Agent-adjacent terminal workbench — git diff viewer, commit log, and multi-pane terminal multiplexer in one window. Tuned for sitting next to LLM CLIs (Claude Code, Codex, aider) or any process that touches your working tree, but nightcrow itself has no AI ontology — it watches files and PTYs, not agents.
~/projects/myapp main ↑2 ↓0
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Files │ @@ -36,7 +36,12 @@ │
│ M src/app.rs │ fn collect_hunks( │
│ M src/diff.rs │ - mut on_file: impl FnMut(...), │
│▶MM src/main.rs │ + on_file: impl FnMut(...) │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [1] claude [2] aider [3] bash │
│ $ cargo test │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
j/k: scroll | /: search | v: view file | <prefix> q: quit
cargo install nightcrowRequires Rust 1.85+ (edition 2024).
# Open in current git repo
nightcrow
# Open a specific repo
nightcrow --repo ~/projects/myapp
# Launch terminal panes running commands at startup (repeatable)
nightcrow --exec "claude" --exec "codex"--exec panes open after any [[startup_command]] panes from the config
file; the two sources share a combined cap of 7 panes — the same count the
F3–F9 (or <prefix> 3–9) jump keys address, so every startup pane is
reachable by a direct key. (F1/F2 map to the file list and diff viewer.)
Panes opened later with <prefix> t are not capped; any past the seventh are
reached by focus cycling (Shift+←/→).
Status view (default) — lists changed files on the left, syntax-highlighted diff on the right.
Each row begins with a two-character XY status code, following Git's short status notation (nightcrow reads status through git2 internally, not by parsing git status --short). X is the staged (index) state and Y is the unstaged (working-tree) state, so a file can show both at once:
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
M |
modified, unstaged |
M |
modified, staged |
MM |
modified, staged and further modified in the working tree |
A |
added (staged) |
D / D |
deleted (staged / unstaged) |
R |
renamed (shown as old -> new; searchable by either path) |
T |
type changed (e.g. file ↔ symlink) |
?? |
untracked |
UU |
conflicted (placeholder for unmerged paths) |
The diff for a selected file shows the combined working-tree-with-index changes.
Commit log view (<prefix> l) — tig-like commit list on the left, full commit diff on the right. Commits ahead of the upstream are marked with ↑. Press Enter on a commit to drill into its individual files; Esc to go back. The list auto-refreshes when the workdir HEAD changes (commits made in the terminal pane, amends, force-pushes, branch switches). History loads one page at a time — initial entry fetches commit_log_page_size commits and additional pages stream in on a background thread as the selection approaches the loaded tail, so deep histories stay responsive. Toggling while a terminal or diff pane is zoomed exits the zoom and focuses the list, so the view switch is always visible.
Tree view (<prefix> b) — a read-only directory tree of the whole working tree on the left, with the selected file's raw contents on the right. Unlike the status view (which lists only changed files), the tree lets you browse and read any file next to the diff without leaving nightcrow. j/k move the cursor, →/Enter expand a directory (read lazily, one level at a time), ← collapses it or steps up to the parent, and selecting a file previews it. Focus the file preview with F2, then press / to search within the file contents — n/N jump to the next/previous match, Esc clears the search. .gitignore-matched paths (e.g. target/, node_modules/) are hidden by default — toggle with [tree] respect_gitignore. The tree never writes, renames, or deletes anything. Expansion state and the selected path persist across sessions.
Top header — a one-row strip at the top of the screen always shows the repo path (home-relative, e.g. ~/projects/myapp), the current branch, and ahead/behind counts (↑N ↓M) when the branch tracks an upstream.
nightcrow uses a tmux-style leader (prefix) key for its app commands. The
default leader is Ctrl+G (configurable via [input] leader). Ctrl+G avoids
tmux's own Ctrl+B prefix, so nightcrow stays usable inside a tmux session. Press the
leader, then a single follow-up key. Every other key — including Ctrl chords
like Ctrl+W and Ctrl+L — passes straight through to the focused terminal,
so a CLI running there (claude, codex, your shell) receives them unchanged.
This is why the leader exists: cockpit users live inside the terminal panes and
need their prompt-editing keys to reach the program, not nightcrow.
The hint bar shows the active leader in caret notation at its left edge (e.g.
^G: leader for the default Ctrl+G), so the configured prefix is always
visible from the terminal pane.
