Open a folder

A thread belongs to one folder. The folder you pick is the folder I work on: nothing above it, and nothing next to it.

Open one#

New thread in the sidebar, Cmd+N (Ctrl+N on Windows and Linux), or Cmd+O from anywhere.
On macOS, drop a folder on the Ysra icon in the Dock.
On Windows, right-click a folder and choose Open in Ysra.

I won't open a whole disk, your whole home folder, a system folder, or my own data folder. Pick the project folder inside it.

The trust sheet#

Before I read anything, I show what I found and ask.

Row	Meaning
folder	Where it is on this computer
branch	The branch that is checked out
revision	The commit it is on
uncommitted	Files you have changed and not committed. I keep them read-only: I can read them, never overwrite them

Then choose how to start:

Option	What it does
Agent	I start on your first message
Plan first	Your first message becomes a written specification you approve before any code changes
Autonomy	Governed asks at each boundary. Max lets me go further and check my own work again
Start a fresh thread instead of resuming the last one	Otherwise I pick up the last conversation for this folder
Work in a parallel copy	Creates a branch `ysra/<name>` in its own folder under `~/.ysra/worktrees`, so this thread can't collide with others on the same project. Your open folder is not touched

Choose Trust & open. The folder is remembered as trusted on this computer, for the app and the CLI alike, so I don't ask again.

Folders without Git#

A folder without Git works. The sheet says:

not a Git folder: I keep my own record of changes outside it, and add nothing to it

Diff, review and undo all work the same way. Nothing is created inside your folder to make that possible.

A folder inside another repository#

If you open a subfolder of a larger repository, I work only in that subfolder:

not its own Git folder (it sits inside acme, which I leave alone): I keep my own
record of changes outside it, and add nothing to it

To commit to the repository, open the repository's own folder instead.

What the chips mean#

At the top of a thread:

Chip	Meaning
Local folder	I work on this folder, on this computer
I can see this folder	The app is open and connected to the folder. While it's reconnecting it says so; I can't see this folder · retry reconnects when you click it
on edge-01	The thread runs on a device; this computer only shows it
Running	I'm working
Docker: allowed for this session · Revoke	You allowed Docker for this thread. See Docker
Preview ready	There's a running version to look at. See Previews

In the message box:

Chip	Meaning
Local	This thread works on a folder on this computer
the branch name	The branch the folder is on
Auto	Auto mode for this thread. See Approvals and auto mode

The app has to be open#

I can only work on a folder while Ysra is open on the computer that has it. If you close the app mid-task, I pause and pick up when you return. See Stop and continue.