feat(maestro): drill into a session's action page with tab

Tab on a highlighted session in the web command bar opens that session's
action page in the same overlay: kill, rename, spawn similar, still fuzzy
searchable and headed by the session's name. Escape, or backspace at an
empty query, returns to the result list with the previous query intact.

Each action raises the flow the card already has. The two that lived
inside the sidebar get an event apiece — the confirm-and-blockers kill and
the inline rename prompt — so the bar picks the action and nothing more;
spawn similar reuses the existing SPAWN_SIMILAR_EVENT.

TASK.md

@@ -1,115 +0,0 @@
-# Task: Gitea issue #153 — the TUI command bar (action, overlay, session results)
-
-You are an autonomous worker in a blitz over the **Command bar** milestone of
-the `naps62/maestro` Gitea repo (`https://git.naps.pt`, `$GITEA_TOKEN` is in
-`~/.env.claude` — `source` it).
-
-Both of your dependencies are merged and on your base branch.
-
-## Read first
-
-1. **`docs/COMMAND-BAR.md`** — the contract. "Opening", "Structure", "Empty
-   query" and "Keys" are yours. Implement what it says.
-2. The issue body:
-   `curl -sS -H "Authorization: token $GITEA_TOKEN" https://git.naps.pt/api/v1/repos/naps62/maestro/issues/153 | jq -r .body`
-3. `CLAUDE.md` — conventions. **TDD by default**; `cargo fmt` and
-   `cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings` before every commit.
-4. What you build on, all merged:
-   - `crates/maestro-tui/src/matcher.rs` (#147) — the match-and-rank function
-     and its candidate types. **Do not reimplement matching or reorder its
-     results.**
-   - `crates/maestro-protocol` — `Session::last_focused_at` (#145), the
-     daemon's recency stamp.
-   - `crates/maestro-tui/src/`: `action.rs`, `keymap.rs`, `config.rs`
-     (`DEFAULT_NORMAL` / `DEFAULT_INSERT`), `state.rs` (`OverlayKind`),
-     `overlays.rs`, `app.rs` (`handle_overlay_input` and the dispatcher),
-     `text_input.rs` (the edit buffer the rename prompt already uses).
-5. **`web/src/commandBar.ts`** (#149) — the web bar implementing this same
-   contract, already merged. Read it, especially `orderSessionsForBar`. Where
-   the doc leaves room, match what it does; the two clients disagreeing is the
-   failure this contract exists to prevent.
-
-## What to build
-
-- **`Action::OpenCommandBar`** — new variant, with its `parse` arm, `Display`
-  arm, `help_label`, and dispatcher arm. `Action::parse` and `Display` must
-  round-trip, as the existing tests require of every variant.
-- **Bind `ctrl-k` in both `DEFAULT_NORMAL` and `DEFAULT_INSERT`**, so it opens
-  from the sidebar and from inside a pane. Because it is an ordinary keymap
-  entry it stays rebindable, and the help overlay — which builds its lines from
-  the live keymap — picks it up with no second list.
-- **A new `OverlayKind` variant**, routed in `handle_overlay_input` alongside
-  Spawn, KillConfirm, Rename and Help. Follow how `Rename` keeps its edit
-  buffer on the app rather than in the enum, so the overlay enum stays
-  comparable.
-- **Empty query lists sessions, most recently focused first**, by
-  `last_focused_at`. The doc fixes what happens to never-focused and dead
-  sessions — follow it exactly, and match `orderSessionsForBar`.
-- **Typing fuzzy-matches sessions** through `matcher.rs`, with matched ranges