Migration from earlier versions: the old bare-
Ctrlapp shortcuts moved behind the leader.Ctrl+T/W/L/F/O/P/Qare now<prefix> t/w/l/f/o/p/q, and thoseCtrlkeys now pass through to the terminal program instead. The oldCtrl+Q-twice quit confirmation is gone; quit with<prefix> q.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
<prefix> then <prefix> |
Send the literal leader to the terminal program |
<prefix> t |
Open new terminal pane |
<prefix> w |
Close active terminal pane |
<prefix> l |
Toggle between status view and commit log view |
<prefix> b |
Toggle the read-only file-tree view (returns to status view) |
<prefix> f |
Toggle fullscreen for the focused pane (file/commit list, diff viewer, or terminal) |
<prefix> o |
Change repo path |
<prefix> p |
Cycle accent color (yellow → cyan → green → magenta → blue) |
<prefix> r |
Force a full redraw (clears stray glyphs left by terminal programs) |
<prefix> q |
Quit |
<prefix> 1 / <prefix> 2 |
Focus the file/commit list / diff viewer (mirrors F1 / F2) |
<prefix> 3…<prefix> 9 |
Jump to terminal pane 1…7 (mirrors F3…F9) |
Esc / Ctrl+C (while armed) |
Cancel the prefix |
The prefix has no timeout: once armed it waits indefinitely for the follow-up key. A key with no leader binding cancels the prefix and is dropped.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Shift+→ / Shift+← |
Cycle focus: file list → diff viewer → terminal panes → … |
F1 / F2 |
Focus file list / diff viewer |
F3…F9 |
Jump to terminal pane 1…7 |
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
↑ / k, ↓ / j |
Navigate items one by one |
PgUp / PgDn |
Jump 10 items |
<prefix> f |
Zoom the list pane to full screen (toggle) |
/ |
Incremental search (status: paths; log: commit summaries; drill-down: paths) |
Esc |
Clear filter, then exit drill-down (log), then cancel search bar |
Enter |
Confirm filter (keeps query) or drill into commit's file list (log view) |
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
↑ / k, ↓ / j |
Scroll one line |
PgUp / PgDn |
Scroll 20 lines |
← / → |
Horizontal scroll (4 columns) |
v |
Toggle between hunk diff and full file preview |
<prefix> f |
Zoom the diff/file pane to full screen (toggle) |
/ |
Open search (works in both diff and file preview, including tree mode) |
n / N |
Next / previous search match |
Esc |
Clear search |
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Shift+↑ / Shift+↓ |
Scroll terminal output 3 lines |
Shift+PgUp / Shift+PgDn |
Scroll terminal output one page |
While scrolled, the terminal border title shows [SCROLL — shift+pgdn: down | input: live]. Keyboard input is still forwarded to the running process; Shift+PgDn to scroll back to the bottom.
The tab bar picks up OSC 0/2 window-title escape sequences, so programs like claude, vim, ssh, or cd-aware shell prompts can rename their own tab. Panes without an emitted title fall back to a default label.
Files modified within the last hot_window_secs seconds — whether by an agent in a terminal pane, your editor, or a build/format script — are rendered in the accent color (bold for the first 5 seconds, normal until the window expires). When the file list is in focus and you have not navigated in the last 2 seconds, the selection auto-follows to the freshest hot file so the diff updates as files change. Manual navigation (j / k / arrows / PgUp / PgDn) immediately suppresses auto-follow until you go idle again.
Configurable under [agent_indicator] (see below).
nightcrow saves the current state on exit and restores it on the next launch for the same repo — focus position, scroll offset, active terminal pane, commit log view mode, and accent color. The state file is .nightcrow/session.json inside the repo directory.
Config file: ~/.nightcrow/config.toml (all fields optional, defaults shown).
nightcrow runs on built-in defaults when the file is absent and never creates
it on its own. To get a starter file, run:
nightcrow init # writes a commented ~/.nightcrow/config.toml
nightcrow init --force # overwrite an existing fileinit leaves an existing config untouched unless --force is passed.
[layout]
upper_pct = 55 # vertical % for the diff panel (1–99)
file_list_pct = 25 # horizontal % of upper panel for the file list (1–99)
[theme]
name = "yellow" # accent color preset: "yellow" | "cyan" | "green" | "magenta" | "blue"
[input]
leader = "ctrl+g" # leader (prefix) chord for app commands; tmux-style.
# Allowed: "ctrl+<letter>". Reserved keys (F1..F9,
# Shift+arrows, Shift+PgUp/PgDn) cannot be the leader.
[log]
enabled = true
dir = ".nightcrow/logs" # relative to repo root
rotation = "daily" # "daily" | "hourly" | "size"
max_size_mb = 10 # used when rotation = "size"
max_days = 7 # delete logs older than N days (0 = keep forever)
level = "info" # "error" | "warn" | "info" | "debug" | "trace"
prompt_log = false # record terminal prompt input line by line
commit_log_page_size = 100 # commits fetched per commit-log page
commit_log_prefetch_threshold = 25 # start the next-page fetch when the selection is within
# this many rows of the loaded tail (1..=page_size)
[agent_indicator]
enabled = true # color recently-touched files in the file list
hot_window_secs = 15 # seconds within which a file stays hot (3–3600)
auto_follow = false # jump selection to the freshest hot file when idle
# Reserve startup commands: each [[startup_command]] opens its own terminal
# pane at launch and runs `command` immediately (via `$SHELL -lc <command>`).
# Up to 7 entries (combined with CLI --exec). 7 matches the F3–F9 / <leader>
# 3–9 jump keys, so every startup pane is reachable by a direct key (F1/F2
# reach the file list and diff viewer). This caps only the startup batch — open
# more anytime with <leader> t (panes past the seventh are reached by focus
# cycling, Shift+←/→). `name` labels the tab; when omitted the command text is
# used. With no [[startup_command]] entries, nightcrow opens a single empty shell.
[[startup_command]]
name = "Claude" # optional tab label; falls back to the command text
command = "claude" # required; must not be empty
[[startup_command]]
command = "cargo test --watch"Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE.