Terminal UI overview
The Terminal User Interface (TUI) is Seepient's primary interactive interface. Built with Ink and React, it provides an interactive terminal workspace for multi-turn conversations, code reviews, and tool execution without leaving the terminal.
Launching the interface
To start the TUI, run seepient without command arguments in any standard terminal emulator:
seepientIf your terminal window is smaller than 80 columns by 24 rows, Seepient prompts you to resize the window for optimal layout rendering.
Interface layout
The TUI splits the screen into four regions:
Seepient [sess_20260905_a1b2] | Model: claude-3-7-sonnet
> You: Review the router logic in src/domain/providers
🧠 Thinking (12.4s)
• Inspecting src/domain/providers/provider-runtime.ts
🤖 Agent:
The router uses a Purpose × Tier matrix. I noticed that
fallback chains handle network timeouts, but lack retry
backoff jitter. Here is the proposed fix:
src/domain/providers/provider-runtime.ts
- const delay = retryCount * 1000;
+ const delay = retryCount * 1000 + Math.random() * 200;
> Ask a question or type / for commands...
1. Header bar
Displays the active session identifier, current provider, primary model name, and accumulated token expenditure for the session.
2. Streaming feed
Renders conversation messages, model deliberations, tool outputs, and formatted code blocks. Long code blocks include syntax highlighting, and tables render with clean box-drawing borders.
3. Approval bar and dialogs
When the model proposes an effectful tool call (such as writing a file or running a shell command), the feed pauses and displays an approval prompt showing the exact command or file diff.
4. Bordered input box
An always-on input box at the bottom of the screen. You can type new questions, paste multi-line snippets, or enter slash commands.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Keybinding | Action |
|---|---|
Enter | Submit current prompt or confirm dialog selection |
Shift + Enter | Insert newline in multi-line prompt mode |
Up / Down | Browse prompt input history |
Ctrl + C | Cancel active model streaming; press twice to exit |
Ctrl + L | Clear terminal screen buffer while keeping session history |
Tab | Autocomplete slash commands and file paths |
Esc | Close active modal dialog or dismiss command menu |
Steering and message queue
You do not need to wait for long-running tool executions to finish before typing additional instructions.
If you type a prompt while the model is thinking or executing a tool, Seepient queues your message. The agent incorporates your queued prompt at the beginning of the next planning turn without resetting the session.