Docs/The board (Director)/Starting and steering agents
Director

Starting and steering agents

5 min read

This page covers the two verbs of the board: starting an agent session and steering it while it runs - answering questions, queueing the next task, and stopping it when it goes down the wrong path.

Start a new session

  1. Open the New Session dialog

    Click New Session in the toolbar (or press Ctrl+N). The dialog also has tabs for Named Sessions and Resume Session - more on those below.

  2. Pick the agent

    The agents you have configured appear as a row of choices, with the first one preselected. Claude Code and Pi ship with verified drivers and are always available; you manage the list under Settings - Agents. Choosing Custom CLI lets you point the session at any command-line tool by giving its command and arguments.

  3. Pick the repository

    Choose the folder the agent will work in - the dialog lists the repositories you have used, sortable by name, path, or last used, and a Browse button picks any folder. The agent edits real files in that folder, so for a first run start somewhere low-stakes.

  4. Decide about permission prompts

    Bypass permission prompts is checked by default: the agent works without stopping to ask before each tool action. Uncheck it if you want to approve actions as they happen - the session's card will flip to Permission each time the agent wants a decision.

  5. Start

    A new card appears on the board and the agent launches in its terminal. Give it the first task from the prompt bar - or set the task up front with a named session.

Named sessions and resuming

Named Sessions are saved presets - a repository plus an agent under a name you choose, launched with one click. Save any running session as a named session from its card menu. Resume Session lists your past Claude Code conversations with a summary, message count, and how long ago they ran, and picks one up where it left off - the way back after you close a session or restart the app.

The prompt bar

Screenshot coming soonThe prompt bar under the terminal with the Send, Speak, Queue, Expand, and Explain buttons
The prompt bar under the terminal with the Send, Speak, Queue, Expand, and Explain buttons
  • Send (Ctrl+Enter) - type a message and send it into the terminal.
  • Queue (Ctrl+Shift+Enter) - add the message to the session's queue instead of interrupting; it is delivered when the agent is ready for it.
  • Speak (Ctrl+H) - dictate instead of typing. See voice.
  • Expand - open a large editor for long prompts, with image preview for screenshots you attach.
  • Explain - have DevThrottle read the session and tell you what is happening in it - useful when you come back to a wall of terminal output.
Tip
Queueing is the habit that makes multiple agents work. While an agent is busy, line up its next two or three tasks with Ctrl+Shift+Enter - the Queue panel on the right shows the line, and you can reorder, edit, or delete items before they go in. The agent never sits idle waiting for you to notice it finished.

Stop, interrupt, and clear

The action bar above the terminal gives you graduated brakes:

  • Stop - the agent's own soft cancel (Esc). Ends the current turn; the conversation continues.
  • Interrupt - a hard interrupt (Ctrl+C), stronger than Stop, for when the agent will not let go.
  • Clear context - reset the conversation in place while the process keeps running - a fresh start without a new session.
  • History - open the agent's in-terminal history picker to jump back to an earlier point.

The action bar also shows a context-window gauge - how full the agent's working memory is - which is your cue to clear context or wrap up the task.

Answering an agent

When a card turns red, click it, read the question in the terminal, and answer in the prompt bar. If the card shows Permission, the agent is asking to run a specific action - approve or deny it right in the terminal. Then get out of the way; the card goes blue and you go back to whatever you were doing.

Note
You do not have to be at the desktop to answer. The same sessions can be driven from the Cockpit in a browser and from your phone - including by voice.

The card menu

The "..." menu on each card: Rename, Hold / Take Off Hold, Open in Explorer, Open in VS Code, Save as named session, and Close Session.

Warning
Closing a session ends the agent process. Your files keep every change the agent made, and Claude Code conversations can be reopened later from Resume Session - but anything the agent was mid-way through stops where it stands.