Commands — an extension for your IDE

Agents in tabs,
beside your code.

Commands is an extension for VS Code and Cursor that opens your favorite AI agents in tabs alongside your code. Launch one or several agents at once—and free them from sidebar panels.

See how Commands can help you launch your favorite CLIs in VS Code and Cursor

Features

Everything you need to launch terminals quickly and keep them visible while you code.

Terminals open in the editor area, not the panel
One-click status bar buttons for instant access
Command Sets launch multiple terminals at once
Ships with 7 presets: Claude, Codex, Gemini, Claude Chrome, Cursor, Amp, OpenCode
Customize icons, colors, and visibility
Visual preset editor for easy configuration
Activity bar view for all your presets

Default Setup

Ready to go
out of the box.

Commands ships with presets for popular coding CLIs. Four appear in your status bar by default, plus a Command Set that opens Claude and Codex together.

Cursor, Amp, and OpenCode presets are included but hidden from the status bar. Enable them anytime in the preset editor.

Activity bar shows all enabled presets

Terminal opens right next to your code

Customize

Make it yours.

The visual preset editor lets you customize everything without touching JSON. Add new presets, change icons, set custom colors, control what appears in the status bar.

Visual editor for presets and Command Sets

Command Sets

Launch multiple
terminals at once.

Command Sets let you open several terminals with a single click. Perfect for workflows that need multiple tools running simultaneously.

The default "Claude | Codex" set opens both terminals side by side. Create your own sets with any combination of presets.

Create sets with any presets, choose which terminal gets focus

FAQ

Common questions.

How do I install this extension?

1-click install: Click the VS Code or Cursor buttons at the top of this page to open the extension directly in your editor.

Manual install: Search for "Commands: Open Terminal in Editor" in the Extensions panel (Cmd+Shift+X / Ctrl+Shift+X).

Web listings: VS Code Marketplace • Open VSX

Where do I find the CLIs that come as presets?

Commands ships with presets for these coding CLIs:

Claude Code OpenAI Codex Google Gemini Cursor Agent Amp OpenCode

The "Claude Chrome" preset uses claude --chrome to launch Claude with browser integration. Get the Chrome extension.

What's a Command Set?

A Command Set launches multiple terminals with one click. Instead of clicking Claude, then Codex, you click "Claude | Codex" and both open at once.

You can create Command Sets with any combination of presets. They appear in the status bar (not the activity bar) and you can control which terminal gets focus when they launch.

Can I add my own presets?

Yes! Open the preset editor (click the gear icon in the Commands activity bar, or run Commands: Edit Presets from the command palette) and click "Add Preset."

Each preset has a nickname (display name), command (what runs in the terminal), icon, and options for status bar visibility and color.

How do I hide a preset from the status bar?

Open the preset editor and uncheck "Show button" under the Status bar setting for that preset. The preset will still appear in the activity bar, just not as a status bar button.

You can also right-click a preset in the activity bar and choose "Hide from Status Bar."

I don't see the status bar buttons, and they're enabled in the preset editor.

The status bar might be hidden in your editor. Go to View > Appearance > Status Bar and make sure it's enabled (checked).

Once the status bar is visible, you should see your enabled preset buttons on the right side of the status bar at the bottom of the editor.

Why does Shift+Tab not work in my terminal?

VS Code sometimes intercepts Shift+Tab for accessibility navigation. Commands tries to pass Shift+Tab through to your terminal (useful for CLIs like Claude Code that use it for mode switching).

If it's not working, the extension will prompt you to disable settings that interfere. You can also manually set editor.accessibilitySupport to "off" in your VS Code settings.

Can I use custom icons?

Yes! In the preset editor, click "Choose file" next to the Icon field to select an SVG or PNG file. The extension will copy the file to your workspace.

You can also use built-in icons: asset:claude, asset:codex, asset:gemini, or any VS Code codicon like codicon:terminal.

For theme-aware icons (different icons for light/dark themes), place name-light.svg and name-dark.svg in the media folder and use asset:name.

Agents in tabs,beside your code.