sivtr

Terminal output workspace for the AI era.
Capture, sift, browse, search, select, and reuse terminal output and Codex sessions.

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What is sivtr?

sivtr turns noisy terminal streams into reusable text assets. It is built for developers who move between shells, build logs, test failures, AI-agent replies, tool output, and long Codex sessions.

It is not a terminal emulator and not a multiplexer. It is a companion tool for the terminal workflows you already use.

Highlights

Browse command output in a fast keyboard-first TUI.
Pipe any command into a searchable, selectable output viewer.
Record shell command blocks and copy recent inputs, outputs, or bare commands.
Read Codex session JSONL files and copy useful user, assistant, or tool blocks.
Open an AI session picker from VS Code with one shortcut.
Filter copied text with regex and line ranges.
Keep a local SQLite history for later search.
Compare recent command outputs while iterating on tests and builds.

Install

Install the CLI from crates.io:

cargo install sivtr

Install from source:

git clone https://github.com/Ariestar/sivtr.git
cd sivtr
cargo install --path .

Install the VS Code bridge from the Marketplace:

ariestar.sivtr-vscode

The extension launches the AI session picker from the current workspace. If the sivtr CLI is missing, it offers to run cargo install sivtr in a visible terminal.

Quick Start

Browse command output:

cargo test 2>&1 | sivtr

Run a command through sivtr and inspect the captured output:

sivtr run cargo build

Copy the latest command block from the current shell session:

sivtr copy

Copy the latest assistant reply from the current Codex project session:

sivtr copy codex out

Open an interactive picker for Codex conversation blocks:

sivtr copy codex --pick

Compare two recent command outputs:

sivtr diff 1 2

Core Workflows

Browse Output

Use pipe mode when you already have a command:

some-command --verbose 2>&1 | sivtr

Use run mode when you want sivtr to execute, capture, and then open output:

sivtr run cargo test

Inside the TUI, move with Vim-style keys, search with /, enter visual selection with v, and copy with y.

Copy Command Blocks

With shell integration enabled, sivtr records command blocks so you can copy recent inputs and outputs later:

sivtr copy              # latest input + output
sivtr copy out          # latest output only
sivtr copy in 2..4      # user input from recent blocks
sivtr copy cmd --pick   # pick and copy bare commands

Selectors are newest-first: 1 is the latest block, 2 is the one before it, and 2..4 selects multiple blocks.

Filters run after text is assembled:

sivtr copy out --regex panic
sivtr copy out --lines 10:40

Reuse Codex Sessions

sivtr copy codex reads Codex rollout JSONL files from ~/.codex/sessions. When an active Codex shell exports CODEX_THREAD_ID, sivtr prefers that exact local session first. Otherwise it chooses the newest local session whose cwd matches your current directory.

For shared read-only access to another account's Codex sessions, mirror them into a separate directory and add that directory to [codex].session_dirs instead of running sivtr with elevated privileges. Shared/mirrored trees only participate in explicit browsing through --pick.

Use --session N to open the Nth newest selectable session (the same numbering shown in --pick), or --session ID to match a session id / id prefix explicitly.

sivtr copy codex        # latest completed user + assistant turn
sivtr copy codex --session 2
sivtr copy codex --session 019df7fb
sivtr copy codex out    # latest assistant reply
sivtr copy codex out --session 2 --print
sivtr copy codex in     # latest user message
sivtr copy codex tool   # latest tool output
sivtr copy codex all    # parsed session
sivtr copy codex --session 2 --pick
sivtr copy codex --pick # browse local and mirrored sessions
sivtr copy codex all --max-blocks 0
sivtr copy codex all --max-blocks 10000

Quick one-line checks:

dialogue/session picker flow: sivtr copy codex --pick
Linux clipboard hold fallback (after recording at least one shell command block): SIVTR_LINUX_CLIPBOARD_HOLD_MS=500 sivtr copy out --print

Progress commentary is filtered by default, so sivtr copy codex out returns the final assistant reply instead of intermediate status updates.

Large Codex transcripts are capped to the latest 10000 parsed blocks by default for robustness. Set [codex].max_blocks = 0 in config or pass --max-blocks 0 for a full import.

Mirror the current account's sessions into a shared tree:

sivtr codex export --dest /srv/sivtr/root-codex --watch

Then point another account at that mirrored tree:

[codex]
session_dirs = ["/srv/sivtr/root-codex/sessions"]

On macOS, a shared path under /Users/Shared works well for read-only access across local accounts:

sivtr codex export --dest /Users/Shared/sivtr/root-codex --watch

[codex]
session_dirs = ["/Users/Shared/sivtr/root-codex/sessions"]

Quick one-line checks:

export side: rm -rf /Users/Shared/sivtr/root-codex-smoke && sivtr codex export --dest /Users/Shared/sivtr/root-codex-smoke && find /Users/Shared/sivtr/root-codex-smoke -maxdepth 2 -type f | sed -n '1,5p'
read side after configuring [codex].session_dirs: sivtr copy codex --pick

To mirror sessions for another local account (for example read-only sharing), run export watch mode from the source account:

sivtr codex export --dest /srv/sivtr/root-codex --watch --interval-ms 500

--watch defaults to a 1-second sync interval. Use --interval-ms for sub-second updates when you need faster session visibility.