-  highlighted in the rendered row. Build candidates from the fields the doc's
-  candidate table names, directory abbreviated as the sidebar shows it.
-- **Results render under kind headers**, groups ordered by best-scoring member,
-  highlight starting on the globally best row. Only sessions exist as a kind
-  here, but build the grouping so #154 can add commands and directories without
-  restructuring it.
-- **Enter attaches the highlighted session.** Escape closes. Up/down and
-  `ctrl-p`/`ctrl-n` move the highlight, which does not wrap; headers are never
-  landed on.
-
-**Module name**: `palette.rs` is the colour palette. Do not put this there and
-do not name your module `palette`.
-
-## Non-goals — later issues own these, do not build them
-
-- The `>` and `~` sigils (#154).
-- Tab drilling into a session's action page (#155).
-- The leader sending a literal Ctrl-K to the pane (#156).
-
-Build the grouping and query line so those slot in without a rewrite, but do
-not implement them.
-
-## Ground rules
-
-- You are on `command-bar/153-tui-bar`, cut from `origin/main`. **Merge
-  `origin/blitz/command-bar` first** (merge, never rebase) — everything you
-  depend on is there and not on `main`. Merge it again if it moves under you.
-- Stay inside `crates/`. Do not touch `web/`, and do not modify `matcher.rs`;
-  if you believe it is wrong, comment on the issue instead.
-- Integration tests use **real tmux** — don't mock it; isolate with a temp
-  `$HOME` and `TMUX_TMPDIR` the way the existing tests do. `overlays.rs` shows
-  how the existing overlays are tested against a `TestBackend`.
-- Run the suite at most once at the end, through the gate:
-  `/home/naps62/.claude/skills/tracker-common/scripts/gate.sh -- cargo test --workspace`.
-  Exit 75 means no slot — a normal outcome, not a failure: say so and push
-  anyway. Exit 137 is the memory cap, not a test failure.
-- Report the **aggregate test count**, not one crate's.
-- Commit convention: `feat(maestro): ...`.
-- Bugs or problems outside this issue's scope: **comment them on issue #153**,
-  do not fix them silently. Earlier workers' reports changed the scope of two
-  later issues before they started.
-- Never wait for input.
-
-## Exit criteria
-
-Do not end your final reply until ALL of these are true:
-
-1. `Action::OpenCommandBar` exists, round-trips through `parse`/`Display`, and
-   has a plain-language `help_label`.
-2. `ctrl-k` is bound in both the Normal and Insert default keymaps and opens
-   the bar from each.
-3. Empty query lists sessions by recency, with the doc's rules for
-   never-focused and dead sessions, matching `orderSessionsForBar`.
-4. Typing ranks through `matcher.rs` with ranges highlighted, under kind
-   headers.
-5. Enter attaches; Escape, arrows and `ctrl-p`/`ctrl-n` behave as the doc's key
-   table says.
-6. `cargo fmt` clean, `cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings` clean, suite
-   green (or the gate returned 75/137 and you said which).
-7. Committed on `command-bar/153-tui-bar` and the branch **pushed** to
-   `origin`.
-
-Do **not** merge into `blitz/command-bar` and do **not** close the issue — the
-orchestrator does both.
-
-If you catch yourself summarizing progress before those seven are true, you
-have stopped too early — keep going.

