SplitNest

Getting started

On this page

Requirements
OS Windows 11 x64 (tested on build 26300). Windows 10 1809+ is likely to work but untested.
Shells Windows PowerShell 5.1 (built in). PowerShell 7 (pwsh.exe) is used automatically when installed.
Git (optional) Git for Windows (git.exe on PATH) for the sidebar’s Git status. Without it the rest works and no Git status is shown.
WSL (optional) An installed WSL distribution. The app never installs or configures WSL. To add it yourself, follow Microsoft’s WSL documentation (for example wsl --install in an administrator terminal), then use Settings → Refresh shell list.

Install

Get the installer or the portable ZIP from the download page. To run the portable ZIP, extract it anywhere and run splitnest.exe. Node.js is not needed to run SplitNest.

The build is not code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show an “unrecognized app” prompt. Choose More info → Run anyway only if you built it yourself or trust where it came from. Do not turn off Windows security features to run it. You can verify the SHA-256 checksum of your download first.

Your first workspace

  1. Click Open folder… and choose a project folder. A PowerShell terminal starts there.
  2. Split the pane with Ctrl+Shift+D (left/right) or Ctrl+Shift+S (top/bottom), or open another terminal with Ctrl+Shift+T.
  3. Run an AI coding agent such as Claude Code or Codex in a tab. The tab shows its logo and what it is doing, and SplitNest tells you when it needs you.
  4. Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the command palette, or Ctrl+Shift+/ for the shortcut list.

Layouts and folders come back after a restart. See saved state for what that means.

Updating

Before version 0.2.0 SplitNest does not check for updates. Starting with version 0.2.0 it checks automatically by default, and this can be turned off in Settings → About. The privacy page lists exactly what the check sends.

Previously called “Terminal Workspace”

The app was previously called “Terminal Workspace”; on first start SplitNest copies saved workspaces from %APPDATA%\Terminal Workspace\ (the old file is left untouched).

Build from source

The source is on GitHub. It needs Node.js 20.19+ and npm:

npm ci          # install the pinned dependencies
npm start       # run in development
npm run make    # build a ZIP under out/make/zip/win32/x64/