On-Demand Terminal Access

This guide covers using ergoterm for quick, ad-hoc terminal operations through Vim commands.

Terminal Selection Pattern

Most commands support three ways to select which terminal to operate on:

1. Bang (!): Use the last focused terminal

   :TermSelect!
   :TermSend!
   :TermUpdate!
   

   Note: Terminals can be excluded from bang targeting by setting bang_target = false

2. Target by name: Specify terminal by name

   :TermSelect target=myterminal
   :TermSend target=tests
   :TermUpdate target=dev
   

3. Picker: Open selection UI (default when no bang or target)

   :TermSelect
   :TermSend
   :TermUpdate
   

   Note: If only one terminal is available, the picker is skipped and that terminal is selected automatically besides :TermSelect, which always opens the picker if no bang or target is provided.

:TermNew - Create Terminal

Create and focus a new terminal with optional configuration.

:TermNew [option=value ...]

All options from Terminal Defaults are supported except callbacks (on_* functions). Additionally:

• cmd - Command to run (default: shell)
• dir - Working directory (default: current directory). Special value: git_dir expands to git root
• name - Terminal name (default: command name)

Syntax for complex types:

• Table settings: Use dot notation: size.right="30%"
• List settings: Use comma-separated values: tags=git,dev

Examples

" Create terminal with default settings
:TermNew

" Create terminal running lazygit in floating layout
:TermNew cmd=lazygit layout=float name=git

" Create terminal running claude on the right side, watching file changes
:TermNew cmd=claude watch_files=true layout=right

" Create small terminal below for running tests
:TermNew cmd="rspec --watch" size.below="30%" auto_scroll=true name=tests

:TermSelect - Select Terminal

Open terminal picker or focus a specific terminal if ! or target is provided.

:TermSelect[!] [target=name]

Examples

" Open terminal picker
:TermSelect

" Focus last focused terminal
:TermSelect!

" Focus terminal by name
:TermSelect target=tests

:TermUpdate - Update Terminal

Update terminal settings after creation.

:TermUpdate[!] option=value [option=value ...]

All options from :TermNew can be updated except:

• cmd
• dir
• scrollback
• env

Syntax for complex types:

• Table settings: Use dot notation: size.right="30%" (values are deep-merged)
• List settings: Use comma-separated values: tags=git,dev (values are replaced)

Examples

" Change layout of last focused terminal. Needs to be reopened after.
:TermUpdate! layout=float

" Update specific terminal by name
:TermUpdate target=server cleanup_on_success=false

" Change multiple settings
:TermUpdate! layout=right size.right="40%" persist_mode=true

:TermSend - Send Text to Terminal

Send text from buffer to terminal.

:TermSend[!] [option=value ...]
:[range]TermSend[!] [option=value ...]

Without a range, sends the current line. With a range (visual selection), sends selected text.

Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
action	string	"focus"	Terminal action: "focus" (open and focus), "open" (open without focus), "start" (send in the background)
clear	boolean	false	Clear terminal before sending text
decorator	string	nil	Text decorator to apply (e.g., "markdown_code", "identity")
new_line	boolean	true	Append newline to execute command
text	string	Current line/selection	Explicit text to send (overrides line/selection)
trim	boolean	true	Trim leading/trailing whitespace

Text decorators transform text before sending. Built-in decorators: identity (no transformation), markdown_code (wraps in markdown code block). Custom decorators can be configured in Text Decorators.

Examples

" Send current line to last focused terminal
:TermSend!

" Send visual selection
:'<,'>TermSend!

" Send without executing (no newline)
:TermSend! new_line=false

" Send and show output without focusing terminal
:TermSend! action=open

" Send explicit text to specific terminal
:TermSend text="npm test" target=tests

" Send as markdown code block
:'<,'>TermSend! decorator=markdown_code action=open

" Clear terminal before sending
:TermSend! clear=true text="npm run build"

:TermInspect - Inspect Terminal

Display terminal internal state for debugging.

:TermInspect[!] [target=name]

Examples

" Inspect last focused terminal
:TermInspect!

" Inspect specific terminal
:TermInspect target=tests

:TermToggleUniversalSelection - Toggle Universal Selection

Enable/disable universal selection mode, which makes all terminals visible from :TermSelect picker and a target for bang commands.

:TermToggleUniversalSelection

Recommended Keybindings

Get started with these basic keybindings:

local map = vim.keymap.set
local opts = { noremap = true, silent = true }

-- Terminal creation with different layouts
map("n", "<leader>cs", ":TermNew layout=below<CR>", opts)
map("n", "<leader>cv", ":TermNew layout=right<CR>", opts)
map("n", "<leader>cf", ":TermNew layout=float<CR>", opts)
map("n", "<leader>ct", ":TermNew layout=tab<CR>", opts)

-- Open terminal picker
map("n", "<leader>cl", ":TermSelect<CR>", opts)

-- Send text to last focused terminal
map("n", "<leader>cs", ":TermSend! new_line=false<CR>", opts)
map("x", "<leader>cs", ":TermSend! new_line=false<CR>", opts)

-- Send and show output without focusing terminal
map("n", "<leader>cx", ":TermSend! action=open<CR>", opts)
map("x", "<leader>cx", ":TermSend! action=open<CR>", opts)