Temporary Terminals
Temporary terminals are short-lived sessions for commands whose terminal and output you do not need to keep. Use them for sign-ins, quick checks, and other one-off work.
When to use them
- Signing into services (
aws sso login,npm login,docker login) - Checking versions or system info
- Running a quick script you won’t need again
- Testing a command before adding it to a preset
How they work
Temporary terminals open in Spotlight and do not create a persistent board tile or Tab Shelf item.
- Open a temporary terminal from Spotlight or a board toolbar.
- Run your command.
- Dismiss the overlay when you finish.
Dismiss any temporary presentation with Esc, Close Terminal Spotlight, or a backdrop click. A temporary terminal can also be dismissed with a terminal double-click and closes when its process exits. Spotlight returns to the nearest available prior item; if none remains, it dismisses.
A temporary terminal opened from a detached board stays in that window. If you choose Split Terminal, CrispyVibe creates a separate persistent tile on the same board instead of converting the temporary process.
Key differences from persistent terminals
| Persistent | Temporary | |
|---|---|---|
| Appears on board | Yes | No |
| In tab strip / carousel | Yes | No |
| Survives app restart | Yes (with tmux) | No |
| Backed by tmux | Yes (when enabled) | No |
| Visible in session browser | Yes | No |
Temporary terminals support the same output links and file or folder drops as board terminals. See Links and paths in terminal output and Dropping files and folders into a terminal. You can also launch an agent CLI into a temporary terminal from the Spotlight Agent CLI menu; see Terminal Presets.