crates/maestro-tui/src/app.rs

@@ -168,6 +168,14 @@ pub enum Effect {
     /// Fast-forward spawn (#67): resolve every default from the daemon and
     /// spawn with no form; unresolvable defaults open a pre-filled form.
     FastForward,
+    /// The same fast path pinned to one directory — the command bar's `~`
+    /// (#154). Nothing may override the directory the operator named.
+    FastForwardIn(PathBuf),
+    /// Fetch the command bar's `~` candidates: recent dirs and the project
+    /// list. `bar` guards a load landing in a bar that was reopened since.
+    LoadBarDirectories {
+        bar: u64,
+    },
     /// The form's target changed: probe `/api/gitroot` so the worktree
     /// section knows its base repo (#65). `seq` guards stale answers.
     ProbeGitRoot {
@@ -386,6 +394,8 @@ impl App {
                 Effect::Kill(id) => self.submit_kill(id).await,
                 Effect::LoadDraft => self.spawn_load_draft(),
                 Effect::FastForward => self.spawn_fast_forward(),
+                Effect::FastForwardIn(dir) => self.spawn_fast_forward_in(dir),
+                Effect::LoadBarDirectories { bar } => self.spawn_load_bar_directories(bar),
                 Effect::ProbeGitRoot { seq, path } => self.spawn_probe_git_root(seq, path),
                 Effect::LoadBranches => self.spawn_load_branches(),
                 Effect::Rename { id, name } => self.submit_rename(id, &name).await,
@@ -459,6 +469,16 @@ impl App {
                             self.dispatch(Action::AttachHighlighted),
                         )
                     }
+                    // The bar picks the action and hands off; it never
+                    // reimplements one.
+                    BarOutcome::Open(BarTarget::Command(action)) => {
+                        self.close_command_bar();
+                        (OverlayDecision::Consumed, self.dispatch(action))
+                    }
+                    BarOutcome::Open(BarTarget::Directory(dir)) => {
+                        self.close_command_bar();
+                        (OverlayDecision::Consumed, vec![Effect::FastForwardIn(dir)])
+                    }
                 }
             }
             Some(OverlayKind::Help) => {
@@ -506,7 +526,7 @@ impl App {
                 };
                 self.state.show_overlay(OverlayKind::Help);
             }
-            Action::OpenCommandBar => self.open_command_bar(),
+            Action::OpenCommandBar => effects.extend(self.open_command_bar()),
             Action::OpenSpawnModal => {
                 self.open_spawn_modal();
                 effects.push(Effect::LoadDraft);
@@ -628,12 +648,21 @@ impl App {
     /// while a session is previewed discards the preview first, like any
     /// other real change (`docs/PREVIEW.md`); focus and mode are left alone,
     /// so closing gives the keyboard back to whatever held it.
-    fn open_command_bar(&mut self) {
+    fn open_command_bar(&mut self) -> Vec<Effect> {
         let snapshot = self.catalog.snapshot();
-        self.command_bar = Some(CommandBar::new(&snapshot.sessions, &self.home_dir));
+        // The keymap for the mode the bar was opened from, which is the one
+        // the operator would be typing into behind it. Same source the help
+        // overlay reads, so the two can never disagree.
+        let keymap = self.cfg.keymap.entries(self.state.mode);
+        let bar = CommandBar::new(&snapshot.sessions, &keymap, &self.home_dir);
+        let id = bar.id();
+        self.command_bar = Some(bar);
         self.pending_preview = None;
         self.clear_preview();
         self.state.show_overlay(OverlayKind::CommandBar);
+        // `~`'s candidates are a network round trip; the bar opens without
+        // them and fills in when they land.
+        vec![Effect::LoadBarDirectories { bar: id }]
     }
 
     /// Take the bar down, dropping its query. Every exit goes through here so
@@ -990,18 +1019,27 @@ impl App {
             projects,
             names,
             focused_cwd,
+            pinned,
         } = update
         {
-            self.fast_forward_spawn(info, projects, names, focused_cwd)
+            self.fast_forward_spawn(info, projects, names, focused_cwd, pinned)
                 .await;
             return;
         }
+        // Addressed to the bar, not to a form: a load that outlived its bar is
+        // dropped rather than filling in the next one.
+        if let DraftUpdate::BarDirectories { bar, paths } = update {
+            if let Some(open) = self.command_bar.as_mut().filter(|b| b.id() == bar) {
+                open.set_directories(&paths);
+            }
+            return;
+        }
         let want = match &update {
             DraftUpdate::Data { draft, .. }
             | DraftUpdate::GitRoot { draft, .. }
             | DraftUpdate::Branches { draft, .. } => *draft,
-            // Handled above; it targets no particular draft.
-            DraftUpdate::FastForward { .. } => unreachable!(),
+            // Handled above; they target no particular draft.
+            DraftUpdate::FastForward { .. } | DraftUpdate::BarDirectories { .. } => unreachable!(),
         };
         // Match by identity: dismissing the form and opening another while a
         // load is in flight must not let the old answer land in the new form.
@@ -1036,7 +1074,9 @@ impl App {
             DraftUpdate::Branches { cwd, branches, .. } => {
                 draft.set_branches(&cwd, branches);
             }
-            DraftUpdate::FastForward { .. } => unreachable!(),
+            DraftUpdate::FastForward { .. } | DraftUpdate::BarDirectories { .. } => {
+                unreachable!()
+            }
         }
         if follow_up_branches {
             self.spawn_load_branches();
@@ -1064,16 +1104,52 @@ impl App {
                 projects: projects.ok(),
                 names,
                 focused_cwd,
+                pinned: None,
             });
         });
     }
 
