---
title: The main window
description: A tour of the sidebar, transcript, composer, changes pane, and terminal drawer.
section: Start
order: 3
---

# The main window

The Admiral window has five parts. Each part has one job.

## Sidebar

The sidebar lists your projects and the sessions in them. Each session row shows its name, its project, and a status dot.

- Use the device switcher at the top to work with projects that live on another one of your machines.
- Right-click a session row to rename, archive, or delete it. Archived sessions are out of the list but not gone; find them in Settings.
- Step between sessions with `Ctrl+Tab`. See [Keyboard shortcuts](../reference/keyboard-shortcuts.md).

## Transcript

The transcript shows one session: the agent's replies, the tools it used, and the files it changed. Tool details start folded, so the conversation stays readable. A minimap on the right shows where you are in a long transcript.

## Composer

The composer is where you type. It has pickers for the agent, model, repository, and branch, and it accepts image attachments.

- **Send** delivers your text to the agent now.
- **Queue** holds your text until the agent can take it.
- **Stop** interrupts the agent.

Your draft is saved per session until you send it.

## Changes pane

The changes pane on the right shows the files the agent changed on its branch. Read the diff file by file, with added and removed lines. See [Review changes](../guides/review-changes.md).

## Terminal drawer

Open the terminal drawer at the bottom of the window to run commands yourself. Terminals are scoped to the open session. See [Use terminals](../guides/use-terminals.md).

## Status colors

Admiral uses four signal colors, the same four on every surface:

| Color | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Amber | The session needs you. |
| Blue | The session is running. |
| Green | The session is done. |
| Red | The session failed, or the action is destructive. |

Idle sessions show no color. See [Session states](../concepts/session-states.md).

## Next steps

- [Start a session](../guides/start-a-session.md): run your first real task.
- [Where your data lives](../concepts/where-your-data-lives.md): what stays on your machine.