Views
Neon Pilot has two view modes. Switch between them with F1/F2 or the dropdown in the top bar.
Conversation View (F1)
The default layout. A single conversation pane with the left sidebar for conversation navigation.
- Left sidebar — conversation list, toggle with
Cmd+/(orCtrl+/) - Center — transcript and composer
- Use this for focused single-thread work
Workbench View (F2)
A multi-pane layout for working alongside knowledge and tools. Available on conversation routes.
The right rail nav tabs include:
| Tab | Shows when |
|---|---|
| File Explorer | Always — working directory file tree |
| Artifacts | Conversation has rendered artifacts |
| Browser | Opened by user |
| Knowledge | Primary page with right rail |
Knowledge appears as a left-sidebar route (not a workbench tab). Extension-contributed tool panels also appear in the nav. Toggle
the right rail (in compact mode) with Cmd+\ or toggle the workbench explorer (in workbench mode) with
Cmd+\.
For extension authors, the right rail is for compact contextual tools. If a feature needs the rail to select something and the
center pane to render the large detail view, pair the rail view with a location: "workbench" detail view.
See
Extensions
for the surface decision guide.
Rail pane behavior
- Panes are resizable by dragging the divider
- The File Explorer shows the workspace file tree
- Checkpoint diffs render inline in the transcript checkpoint card
- Artifacts render inline (HTML, Mermaid, LaTeX)
- Background commands and subagents render as inline transcript execution cards
- Browser loads pages alongside the conversation
Layout Shortcuts
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Conversation mode (compact) | F1 |
| Workbench mode | F2 |
| Toggle left sidebar | Cmd+/ (or Ctrl+/) |
| Toggle right rail | Cmd+\ (or Ctrl+\) |
Default shortcuts are configurable in Settings → Keyboard.