+    /// The same fast path, pinned to the directory the command bar's `~` row
+    /// named (#154). Off the loop for the same reason as [`Self::
+    /// spawn_fast_forward`]: a cold `/api/projects` walks all of `$HOME`.
+    fn spawn_fast_forward_in(&self, dir: PathBuf) {
+        let (daemon, http, base, tx) = self.loader_handles();
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            let (info, projects) = tokio::join!(daemon.daemon_info(), daemon.list_projects());
+            let names = fetch_names(&http, &base, crate::draft::NAME_BATCH_SIZE).await;
+            let _ = tx.send(DraftUpdate::FastForward {
+                info: info.ok(),
+                projects: projects.ok(),
+                names,
+                focused_cwd: None,
+                pinned: Some(dir),
+            });
+        });
+    }
+
+    /// Fetch `~`'s candidates: the spawn form's own two sources, recent dirs
+    /// (newest first) ahead of the project list. Either failing is a shorter
+    /// list, not an error state.
+    fn spawn_load_bar_directories(&self, bar: u64) {
+        let daemon = self.daemon.clone();
+        let tx = self.draft_tx.clone();
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            let (recents, projects) = tokio::join!(daemon.recent_dirs(), daemon.list_projects());
+            let mut paths: Vec<PathBuf> = recents
+                .map(|r| r.dirs.into_iter().map(|d| d.cwd).collect())
+                .unwrap_or_default();
+            paths.extend(projects.unwrap_or_default().into_iter().map(|p| p.path));
+            let _ = tx.send(DraftUpdate::BarDirectories { bar, paths });
+        });
+    }
+
     async fn fast_forward_spawn(
         &mut self,
         info: Option<maestro_protocol::DaemonInfo>,
         projects: Option<Vec<maestro_protocol::Project>>,
         names: Vec<String>,
         focused_cwd: Option<PathBuf>,
+        pinned: Option<PathBuf>,
     ) {
         // Keep the home dir: without it the pre-filled draft renders
         // unabbreviated paths and "Other directory…" seeds `/` instead of
@@ -1087,13 +1163,21 @@ impl App {
             _ => Vec::new(),
         };
         let discovered = projects.unwrap_or_default();
-        let resolved = crate::fast_forward::resolve(
-            &discovered,
-            &presets,
-            names.first().cloned(),
-            Utc::now(),
-            focused_cwd.as_deref(),
-        );
+        // A pinned directory is the operator's own pick, so it takes no
+        // fallback: a directory outside the project scan resolves no project,
+        // which is an unresolvable default and opens the form seeded with it.
+        let resolved = match pinned.as_deref() {
+            Some(dir) => {
+                crate::fast_forward::resolve_at(dir, &discovered, &presets, names.first().cloned())
+            }
+            None => crate::fast_forward::resolve(
+                &discovered,
+                &presets,
+                names.first().cloned(),
+                Utc::now(),
+                focused_cwd.as_deref(),
+            ),
+        };
         if let Some(req) = resolved.build_request() {
             self.submit_spawn(req).await;
             return;
@@ -1105,8 +1189,10 @@ impl App {
         };
         draft.home_dir = home_dir;
         // The fast path resolved its own project; its pick wins over the
-        // focused session's, so the seed never lands on top of it.
-        draft.seed_cwd = None;
+        // focused session's, so the seed never lands on top of it. A pinned
+        // directory is the exception: it is the seed, whether or not the scan
+        // knew it as a project.
+        draft.seed_cwd = pinned;
         if !presets.is_empty() {
             draft.set_presets(presets);
         }
@@ -1463,7 +1549,12 @@ enum DraftUpdate {
         projects: Option<Vec<maestro_protocol::Project>>,
         names: Vec<String>,
         focused_cwd: Option<PathBuf>,
+        /// The command bar pinned the spawn to this directory (#154): nothing
+        /// — not the focused session, not the recency ranking — may move it.
+        pinned: Option<PathBuf>,
     },
+    /// The command bar's `~` candidates arrived (#154).
+    BarDirectories { bar: u64, paths: Vec<PathBuf> },
 }
 
