Sidecar

A terminal dashboard for monitoring AI coding agents.

Watch your agents work in real-time: see git changes, browse session history, track tasks, and manage parallel workspaces—all from a split-screen terminal UI that complements your agent workflow.

Sidecar Git Status

The Problem

AI coding agents are powerful but opaque. When Claude Code or Cursor makes changes, you're often waiting for a summary or switching contexts to check git status. Sidecar gives you continuous visibility into agent activity without interrupting your flow.

Key capabilities:

Real-time git monitoring - Stage files, review diffs, commit changes while your agent works
Multi-agent support - Browse session history from Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, and more
Parallel development - Run multiple agents across git worktrees with live output streaming
Instant project switching - Jump between repos with @. State, cursor, and preferences restore per-project
Task integration - Connect workspaces to TD tasks for context tracking across sessions
Zero context switching - Everything in your terminal, no editor required

Quick Install

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/marcus/sidecar/main/scripts/setup.sh | bash

Requirements: macOS, Linux, or WSL.

Alternative install methods

Homebrew:

brew install marcus/tap/sidecar

Binary download: Grab a pre-built binary from GitHub Releases.

From source (requires Go 1.21+):

go install github.com/marcus/sidecar/cmd/sidecar@latest

Quick Start

Run from any project directory:

sidecar

Sidecar auto-detects your git repo and active agent sessions. No configuration needed.

Recommended Workflow

Split your terminal horizontally: agent on the left, sidecar on the right.

┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────┐
│                             │                     │
│   Claude Code / Cursor      │      Sidecar        │
│                             │                     │
│   $ claude                  │   [Git] [Files]     │
│   > fix the auth bug...     │   [TD]  [Workspaces] │
│                             │                     │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────┘

As the agent works:

Watch files appear in Git Status with live diffs
See tasks progress through workflow stages in TD Monitor
Browse and edit code yourself in File Browser
Launch parallel agents in workspaces for multi-branch work

tip

You can run two sidecar instances side-by-side to create a dashboard view. For example, keep one on the TD plugin and the other on Git or Workspaces to monitor tasks and code changes simultaneously.

This setup provides full transparency into agent actions without breaking focus.

Core Plugins

Sidecar's modular architecture provides focused tools for each aspect of your workflow. All plugins auto-refresh and support mouse + keyboard navigation.

Git Status

A full-featured git interface with live diff preview and commit management.

Watch your agent's changes in real-time with syntax-highlighted diffs, stage files with a keypress, and commit without leaving the dashboard. Supports unified and side-by-side diff views, commit history with search, and branch switching.

Git Status with Diff

Essential shortcuts:

Key	Action
`s`	Stage file or folder
`u`	Unstage file
`d`	View full-screen diff
`v`	Toggle unified/side-by-side diff
`c`	Commit staged changes
`b`	Switch branches
`P`	Push to remote

Full Git Plugin documentation →

Workspaces

Run parallel AI agents across git worktrees with real-time output streaming.

Create isolated branches, launch agents with custom prompts, and watch their progress in a Kanban board. Each workspace streams agent output live, shows diffs, and links to TD tasks for context. Perfect for multi-branch development or testing multiple approaches simultaneously.

Essential shortcuts:

Key	Action
`n`	Create new workspace
`s`	Start agent in workspace
`enter`	Attach to running agent
`v`	Toggle list/Kanban view
`m`	Start merge workflow
`t`	Link TD task

Supported agents: Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Codex, Aider

Full Workspaces Plugin documentation →

Conversations

Browse session history from all your AI agents with search and token tracking.

Unified view of sessions across Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Codex, and Warp. Search by message content, expand to see full conversations, and track token usage per session. Useful for reviewing what your agents accomplished or resuming previous work.

Conversations

Essential shortcuts:

Key	Action
`/`	Search sessions
`enter`	Expand/collapse messages
`j/k`	Navigate sessions

Full Conversations Plugin documentation →

TD Monitor

Task management for AI agents working across context windows.

Integration with TD, a purpose-built task system that helps agents maintain context across sessions. View the current focused task, track activity logs, and submit reviews—all synchronized with your agent's workflow.

TD Monitor

Essential shortcuts:

Key	Action
`r`	Submit review
`enter`	View task details

Full TD documentation →

File Browser

Navigate and preview project files with syntax highlighting.

Collapsible directory tree with live code preview. Browse your codebase while your agent works, open files in your editor, or search by name. Auto-refreshes when files change.

