Workspaces, chats, tabs, and split panes
Understand the four containers Agent V can open and what closing each one changes.
On this page
Agent V exposes several kinds of tabs. They are related, but they do not represent the same state.
Workspace
A workspace is the project folder and the top-level isolation boundary. Add workspace opens another folder as a workspace tab. Workspace-specific overrides can change provider, model, thinking, compaction, tool approval, and Marketplace enablement for runs in that folder.
Closing a workspace tab removes it from the current open set; persisted sessions remain in the app-data workspace record.
Chat
A chat is one persisted run history within a workspace. The sidebar lists these histories and their current state. New chat starts a clean task boundary. Use it when the next task should not inherit earlier messages.
Deleting or cleaning up a chat is different from closing a visible tab. Treat removal actions as data operations and read their confirmation text.
Chat tab
The sidebar chat list and split panes keep multiple chats visible inside one workspace. New chat starts another session. Closing a chat tab or pane removes it from the visible set but does not delete the persisted run.
Use Ctrl+W / ⌘W to close the active chat tab when focus is in the chat surface.
Split pane
The chat pane host can display sessions in separate panes. A split is a layout choice over open chats; it does not clone a run or create an agent instance. Each pane retains its own selected chat.
Choose the right boundary
- Different project folder: open another workspace.
- Unrelated task in the same project: start a new chat.
- Compare or monitor two chats: open another chat in the sidebar or split a pane.
- Delegate independent implementation with a child run: use an Agent instance.
Runs continue according to their run state, not according to which pane is visible. Review Background and interrupted runs before closing a view while work is active.