 /// `GET /api/names?count=N`. Free function: the spawned loaders have no `self`.
@@ -2222,6 +2313,102 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(req["worktree"]["create_branch"], json!(true));
     }
 
+    /// The command bar's `~` pins the spawn: the directory the operator named
+    /// wins over the recency ranking that plain fast-forward would follow.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn a_pinned_directory_spawns_there_not_in_the_freshest_project() {
+        use axum::routing::{get, post};
+        use axum::Json;
+        use serde_json::json;
+        use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
+
+        async fn info() -> Json<serde_json::Value> {
+            Json(json!({
+                "hostname": "box", "version": "0.1.0", "home_dir": "/home/u",
+                "presets": [{"id": "claude", "label": "Claude", "command": "claude"}]
+            }))
+        }
+        async fn projects() -> Json<serde_json::Value> {
+            Json(json!([
+                {"path": "/repos/fresh", "name": "fresh", "base_repo": "/repos/fresh",
+                 "last_activity": chrono::Utc::now().to_rfc3339(), "last_command": "aider"},
+                {"path": "/repos/pinned", "name": "pinned", "base_repo": "/repos/pinned",
+                 "last_activity": (chrono::Utc::now() - chrono::TimeDelta::days(3)).to_rfc3339(),
+                 "last_command": "zsh"}
+            ]))
+        }
+        async fn names() -> Json<serde_json::Value> {
+            Json(json!({"names": ["crimson-otter"]}))
+        }
+        let posted: Arc<Mutex<Vec<serde_json::Value>>> = Arc::default();
+        let seen = posted.clone();
+        async fn spawn_session(
+            axum::extract::State(seen): axum::extract::State<Arc<Mutex<Vec<serde_json::Value>>>>,
+            Json(body): Json<serde_json::Value>,
+        ) -> Json<serde_json::Value> {
+            seen.lock().unwrap().push(body);
+            Json(json!({
+                "id": uuid::Uuid::from_u128(78).to_string(),
+                "cwd": "/repos/pinned", "command": "zsh",
+                "status": "Running", "created_at": chrono::Utc::now().to_rfc3339()
+            }))
+        }
+
+        let app_router = axum::Router::new()
+            .route(maestro_protocol::routes::INFO, get(info))
+            .route(maestro_protocol::routes::PROJECTS, get(projects))
+            .route(maestro_protocol::routes::NAMES, get(names))
+            .route(
+                maestro_protocol::routes::SESSIONS,
+                post(spawn_session).with_state(seen),
+            );
+        let listener = tokio::net::TcpListener::bind("127.0.0.1:0").await.unwrap();
+        let base = format!("http://{}", listener.local_addr().unwrap());
+        tokio::spawn(async move { axum::serve(listener, app_router).await.unwrap() });
+
+        let mut app = make_app_at(&base);
+        app.perform(vec![Effect::FastForwardIn(PathBuf::from("/repos/pinned"))])
+            .await;
+        let update = tokio::time::timeout(Duration::from_secs(5), app.draft_rx.recv())
+            .await
+            .expect("load completed")
+            .expect("channel open");
+        app.apply_draft_update(update).await;
+
+        let posts = posted.lock().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(posts.len(), 1, "one immediate POST, no form shown");
+        assert_eq!(posts[0]["cwd"], json!("/repos/pinned"));
+        assert_eq!(posts[0]["command"], json!("zsh"));
+    }
+
+    /// A directory the project scan does not know resolves no project, which
+    /// is an unresolvable default: the form opens seeded with it rather than
+    /// the spawn silently landing somewhere else.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn a_pinned_directory_outside_the_scan_opens_the_prefilled_form() {
+        let mut app = make_app();
+        app.fast_forward_spawn(
+            None,
+            Some(vec![maestro_protocol::Project {
+                path: PathBuf::from("/repos/fresh"),
+                name: "fresh".into(),
+                is_worktree: false,
+                base_repo: None,
+                last_activity: Some(Utc::now()),
+                last_command: Some("aider".into()),
+            }]),
+            vec!["crimson-otter".into()],
+            None,
+            Some(PathBuf::from("/elsewhere")),
+        )
+        .await;
+        assert_eq!(app.state.overlay(), Some(&OverlayKind::Spawn));
+        let draft = app.draft.as_ref().expect("form is up");
+        // The seed is dropped by the picker when no project matches it, so
+        // the operator picks by hand — but nothing spawned in `/repos/fresh`.
+        assert_ne!(draft.picked_cwd, Some(PathBuf::from("/repos/fresh")));
+    }
+
     /// `sync_focus` reports every path that moves `Focus::Pane`: attaching,
     /// switching which session the pane shows, and leaving the pane back to
     /// the sidebar. A sidebar highlight alone must report nothing.
@@ -2850,12 +3037,115 @@ mod tests {
                 .iter()
                 .map(|r| match r.target {
                     BarTarget::Session(id) => id,
+                    ref other => panic!("expected a session row, got {other:?}"),
                 })
                 .collect::<Vec<_>>(),
             vec![bravo, alpha]
         );
     }
 