File Browser

Essential shortcuts:

Key	Action
`enter`	Open/close folder
`/`	Search files
`h/l`	Switch tree/preview focus

Full File Browser documentation →

These shortcuts work across all plugins:

Key	Action
`q`, `ctrl+c`	Quit sidecar
`tab` / `shift+tab`	Switch between plugins
`1-5`	Jump to plugin by number
`@`	Open project switcher
`W`	Open worktree switcher
`#`	Open theme switcher
`j/k`, `↓/↑`	Navigate items in lists
`ctrl+d/u`	Page down/up
`g` / `G`	Jump to top/bottom
`?`	Toggle help overlay
`r`	Refresh current plugin
`!`	Open diagnostics modal

Each plugin adds its own context-specific shortcuts shown in the footer bar.

Project Switching

Press @ to switch back and forth between projects instantly. Your context is preserved per-project:

State per project - Cursor position, expanded directories, and sidebar widths
Active plugin memory - Restores whichever plugin you were using
Instant switch - No re-scanning or loading delays

Configure projects in ~/.config/sidecar/config.json:

{
  "projects": {
    "list": [
      {"name": "frontend", "path": "~/code/frontend"},
      {"name": "backend", "path": "~/code/backend"}
    ]
  }
}

Worktree Switcher

Press W to switch between git worktrees within the current repository. This is useful when you're working with multiple worktrees for parallel development.

Sidecar remembers your last active worktree per project. When you switch away and later return, sidecar automatically restores the worktree you were working in—no need to manually navigate back.

Both project and worktree switching preserve your full context, so you can jump between codebases without losing your place.

Themes

Sidecar ships with built-in themes plus a community theme browser with live previews.

Press # to open the theme switcher
Press tab to toggle between built-in and community themes
Press enter to apply the highlighted theme

Configuration

Sidecar runs with sensible defaults. Create ~/.config/sidecar/config.json only if you need customization:

{
  "plugins": {
    "git-status": { "enabled": true, "refreshInterval": "1s" },
    "td-monitor": { "enabled": true, "refreshInterval": "2s" },
    "conversations": { "enabled": true },
    "file-browser": { "enabled": true },
    "workspaces": { "enabled": true }
  },
  "ui": {
    "showFooter": true,
    "showClock": true,
    "nerdFontsEnabled": false
  }
}

UI Options

Option	Default	Description
`showFooter`	`true`	Show keyboard hints in footer bar
`showClock`	`true`	Show clock in header bar
`nerdFontsEnabled`	`false`	Enable Nerd Font glyphs for enhanced visuals

Nerd Fonts

Set "nerdFontsEnabled": true if you have a Nerd Font installed in your terminal. This enables:

Pill-shaped tabs - Rounded edges on header tabs
Pill-shaped buttons - Rounded buttons in sidebars

Popular Nerd Fonts: JetBrains Mono, FiraCode, Hack, Meslo. Without a Nerd Font, leave this false or the glyphs will render as boxes.

Plugin-specific config: Workspace prompts support project-level overrides via .sidecar/config.json. See Workspaces documentation for details.

Command-Line Options

sidecar                      # Run in current directory
sidecar --project /path      # Specify project root explicitly
sidecar --debug              # Enable debug logging to stdout
sidecar --version            # Print version and exit

Updates

Sidecar checks for new versions on startup and shows a notification when updates are available. Press ! to view the diagnostics modal with the update command.

Update methods:

Setup script: curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/marcus/sidecar/main/scripts/setup.sh | bash
Homebrew: brew upgrade sidecar
Binary: Download the latest from GitHub Releases

What's Next?

Git Plugin - Full reference for staging, diffing, and commits
Workspaces Plugin - Parallel agent setup and management
Project Switching - Multi-repo workflow configuration
TD Integration - Task tracking across sessions
GitHub Repository - Source code and issues

Build from source:

git clone https://github.com/marcus/sidecar.git
cd sidecar
make build
make install

Requires Go 1.21+. See the GitHub README for development setup.

The Problem​

Quick Install​

Quick Start​

Recommended Workflow​

Core Plugins​

Git Status​

Workspaces​

Conversations​

TD Monitor​

File Browser​

Global Navigation​

Project Switching​

Worktree Switcher​

Themes​

Configuration​

UI Options​

Nerd Fonts​

Command-Line Options​

Updates​

What's Next?​

The Problem

Quick Install

Quick Start

Recommended Workflow

Core Plugins

Git Status

Workspaces

Conversations

TD Monitor

File Browser

Global Navigation

Project Switching

Worktree Switcher

Themes

Configuration

UI Options

Nerd Fonts

Command-Line Options

Updates

What's Next?