Interface Overview
When you open SailFish, you will see a dark-themed main interface. This page helps you quickly understand what each area does and where to find things.
Layout Overview
The SailFish interface is divided into three main areas:
- Left Sidebar — Navigation and quick access
- Center Main Area — Core workspace for terminal / AI chat / file management, etc.
- Top Tab Bar — Multi-tab switching (similar to browser tabs)
Left Sidebar
From top to bottom, the left sidebar contains:
Connection Management
At the top is your server connection list. Here you can:
- View saved SSH servers
- Click a server name to connect
- Click the ”+” button to add a new server
If you only use SailFish locally for now, you can ignore this area.
Feature Entries
In the middle of the sidebar are several icon buttons for different modules:
- Terminal — Open local or SSH terminal
- File Manager — Browse and manage local / remote files
- Knowledge Base — Import documents to build a private AI knowledge base
- Awaken Panel — Manage AI proactive monitoring tasks (Awaken mode)
Settings
At the bottom of the sidebar is the ⚙️ Settings icon. Click it to open the settings page. All configurations are here: AI models, SSH keys, IM integrations, skill management, and more.
Top Tab Bar
SailFish supports multi-tab operation, similar to browser tabs:
- Each terminal connection appears as a tab
- Click ”+” to create a new tab
- Right-click a tab to rename, duplicate, or close it
- You can drag tabs to reorder them
You can have multiple tabs open at once—for example, one connected to production and one to a test environment—and switch between them as needed.
Center Main Area
The content in the main area changes based on what you are doing:
Terminal View
This is the most commonly used view. You will see a terminal window (similar to macOS Terminal or Windows CMD) where you can type commands. At the bottom of the terminal is the AI chat input box.
AI Chat Area
In the area below the terminal (or in a separate chat panel), you will see the AI conversation area:
- Input box — Type what you want to say or describe your request
- Conversation history — AI replies and execution steps are shown here
- Model selector — Switch the active AI model at the top
- Execution mode — Controls how much human confirmation AI needs when executing tasks
File Manager View
When you open the File Manager, you will see a file browsing interface similar to Finder or File Explorer, where you can browse, upload, download, and edit files.
Quick Reference
| What You Want | Where to Find It |
|---|---|
| Configure AI model | Settings → AI Model Configuration |
| Add SSH server | Left sidebar ”+” button, or Settings → SSH |
| Open local terminal | Click ”+” on tab bar → Local Terminal |
| Chat with AI | Input box at bottom of terminal, or chat panel |
| Manage files | File Manager icon in left sidebar |
| Switch AI model | Model selector dropdown at top |
| Change execution mode | Execution mode button in chat area |
| View conversation history | History entry in sidebar |
| Open Awaken panel | Awaken icon in left sidebar |
| Install skills / MCP | Settings → Skill Management / MCP Configuration |
Keyboard Shortcuts
SailFish supports several shortcuts for common actions:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl/Cmd + T | New tab |
Ctrl/Cmd + W | Close current tab |
Ctrl/Cmd + Tab | Switch to next tab |
Ctrl/Cmd + , | Open settings |
Ctrl/Cmd + K | Quick search |
Interface Theme
SailFish uses a dark theme by default. If you prefer a light interface, you can change the terminal color scheme in Settings → Appearance.
Next Step
Now that you know the SailFish interface, it is time to have your first conversation with the AI and experience SailFish core capabilities.