VS Code Shortcut

The VS Code extension contributes:

Sivtr: Pick AI Session

Default keybinding:

Alt+Y (Linux / Windows)
Cmd+Alt+Y (macOS)

You can rebind it to Ctrl+Y, but that usually overrides the editor Redo shortcut.

On Linux, this VS Code shortcut works as the default picker shortcut when the editor has focus. The extension runs:

sivtr hotkey-pick-agent --cwd . --provider all

and sivtr prefers the active codex / codex resume session when one is available.

On macOS, the same VS Code shortcut works as the default picker shortcut when the editor has focus.

Linux Shortcut Setup

Linux does not currently ship a default global sivtr hotkey outside VS Code.

Reasons:

Wayland does not provide a universal cross-desktop global hotkey API for ordinary CLI apps.
X11-only approaches are legacy and do not cover common Wayland desktops.
Opening the picker also needs an interactive terminal, and Linux does not have one portable terminal-launch command that works across GNOME, KDE, Sway, headless SSH, and tmux-based Codex setups.

Recommended Linux setups:

VS Code: use the built-in Alt+Y command binding.
tmux: bind a key to the current pane's working directory:

bind-key y new-window -c "#{pane_current_path}" "sivtr copy codex --pick"

Terminal / desktop environment: create a custom shortcut that launches cd <project-path> && sivtr copy codex --pick in a terminal for the project you want to inspect.

macOS Shortcut Setup

macOS does not currently ship a built-in sivtr global hotkey daemon. The recommended default is the VS Code shortcut above.

For a project-local Terminal launcher plus a LaunchAgent wrapper, generate the helper files on macOS:

sivtr init macos-shortcut

This writes:

~/.local/bin/sivtr-pick-codex
~/Library/LaunchAgents/dev.sivtr.pick-codex.plist

You can:

run ~/.local/bin/sivtr-pick-codex directly;
load the LaunchAgent with launchctl bootstrap gui/$(id -u) ~/Library/LaunchAgents/dev.sivtr.pick-codex.plist;
keep using the VS Code command for the most reliable shortcut-driven flow.

Quick one-line checks:

generate and open the picker once: sivtr init macos-shortcut && ~/.local/bin/sivtr-pick-codex
generate and load the LaunchAgent wrapper: sivtr init macos-shortcut && launchctl bootstrap gui/$(id -u) ~/Library/LaunchAgents/dev.sivtr.pick-codex.plist

Windows Global Hotkey

On Windows, the hotkey daemon can open the AI session picker from anywhere:

sivtr hotkey start
sivtr hotkey status
sivtr hotkey stop

The default shortcut is alt+y.

Command Reference

Command	Purpose
`sivtr` / `sivtr pipe`	Read output from stdin and open the TUI browser.
`sivtr run <command>`	Execute a command, capture output, then browse it.
`sivtr copy`	Copy recent command blocks.
`sivtr copy codex`	Copy useful content from the current Codex session.
`sivtr codex export --dest <path>`	Mirror local Codex sessions into a shared read-only tree.
`sivtr diff <left> <right>`	Compare recent command blocks.
`sivtr history`	List, search, and show captured output history.
`sivtr config`	Manage the TOML config file.
`sivtr init <shell>`	Generate shell integration for command-block capture.
`sivtr import`	Open the current session log.
`sivtr hotkey`	Manage the Windows AI session picker hotkey.
`sivtr clear`	Clear session logs.

TUI Keys

Key	Mode	Action
`j` / `Down`	Normal	Move down
`k` / `Up`	Normal	Move up
`h` / `Left`	Normal	Move left
`l` / `Right`	Normal	Move right
`Ctrl-D`	Normal	Half page down
`Ctrl-U`	Normal	Half page up
`g`	Normal	Go to top
`G`	Normal	Go to bottom
`/`	Normal	Start search
`n` / `N`	Normal	Next / previous match
`v` / `V` / `Ctrl-V`	Normal	Visual, visual line, visual block
`y`	Visual	Copy selection to clipboard
`Esc`	Visual/Search/Insert	Cancel
`q`	Normal	Quit

Documentation

English docs: https://sivtr.pages.dev/
Chinese docs: https://sivtr.pages.dev/zh-cn/
VS Code extension: editors/vscode/README.md

Development

cargo fmt --all -- --check
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets -- -D warnings
cargo test --workspace

VS Code extension:

cd editors/vscode
pnpm install
pnpm run compile
pnpm run package

Workspace layout:

sivtr/
|- crates/sivtr-core/    # Capture, parsing, buffers, selection, search, history, export
|- src/                  # CLI, TUI, commands, hotkey integration
|- docs-site/            # Astro/Starlight documentation site
|- editors/vscode/       # VS Code extension bridge for the AI session picker
`- .github/workflows/    # CI and release automation

License

sivtr is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.

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sivtr

What is sivtr?

Highlights

Install

Quick Start

Core Workflows

Browse Output

Copy Command Blocks

Reuse Codex Sessions

VS Code Shortcut

Linux Shortcut Setup

macOS Shortcut Setup

Windows Global Hotkey

Command Reference

TUI Keys

Documentation

Development

License

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sivtr

What is sivtr?

Highlights

Install

Quick Start

Core Workflows

Browse Output

Copy Command Blocks

Reuse Codex Sessions

VS Code Shortcut

Linux Shortcut Setup

macOS Shortcut Setup

Windows Global Hotkey

Command Reference

TUI Keys

Documentation

Development

License