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Getting Started

What Is Rysh?

#001 0:17 Part of the Rysh video series

A terminal that thinks. Shell mode runs commands. Prompt mode talks to AI.

What Is Rysh? — 0:17 walkthrough

What you'll see

  1. Type rysh and land in shell mode (marker >) -- a familiar PTY-backed terminal.
  2. Run ls -la in shell mode with full color and ANSI.
  3. Double-press Escape to cycle to prompt mode (marker <).
  4. Ask the AI "explain this directory structure" and watch the markdown response render in the same pane.
  5. Split with Ctrl+P n, then create a new tab with Ctrl+T n.

Commands shown

rysh
ls -la
explain this directory structure
n
n

Keys used

EnterEscapeCtrl+pCtrl+t

Transcript

0:00A terminal that thinks. Shell mode runs commands, prompt mode talks to AI -- and every pane is both.

0:04Just type rysh. You land in shell mode -- your familiar terminal, fully PTY-backed.

0:10In shell mode everything works like a normal terminal. Full color, full ANSI -- run any command you want.

0:18Double-press Escape to cycle the input mode. Watch the marker change to a less-than sign -- now you're talking to an AI agent.

0:26Ask anything. The agent sees your terminal context and answers right inside the pane, rendered as markdown.

0:40Escape again brings you back through the modes to shell. One pane, two ways to work.

0:46Ctrl+P enters pane mode. Press n to split right -- two independent panes, each its own shell and agent.

0:53Ctrl+T enters tab mode. Press n for a whole new tab. That's Rysh: every pane is a shell plus an AI agent.

Key takeaway
Rysh is a terminal multiplexer where every pane is both a shell and an AI agent workspace.