04 · The three-pane window
WorkBuddy's main window has three panes. Once you know what each is for, you stop staring at the screen.
| Area | Position | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Sidebar | Left | Task list (grouped by folder), search and management, your avatar at the bottom |
| Conversation | Middle | The core interaction: task title bar, message list, input box |
| Results | Right | Artifacts, Workspace files, Changes and Browser |
In one line: pick a task on the left, say what you want in the middle, check the result on the right.
Left: the task list
The sidebar shows every task you have created, split into two sections:
- Tasks — recently opened or recently updated
- Spaces — tasks organised by workspace, so you can review history within one project
Empty projects take up no room
The list only shows projects that have at least one task. A project appears the moment a task is added and hides itself again when the last one is deleted. What you see is always "the ones with something in them".
Each card shows the title, current status, and last update or creation time.
Task statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Planning | Analysing the requirement and organising an approach |
| Running | Executing |
| Pending | Waiting for your input or confirmation |
| Completed | Finished |
| Failed | Something went wrong and it did not finish |
| Archived | Archived — findable under Settings → Data management |
Search and filter
The top of the list searches by title, and a filter panel narrows by status or date range, with a reset. Once you have a lot of tasks this is the only reliable way to find one.
The right-click menu
Hover a task row and click "⋯", or just right-click — the menus are identical. Pinned tasks, temporary tasks, workspace conversations, project tasks, assistant tasks and search results all support it.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pin (置顶) | Sticks the task to the top of the list |
| Open folder (打开文件夹) | Opens the task's directory in Finder / File Explorer |
| Rename (重命名) | Changes the task name |
| Save to workspace (保存到工作空间) | Promotes it to a real workspace: multiple agents can collaborate, it persists in the list, and you can open it in an IDE |
| Share task (分享任务) | Generates a public link |
| Archive (归档) | Moves it to Archived tasks, retrievable later |
| Delete (删除) | Removes it from the list |
Names are validated
Rename and Save to workspace both validate as you type: not empty, no \ / : * ? " < > |, at most 255 characters, no duplicates at the same level. Invalid input greys the button and shows the reason.
Save to workspace defaults to a timestamp as the name; keep it or type your own.
Workspaces have their own right-click menu too: new task in the same space, open folder, rename (display name only — the real path does not move, and the rename survives a restart), and remove from list.
Middle: the conversation
This is where you work: state the requirement, add context, watch it execute, ask follow-ups.
Top bar
To the right of the task title, four entry points:
- Search in conversation — find content within this task
- Share task — generate a public link
- Question history — browse past exchanges in this task and jump to them
- Show detail panel — open the results pane
What you can put in the input box
Besides typing:
| Method | How |
|---|---|
| Reference context | @ to reference files, documents, rules |
| Paste a screenshot | Ctrl / Cmd + V pastes an image from the clipboard |
| Upload a file | Click upload, or drag a file onto the input box |
| Drag anywhere | Drop a file anywhere on the page; a "release to add file" layer appears |
| Forward a WeChat chat log | Forward from WeChat or WeCom; the client wakes up and creates a chip |
Supported types: PDF, Word, TXT, Markdown, RTF, Excel, CSV, TSV, PowerPoint, common images (JPG / PNG / GIF / BMP), ZIP / RAR archives, and source files in most languages. Up to 50 files at a time.
Very long pastes fold into a chip
Paste more than 3,000 characters and the input box compresses it into a chip to keep things readable. Hover to preview the opening; click to expand it back to full text for editing, which removes the chip. Several long pastes make several independent chips.
Pastes under 3,000 characters stay as they are.
Adding files does not send the message — you can keep typing. Drag off the page or press ESC to cancel without disturbing what you have written.
Watching it execute
Once a task runs, the conversation pane shows the reply, stage descriptions ("analysing data", "generating report"), a summary of what has been produced, and expandable intermediate steps.
Each reply also shows an elapsed time — counting from when you sent the message, freezing when output completes. That number is more useful than it looks: when a familiar kind of task suddenly takes twice as long, something is wrong with your prompt or your context.
Interrupt and continue
While a task runs, a stop control appears near the input box. After interrupting you can still add clarifications, adjust and resend, or build on what exists. The point is to keep one continuous conversation rather than restarting every time.
Right: the results pane
Four views in one panel, switchable at any time.
Artifacts (产物)
Files newly generated in this conversation: Word, Markdown, PDF, Excel, CSV, decks, analysis reports. This is where you go to accept the work.
- Click the share icon while previewing to generate a public link
- Upload to your cloud drive, Tencent Docs, the ima knowledge base or the Lexiang knowledge base
- Right-click → open folder to locate the file in Finder / File Explorer
Workspace files (工作空间文件)
A tree of everything in the current working directory: file tree on the left, contents on the right, open-file tabs across the top.
Artifacts shows what was just made; Workspace files shows what is in the directory. To check "did it write to the right place", use this view.
Changes (变更)
Every modification this task made to files, with a diff view showing which files changed and how.
Check this before accepting anything that rewrote a file
Bulk renames, generated scripts, config edits — confirm the diff matches your expectation before letting the work continue. It is the cheapest self-check available.
Browser (浏览器)
A built-in browser for previewing web pages, prototypes or locally served apps the task produced, without leaving the window. Address bar, refresh, live preview.
Notification centre
Click the bell icon at the bottom of the sidebar. It opens full-page rather than as a popover; click the × or the bell again to close. Empty state says so.
Two message types, both clickable straight through to the task:
- A task needs your confirmation
- A task completed successfully
For long jobs, switch away and let this bring you back.
Next
You know the window. Now the part that actually changes behaviour: 05 The new-task bar, switch by switch.