Create in the sidebar opens Command: conversation with your team on one side, results on the other. Without a mission, enter an idea under What do you want to create?. Start creating opens simple AI/model setup; More creation options opens team configuration. Your idea becomes the mission objective.
#Requests
- Write as if you were talking to someone. Cockpit offers suggested requests in an empty conversation.
- The input shows agent, model, and effort. Changing one restarts only that agent and is blocked while a request is running.
- Automatic starts requests automatically; Manual asks for confirmation.
- Race lets two AI agents tackle the same task in separate project copies. Compare results and previews, then choose. Visual requests may suggest enabling Race.
- + adds images, local files, project files, and links. Pasting images and dragging files also works. Up to ten files per request, 8 MB each; no video. Images work with Codex and Claude Code. Project files are sent as copies so later edits do not change the attachment.
- Long pasted text becomes a removable card.
- Begin with / to send a command directly to the agent CLI without creating a task. View all in agent menu opens its native menu.
/new,/clear, and/resetrequire Start from scratch confirmation. - Terminal questions, such as trusting a folder, appear in the conversation with Reply in terminal.
- Terminal output appears as an activity card without CLI borders or footers. Open full terminal remains available.
- History search appears after four requests.
#AI creation guide
The guide on the home screen and above the conversation includes the Vibe Coding Toolkit (MIT, pinned revision, bundled without a GitHub dependency). Choose a path, describe your objective, and prepare a request to review and send. Nothing is selected automatically. Drafts are saved per project and mission. Recipes only install tools or services after you send a request to the agent.
#Results and preview
View result opens Preview, Versions, Map, and Save a copy. The panel remembers its open state per project and signals New result if it changes while closed. On mobile, switch between Conversation and Result.
Preview sets itself up:
- Node web projects use
npm run dev, ornpm run startif nodevexists, on a free port. Static sites open directly; build-only projects are built once. - Missing dependencies are not installed automatically. Ask the agent for help sends diagnostics.
- The preview uses Cockpit's address with HMR, including from other devices. No localhost, IP, or port selection is needed.
- Expo projects show a QR code and phone link on the same network, plus Open in Android emulator or Open in iOS simulator on a Mac when installed on the Cockpit computer.
- Advanced options contains server choice, output folder, optional local storage, and logs.
The preview is isolated from Cockpit's page, cookies, and storage. Its localStorage lasts only until reload. Project login cookies, IndexedDB, and service workers do not work there; open the project server directly to test them.
#Select element
Enable Select element and click anywhere in the preview, including a live server preview. Your next request includes the selector, text, and version you were viewing. Selection provides context; it does not change code by itself.
#Versions
Before each Command request, Cockpit saves a “Before: …” version. In Versions, compare with a draggable divider or side by side, inspect added/removed/changed files, and restore. Build projects are built in a separate folder. Your current state is saved first.
Up to 50 versions per project. Copies exclude .env, known credentials, dependencies, and output such as dist and build. External data, processes, and services are not restored. Restoration is refused while the project has an active run.
#Verification
After an agent delivers, Cockpit runs the project's typecheck and test scripts. Failures return the task with the end of the log, up to twice. Agents cannot approve while verification is failing or running; you can approve after seeing the failure. Missing scripts mean unverified, never approved. Configure .cockpit/verify.json or disable with COCKPIT_VERIFY=0.
#References, decisions, and map
Saved reference links and project decisions accompany new requests and handoffs. Map shows files and import/asset relationships; open a file to inspect its source. Markdown, PNG, JPEG, and WebP previews stay inside the project.
#Save a copy
Save a stable preview with a fixed link served by Cockpit. This is not public hosting or a domain: it works while Cockpit is running, follows its access rules, and does not change with your source code.
#Continue with another AI
Choose another connected mission agent and select Hand off the conversation. It receives the objective, decisions, references, files, checks, open items, and recent conversation. Common credentials are removed. The original agent remains available.
#Context meter
Claude and Codex headers show used context with warnings at 60% and 75%. New session with summary saves a summary in project memory and starts a clean session.