Your first TUI session
Run the resident terminal agent, send a turn, and hand the work to the desktop.
Outcome: the NALA TUI agent running in your own terminal, one completed turn, and the same work visible from the desktop.
Prerequisites
- Harmony installed
- A provider connected
1. Launch it
From any terminal, in your project directory:
nala
Expected result: the TUI opens with a composer, a transcript area, and a header showing the session and route.
2. Learn four keys before anything else
| Input | Does |
|---|---|
/ | Opens the command list — 49 built-in commands |
@ | Mentions files, agents, and other entities |
# | References tasks and artifacts |
! | Runs a shell command directly |
Everything else can wait. These four are how you address the agent, your repository, your work, and your machine respectively.
3. Send a turn
Type a real request and submit it:
Summarize what this repository does, based on its README and package manifest.
Expected result: the header moves through its acknowledgement and thinking states, tool activity appears in the transcript, and a response arrives.
NOTE
The chrome is gated on real evidence: it shows Thinking once submission is acknowledged, and Ready or Failed only on terminal turn evidence. If it looks stuck, it is reporting that honestly rather than guessing.
4. Try a few commands
/help
/tasks
/agents
/doctor
The full generated list is at TUI slash commands.
5. Hand off to the desktop
/desktop
Expected result: the desktop opens attached to the same daemon, with your session, tasks, and artifacts present.
Verify from a separate terminal:
nala tasks list
The task you created in the TUI is listed. Same daemon, same durable state, different view.
6. Detach without stopping
/detach
This leaves the session running. Reattach later with /resume or /attach.
IMPORTANT
/detach and /stop are different. Detaching keeps the session alive;
stopping cancels the in-flight turn; quitting ends your session. Reach for
detach when you just want your terminal back.
Common recovery
| Symptom | Where to go |
|---|---|
nala opens a CLI, not the TUI | Confirm you are on a current preview build |
| Composer accepts input but nothing runs | Provider problems |
| Turn never reaches a terminal state | Check task state, then daemon problems |