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First Session

A detailed walkthrough of your first Conduit session.

Launch and Initial Setup

Start Conduit from your terminal:

conduit

The Interface

You’ll see:

  • Sidebar (left) — Projects and workspaces tree
  • Tab Bar (top) — Open sessions
  • Chat Area (center) — Conversation with the agent
  • Input Box (bottom) — Where you type prompts
  • Status Bar (bottom) — Token usage, mode, branch info

First-Time Detection

On first run, Conduit checks for:

  1. Git — Required for all operations
  2. Agents — Looks for claude, codex, and gemini in your PATH

If an agent isn’t found, you can configure its path in settings (s from sidebar).

Creating Your First Project

Open the Project Picker

Press Ctrl+N. The picker shows:

  • Recent repositories you’ve worked with
  • Fuzzy search as you type
  • Option to add a new repository

Select or Add a Repository

For an existing repo:

  • Type to filter the list
  • Use Ctrl+K / Ctrl+J to navigate
  • Press Enter to select

To add a new repo:

  • Press Ctrl+A
  • Enter the path to your repository
  • The repo is added to your projects

Workspace Creation

When you select a project, Conduit creates a workspace tied to your current git branch. This workspace stores:

  • Session history
  • Branch association
  • Metadata

Interacting with the Agent

Send Your First Prompt

Type a message and press Enter:

What files are in this project?

The agent will:

  1. Analyze your request
  2. Execute tools (file reads, searches, etc.)
  3. Stream the response to you

Understanding the Response

You’ll see:

  • Tool Calls — Commands the agent executes (file reads, writes, bash commands)
  • Thinking — The agent’s reasoning (if visible)
  • Response — The final answer

Follow-Up Questions

Continue the conversation naturally:

Can you explain how the main function works?

The agent maintains context from previous messages.

Managing Your Session

Scroll Through History

  • Page Up / Page Down — Scroll the chat
  • g / G — Jump to top/bottom (in scroll mode)
  • Esc — Return to the bottom

Interrupt the Agent

If an agent is taking too long:

  • Press Ctrl+C once to clear the input
  • Press Ctrl+C twice quickly to interrupt the agent

Switch Modes

Press Tab to toggle between:

  • Build Mode — Full capabilities
  • Plan Mode — Read-only analysis

Plan mode is enforced by Claude Code; for Codex and Gemini it’s a best-effort prompt reminder.

Saving and Resuming

Automatic Saving

Sessions are automatically saved to the database. When you close Conduit, your conversation is preserved.

Resume a Session

  1. Open Conduit
  2. Navigate to your project in the sidebar
  3. Select the workspace — your session continues where you left off

Import External Sessions

Press Alt+I to import sessions from:

  • Claude Code sessions (from ~/.claude/)
  • Codex sessions

Closing Up

Close a Tab

Press Alt+Shift+W to close the current tab.

Quit Conduit

Press Ctrl+Q to exit. Your session is automatically saved.

Tips for Effective Sessions

  1. Be specific — Clear prompts get better results
  2. Use Plan mode first — Analyze before making changes
  3. Check the status bar — Monitor token usage and costs
  4. Multiple tabs — Run different tasks in parallel
  5. Use the command palette — Ctrl+P for quick access to actions

Next Steps