Feature Reference

Keyboard Shortcuts

Global / Browse tab

DAG graph view

Shown in the footer when the graph has focus:

Node detail hub

Opened with Enter on a node:

Operations dialog and wizard

The Operations dialog (A / a) lists the operations; selecting one opens a configuration wizard.

Operation detail and logs

Module preview

Shown by the review-before-apply gate (buttons; Escape cancels):

Every key above can be rebound — press ? in the TUI for the in-place editor, or use Settings → Shortcuts.

Node box anatomy

In graph view each node is a five-row box:

┌──────────────────────────┐  ← top border (green = HEAD, orange = anchor)
│ n003  ☑                  │  ← node id + selection checkbox (☑ marked / ☐ not)
│ explore                  │  ← operation badge (color-coded, see below)
│ Variant: cache-first …   │  ← one-line description
└──────────────────────────┘  ← bottom border

Operation color legend

The operation badge is color-coded by the operation that produced the node:

Module status colors

Module nodes also carry a fluid status badge (a render of progress, separate from the operation that created them):

Operations and agents

Design operations are launched from the Operations dialog (A); each dispatches one or more background agents:

Session-lifecycle operations (Session tab) run no agents: pause, resume, finalize (export HEAD proposal to aiplans/), archive, delete.

Agent model defaults

Each design operation dispatches a code agent of a fixed agent type, and every agent type has a configurable default model and launch mode. There are seven agent types: the six design-operation agents in the table above (explorer, comparator, synthesizer, module decomposer, module merger, module syncer) plus the initializer — the bootstrap agent that reformats an imported markdown draft (ait brainstorm init --proposal-file) into the first graph node.

Where the defaults live. Per-type defaults are stored in aitasks/metadata/codeagent_config.json under defaults, keyed brainstorm-<type>:

"defaults": {
  "brainstorm-explorer": "<agent>/<model>",
  "brainstorm-synthesizer": "<agent>/<model>",
  "brainstorm-module_decomposer": "<agent>/<model>"
}

Each brainstorm-<type> value is an <agent>/<model> string — the code-agent binary and the model it runs. An optional paired brainstorm-<type>-launch-mode key sets that type’s default launch mode.

Layered resolution. Defaults resolve in three layers, each overriding the one before it:

1. Built-in resource defaults (per-type max_parallel and launch_mode).
2. Project config — codeagent_config.json (shared, committed).
3. Per-user override — codeagent_config.local.json (gitignored).

The agent and model are bound when a session is initialized (when the brainstorm crew registers its agent types). Changing a default therefore takes effect on the next session you start — not one that is already running.

Launch mode. Every type has a default launch mode (interactive). Override it globally with the brainstorm-<type>-launch-mode config key, or per operation from the launch-mode selector in the operation wizard when you run that operation.

Changing a default. The simplest way to edit these is the Settings TUI: open the Agent Defaults tab, where every brainstorm agent type appears with an agent/model picker and a paired launch-mode picker. Each row shows the project value with your user override below it, so you can change a model for the whole project or just for yourself.

Module decompose modes

The Module Decompose wizard offers three modes:

Review before apply is on by default; it routes the result through the module preview (Accept / Re-run / Cancel) before committing. A Re-run steering note overrides the original decomposition plan on conflict, and later revisions override earlier ones. Decompose forks rather than prunes — the umbrella proposal stays whole, and Module Merge is the convergent path back.

Operation provenance

Operation data is resolved on demand from on-disk files via a lightweight pointer (an OpDataRef: kind, target, optional section), so the session state never duplicates agent inputs, outputs, or logs.

Session files and layout

A brainstorm session lives in its own AgentCrew worktree at .aitask-crews/crew-brainstorm-<task_num>/, created by ait crew init and populated by the brainstorm engine:

A completed (finalize) session exports its HEAD proposal into aiplans/; archive and delete retire the worktree.

Next: Settings — configure agent defaults and rebind any of the keys above.