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The desktop at a glance ​

A short tour of the workspace: the top bar, the desktop area, the dock, the launcher and the window controls. Once you recognise these five, the rest of the documentation is easy to follow.

Prerequisites ​

ShellCanvas open, ideally with one host connected so the workspace-specific parts are visible. See Your first connection.

Steps ​

1. The top bar ​

Left to right:

  • ShellCanvas, with a PREVIEW tag — this is a preview release. Selecting the name opens the app launcher.
  • The host pill in the centre, showing the current workspace and a dot when it is connected. Selecting it opens the workspace switcher, which lists Local desktop (On this device) and every connected host as name · Session n, with a count such as 3 connected, and ends with Connect another host.
  • Status and clock on the right: SSH workspace when the current workspace is an SSH connection, a network icon, and your computer's date and time. The clock is local; it is not the server's time.

2. The desktop area ​

Behind the windows you get a heading — A little closer to <host>. — with Known host verified and the detected system underneath, plus Add host in the corner. When no window covers them, these remain clickable; windows sit above them and can be moved aside.

Right-click the desktop for New terminal, New Files window, Show / restore desktop, Connect another host, Reconnect host, Disconnect host, Close workspace and Desktop settings.

3. The dock ​

The dock holds, in order: the app launcher, Text editor, Files, Terminal, Host details, App Manager, Connections and Desktop settings. A dot under an icon means that app is open. Selecting an icon opens the app, or brings its window forward; right-clicking one lists its open windows so you can jump to a specific instance.

4. The launcher ​

The grid button at the left of the dock opens a full-screen launcher with Search apps, every app you can open now, and a dot under the running ones. Type to filter, use the arrow keys and Enter to open, and Esc to close. Apps that cannot open in this workspace are dimmed and say why.

5. Windows ​

Each window has a title bar with the app name and the host it belongs to, and on the right: a … menu with window actions, a + to open another window of the same app, minimize, maximize and close. Drag the title bar to move, drag the bottom-right corner to resize.

Useful behaviour worth knowing early:

  • Minimize keeps the app running; close ends it. Closing a terminal ends that shell.
  • Several windows of the same app are normal — two Files windows for a copy between folders, several terminals for several tasks. They are numbered in the title bar.
  • Windows belong to their workspace. Switching hosts swaps the whole set of windows, and switching back restores them.

6. The bottom bar ​

The left shows the connection state, such as Connected over SSH, and the right has Disconnect for the current workspace. Disconnect keeps the windows and any unsaved drafts; it does not discard your work.

Expected result ​

You can name every region of the screen, open an app three ways (dock, launcher, desktop menu), and tell at a glance which host a window belongs to and whether that workspace is connected.

Limitations ​

  • Layouts are not remembered between runs. Window positions live for the session; closing the workspace or quitting starts fresh.
  • Windows stay inside the ShellCanvas window. They cannot be dragged onto a second monitor separately.
  • Narrow windows stack. Below roughly 900 px wide, tiling and keyboard window moves are unavailable and windows are stacked instead.
  • Drag-to-edge snapping and touch resize handles do not exist yet. Use the window menu's tiling actions or keyboard move and resize.

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