How to navigate the console TUI — PointSav Documentation

os-console is a full-screen terminal application that organises platform functions into numbered F-key slots. Navigating the console means switching between slots, reading the status bar, and understanding what the active slot is showing you. No mouse is required — the keyboard model is complete.

For the architecture behind this model, see app-console-keys and os-console-platform.

[edit]Prerequisites

A paired device (see pair-a-new-device)
os-console installed and launched
An active session (see open-first-totebox-session)

[edit]Layout

The console occupies the full terminal window with three persistent regions:

Region	Location	Contents
Status bar	Top of screen	Identity label, authorization state, active slot name, SLM tier, session duration
Slot area	Main body	Output from whichever slot is currently active
Navigation strip	Bottom of screen	F-key labels showing which slots are loaded

The navigation strip displays the slot names bound to each F-key. Unloaded slots appear dimmed.

[edit]Switching slots with F-keys

Press any labelled F-key to activate that slot. The slot area updates immediately. The active slot name in the status bar confirms which slot is live.

Loaded slots hold their state when you switch away — an email inbox you scrolled to a particular message stays at that position when you return to F3.

[edit]Reading the status bar

The status bar updates continuously. Left to right:

Identity — the paired device identity and its permission tier
Auth state — LINKED when machine-based authorization is active; LINK INACTIVE when unavailable
Active slot — the name of the currently displayed cartridge (e.g., INPUT, EMAIL, SLM)
SLM tier — the Doorman circuit state: A (DataGraph live), B (SLM only), or C (local fallback)
Session duration — elapsed time since the session was opened

[edit]Key bindings that work in every slot

Key	Action
F1–F12	Switch to that slot
?	Show contextual help for the active slot
q or Esc	Exit the active slot back to the home view (slot-dependent)
Ctrl-C	Quit `os-console`

Slot-specific bindings are shown in the navigation strip of the active slot.

[edit]Key takeaways

Navigation is entirely keyboard-driven — F-key number = slot number
Slots hold their state; switching away and back is non-destructive
The status bar is the ground truth for authorization state and SLM availability
F12 is the Input Machine; it is always present and cannot be reassigned

[edit]See also

app-console-keys — the chassis and Cartridge trait that all slots implement
os-console-platform — the full F-key taxonomy and which cartridge occupies each slot
use-f-key-model — how to work with the F-key cartridge model
machine-based-auth — what the LINKED/LINK INACTIVE auth state means
pair-a-new-device — register a device before opening the console