+    /// `~`'s candidates are a network round trip, so opening asks for them
+    /// rather than blocking the keystroke on one.
+    #[test]
+    fn opening_the_bar_asks_for_its_directories() {
+        let mut app = make_app();
+        let effects = app.dispatch(Action::OpenCommandBar);
+        let bar = app.command_bar.as_ref().unwrap().id();
+        assert_eq!(effects, vec![Effect::LoadBarDirectories { bar }]);
+    }
+
+    fn type_into_bar(app: &mut App, text: &str) {
+        for c in text.chars() {
+            app.handle_overlay_input(&InputKey::Char {
+                c,
+                ctrl: false,
+                alt: false,
+                shift: false,
+            });
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// `>` lists the live keymap for the current mode, matched on the label
+    /// alone, and Enter hands the action to the ordinary dispatcher.
+    #[test]
+    fn enter_on_a_command_row_dispatches_the_action() {
+        let mut app = make_app();
+        app.dispatch(Action::OpenCommandBar);
+        type_into_bar(&mut app, ">defaults");
+        let row = app.command_bar.as_ref().unwrap().selected().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(row.name, "Create session with defaults");
+        assert_eq!(
+            row.target,
+            BarTarget::Command(Action::FastForwardSpawn),
+            "chords: {:?}",
+            row.chords
+        );
+
+        let (decision, effects) = app.handle_overlay_input(&InputKey::Enter);
+        assert_eq!(decision, OverlayDecision::Consumed);
+        assert_eq!(effects, vec![Effect::FastForward]);
+        assert!(app.state.overlay().is_none());
+        assert!(app.command_bar.is_none());
+    }
+
+    /// The row shows the chord bound to it, and both chords when the map binds
+    /// two — but the chord is never what matched.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_command_row_carries_its_chords() {
+        let mut app = make_app();
+        app.dispatch(Action::OpenCommandBar);
+        type_into_bar(&mut app, ">open selected");
+        let row = app.command_bar.as_ref().unwrap().selected().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(row.name, "Open selected item");
+        assert!(
+            row.chords.iter().any(|c| c == "enter"),
+            "chords: {:?}",
+            row.chords
+        );
+        assert!(
+            row.chords.len() > 1,
+            "the default map binds more than one chord to it: {:?}",
+            row.chords
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn enter_on_a_directory_row_fast_forward_spawns_there() {
+        let mut app = make_app();
+        app.dispatch(Action::OpenCommandBar);
+        app.command_bar
+            .as_mut()
+            .unwrap()
+            .set_directories(&[PathBuf::from("/repos/api")]);
+        type_into_bar(&mut app, "~api");
+        let (decision, effects) = app.handle_overlay_input(&InputKey::Enter);
+        assert_eq!(decision, OverlayDecision::Consumed);
+        assert_eq!(
+            effects,
+            vec![Effect::FastForwardIn(PathBuf::from("/repos/api"))]
+        );
+        assert!(app.state.overlay().is_none());
+    }
+
+    /// A load that outlived its bar fills in nothing: the reopened bar has its
+    /// own identity.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn a_stale_directory_load_is_dropped() {
+        let mut app = make_app();
+        app.dispatch(Action::OpenCommandBar);
+        let stale = app.command_bar.as_ref().unwrap().id();
+        app.handle_overlay_input(&InputKey::Esc);
+        app.dispatch(Action::OpenCommandBar);
+
+        app.apply_draft_update(DraftUpdate::BarDirectories {
+            bar: stale,
+            paths: vec![PathBuf::from("/repos/api")],
+        })
+        .await;
+        type_into_bar(&mut app, "~");
+        assert!(app.command_bar.as_ref().unwrap().rows().is_empty());
+    }
+
     /// Opening from Insert mode leaves the keyboard where it was, so closing
     /// gives it back — the bar is a view over the app, not a place in it.
     #[test]

