Impulse documentation

Impulse is a terminal IDE for the Mac: a terminal with command blocks, a code editor, git tools and support for the coding agents you run in its terminals, in one window. These pages explain every part of it, with screenshots of a small example project, trailhead.

#Start here

Getting started: install Impulse, a tour of the window, opening a project, and workspace trust.

#Working in Impulse

Workspaces, tabs and panes: the workspaces sidebar, tabs, split panes, the Files, Changes and Search panels, session restore, and the quick terminal.
Terminal: command blocks, the input bar, completions, history, find, hints, notifications and ports.
Editor: the editor, language servers, Problems, project-wide find and replace, previews, and git in the editor.
Command palette: one field for commands, files, lines, symbols, tabs, workspaces, branches, history and settings.

#Parallel work and agents

Tasks: a branch in its own folder, opened as its own workspace, so you (or an agent) can work on several things at once.
Agents: how Impulse follows Claude Code, Codex and other agents, checkpoints their turns, and tells you when one needs you.

#Git

Git: the Changes panel, committing, branches, stashes, fetch, pull and push, merge conflicts, tags and pull requests.
Review: read and stage changes, comment on them, and send the comments to an agent.
History: the commit graph, filters, comparing, and actions on commits, branches and tags.

#Configuration and reference

Project configuration: .impulse/project.toml and .worktreeinclude.
Command-line tool: the impulse command, and Impulse as your $EDITOR.
Settings and themes: every setting, settings.json, themes and custom shortcuts.
Keyboard shortcuts: every shortcut, in the menus and inside panels.
Accessibility: VoiceOver, Reduce Motion, Increase Contrast and keyboard-only use.

#Common workflows

To…	See
Work on a second thing without stashing or switching branches	Tasks
Run two agents side by side and see which one needs you	Tasks, Agents
See exactly what an agent changed in its last turn, or undo it	Agents › Checkpoints and turns, Review
Commit part of a file	Review › Staging, unstaging and reverting
Send review comments back to an agent	Review › Comments
Find when a line changed, and who changed it	History, Editor › Inline blame
Run your project's dev server or tests from the palette	Project configuration › Project actions
Make `git commit` open its message in Impulse	Command-line tool

#Updating the screenshots

The screenshots are generated, not taken by hand. scripts/docs/make_demo.py builds the trailhead example (a repository with history, branches, task worktrees and uncommitted work, plus a stand-in home folder and stand-in agent commands), and scripts/docs/capture.py runs the dev build in its headless snapshot mode for each shot in scripts/docs/shots.py, then frames the result into docs/images/. Nothing appears on screen while it runs.

shell

./impulse-macos/build.sh --dev
python3 scripts/docs/capture.py                  # every shot
python3 scripts/docs/capture.py review- tasks-   # shots whose names start with these