Quickstart

Install

Install the latest Verde release from the website.

On Linux or macOS:

curl -fsSL https://verdeai.dev/install.sh | sh

On Windows x64, open PowerShell and run:

irm https://verdeai.dev/install.ps1 | iex

The installers download the matching release artifact from GitHub and verify it before installation. Linux installs into ~/.local, macOS installs into /Applications, and Windows installs the complete app and runtime package into %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Verde, creates a Start Menu shortcut, and launches the app. The Windows install does not require administrator access. For other paths — Arch Linux via the AUR, an npm launcher, a custom prefix, or a source build — see the install section on the homepage.

On Linux, the embedded browser pane uses the system WPE WebKit runtime. The installer will warn if the required libraries are missing and print the package command for your distribution. You can let it install them by setting VERDE_INSTALL_BROWSER_DEPS=1 before running it.

Authenticate a provider

Verde does not host a model. It drives the coding-agent CLIs already installed on your machine, so install and authenticate at least one provider before launching the app:

See Provider setup for the full per-provider notes.

Launch

verde

The first launch opens an empty workspace. If no GUI provider is ready, the Connect an AI provider screen shows which CLIs are missing, need sign-in, or are ready. Finish setup and choose Check again, or choose Not now to continue without a chat provider.

The sidebar on the left lists your projects and threads; the main area is where chat, terminal, and browser panes live as a tiling tree.

Import a project

Right-click the sidebar or click the + button to import a project. Verde watches the project directory you import; threads, processes, and agents all operate against that workspace root.

A project can optionally declare a stack in verde.yml (or verde.yaml) at its root — long-running processes and agent CLIs to drive from the terminal dock. See Configuration & state for the schema.

Start a chat thread

1. With a project imported, press Ctrl+T (or Cmd+T on macOS) to create a new chat thread.
2. Open the searchable model picker. Before the first message you can choose both the provider and model; after that, the provider stays bound to the thread.
3. Open the Run pill to choose available reasoning and speed options, plus Supervised or Full access command permissions.
4. Type a prompt and press Enter to send. The transcript grows as the agent streams; consecutive tool calls collapse into a status summary you can expand.
5. Press Tab while focused in a chat thread to return focus to the prompt box.

See Chat, models & runs for provider readiness, model shortcuts, follow-ups, approvals, and transcript preferences.

Tile a browser pane

Press Ctrl+B to toggle the embedded browser pane next to the focused chat. On Linux it uses WPE WebKit, on macOS WKWebView, on Windows WebView2 — never a bundled Chromium. Use it to keep docs, a preview server, or a staging URL in view while the agent works.

You can drive the browser pane from the CLI too:

verde live browser open --url http://localhost:3000
verde live browser navigate --url http://localhost:3000/dashboard
verde live browser eval --script "document.title"

Click the browser inspector to enter Design Mode. Select an element, box, or freeform region; describe the change; then route the resulting context to a chat or terminal agent. See Design Mode for platform screenshot support and delivery behavior.

Split a terminal

Press Ctrl+Shift+T to split a terminal pane next to the focused workspace pane. Right-click inside a terminal to spawn shell tabs or agent launch-profile tabs (Claude, OpenCode, Codex, Cursor, Amp). Per-terminal zoom (Ctrl+- / Ctrl+=) and the full layout persist across launches.

Move around

• Ctrl+H / J / K / L — move focus across panes, vim-style
• Ctrl+Shift+H / J / K / L — swap the focused pane with its neighbor (rearrange the tiling)
• Alt+Shift+← ↑ ↓ → — resize the focused pane
• Alt+Z — zoom the focused pane to fill the workspace; press again to restore
• Alt+1 … Alt+9, Alt+0 — jump between workspaces by sidebar order
• Alt+↑ / Alt+↓ — cycle to the previous / next workspace

The full set of defaults and how to remap them is in Keybinds.

Open the command palette

Ctrl+Shift+P opens a Raycast-style launcher that ranks chat threads, open panes, workspaces, and app commands in a single searchable list. Press Ctrl+Enter on any result to open it in a fresh pane.

Closing a workspace with Ctrl+Shift+W removes it from the active sidebar but keeps its layout and threads. Use the command palette's reopen action to bring it back.

Slash commands like /stack and /process run from the composer alongside each provider's own commands. See Panes & tiling for the full pane surface.

Where to go next

• Provider setup — provider-specific notes and troubleshooting.
• Chat, models & runs — model selection, run permissions, approvals, and transcript controls.
• Design Mode — send browser selections to chat and terminal agents.
• Panes & tiling — splits, focus, resize, zoom, the terminal dock, and the browser pane.
• Keybinds — every default and how to remap.
• CLI reference — drive Verde from your shell with verde live and verde state.
• Configuration & state — verde.json, verde.yml, themes, Omarchy integration.
• Troubleshooting — provider auth, browser runtime, source-build issues.