity.

CodeShellManager screenshot showing four Claude Code sessions in a 2×2 grid layout

Features

Multi-terminal grid — run up to 18 sessions simultaneously in configurable layouts (1, 2, 3, 4, 6 columns; 2×2, 6×2, 6×3 grids); the active pane is highlighted with a 2px accent ring so it's easy to spot
Sleep & wake — 💤 button parks a session: PTY torn down, but the session (and its notes) stays in the sidebar so you can wake it later from where you left off. Great when you have many long-running projects but only need a few live at once.
Full-text search — all terminal output indexed to SQLite FTS5; instant search across every session, ever
Per-project notepad — collapsible 📝 notes panel on every terminal, auto-saved and searchable
Alert detection — detects when Claude is waiting for input or tool approval; green/orange dot indicators
Git status — shows branch and dirty state in the sidebar per session
Session rename — double-click any session name or click ✏ to rename inline
Auto-resume — automatically resumes the last Claude Code session when restoring on startup (--resume <id>); toggleable in Settings
SSH remote sessions — connect to remote hosts using your existing SSH config; sessions persist across restarts
Session history — clicking a search result from a closed session offers to relaunch it
Configurable launch commands — customise the commands available in the New Session dialog
Claude badge — sessions running claude commands get a visual indicator
Tray icon — minimises to system tray; balloon notifications for alerts
Settings window — all options configurable; persisted as JSON

Requirements

Windows 10 version 1903+ or Windows 11
Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime (pre-installed on Windows 11; available as a free download for Windows 10)

Note: The .msi installer does not bundle the WebView2 runtime. If you're on Windows 10 and see a blank terminal pane, install the WebView2 runtime from the link above.

Installation

winget (recommended)

winget install UmageAI.CodeShellManager

Future updates pick up automatically with winget upgrade UmageAI.CodeShellManager (or winget upgrade --all).

Download from Releases

Go to Releases
Download either:
- CodeShellManager-x.y.z-Setup.msi — installer (adds Start Menu + Desktop shortcuts, supports uninstall via Apps & Features)
- CodeShellManager-x.y.z-win-x64.zip — portable; extract and run CodeShellManager.exe

Build from source

Requirements: .NET 10 SDK, Windows 10/11

git clone https://github.com/umage-ai/CodeShellManager.git
cd CodeShellManager
dotnet run --project src/CodeShellManager/CodeShellManager.csproj

Command-line flags

Flag	Effect
`--clean`	Start with no preloaded sessions and skip writing `state.json` for the run. Useful when developing — your saved sessions/settings are left untouched.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
`Ctrl+T`	New session
`Ctrl+W`	Close active session
`Ctrl+F`	Toggle search
`Ctrl+Tab`	Cycle sessions
`Escape` (in search)	Close search panel

Layout Options

Click the layout buttons in the toolbar (right side):

Button	Layout
▣	Single pane
▥	2 columns
▦	3 columns
⊞	2×2 grid
⇔	2 rows
4	4 columns
6	6 columns
6×2	6 columns × 2 rows (12 panes)
6×3	6 columns × 3 rows (18 panes)

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. See CLAUDE.md for architecture notes and coding conventions.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

By umage.ai