crates/maestro-tui/src/command_bar.rs

@@ -1,15 +1,17 @@
 //! The `ctrl-k` command bar (`docs/COMMAND-BAR.md`): a query line over a
 //! result list, opened from Normal or Insert mode, closed with Escape.
 //!
-//! Sessions are the only kind here (#153); the sigils (#154), the session
-//! action page (#155) and the leader's literal Ctrl-K (#156) land later. The
-//! grouping below is already kind-generic so those slot in without a rewrite.
+//! Three kinds live here: sessions and commands, ranked together by default,
+//! and directories, which need the `~` sigil (#154). The session action page
+//! (#155) and the leader's literal Ctrl-K (#156) land later.
 //!
 //! Ranking is [`crate::matcher`]'s job and nothing here reorders it — the
 //! groups are a rendering of the ranked list, in the order their best-scoring
 //! member appears. The web bar (`web/src/commandBar.ts`) implements the same
 //! contract; the two must agree.
 
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+
 use maestro_protocol::display::{abbreviate_dir, command_tool, session_tree_path};
 use maestro_protocol::{Session, SessionStatus};
 use ratatui::layout::Rect;
@@ -19,19 +21,73 @@ use ratatui::widgets::{Block, Borders, Clear, Paragraph};
 use ratatui::Frame;
 use uuid::Uuid;
 
+use crate::action::Action;
 use crate::input::InputKey;
 use crate::matcher::{
-    match_and_rank, CandidateKind, MatchCandidate, MatchFieldName, MatchRange, SessionCandidate,
+    match_and_rank, CandidateKind, CommandCandidate, DirectoryCandidate, MatchCandidate,
+    MatchFieldName, MatchRange, SessionCandidate,
 };
 use crate::overlays::centered;
 use crate::palette;
 use crate::text_input::TextInput;
 
-/// What Enter on a row does. Only sessions exist today; `>` commands and `~`
-/// directories (#154) become further variants.
-#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+/// Identity for routing an async directory load back to *this* bar: a load in
+/// flight must not land in a bar the operator closed and reopened.
+static NEXT_BAR_ID: std::sync::atomic::AtomicU64 = std::sync::atomic::AtomicU64::new(1);
+
+/// What Enter on a row does.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
 pub enum BarTarget {
     Session(Uuid),
+    /// Dispatch the action the row stands for. The chord is displayed beside
+    /// the row but is not part of the target: two chords bound to one action
+    /// are one row.
+    Command(Action),
+    /// Fast-forward spawn in this directory, absolute — the abbreviated form
+    /// is what the row shows and what the matcher ranked.
+    Directory(PathBuf),
+}
+
+/// The first character of the query, when it is one of the two that narrow the
+/// list to a single kind.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum BarSigil {
+    /// `>` — commands from the live keymap.
+    Command,
+    /// `~` — recent dirs and the project list.
+    Directory,
+}
+
+/// A raw query line split into its sigil and the query proper.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub struct BarQuery<'q> {
+    pub sigil: Option<BarSigil>,
+    /// What the matcher sees: everything after a sigil, or the whole query.
+    pub query: &'q str,
+}
+
+/// Split a raw query line into its sigil and the query proper.
+///
+/// A sigil is only a sigil in first position: `>` or `~` anywhere else is a
+/// literal query character, which is what a directory query with a second `~`
+/// in it depends on. Backspacing past a sigil needs no special case either —
+/// the first character goes and the query is a mixed one again. Mirrors the
+/// web's `parseBarQuery`.
+pub fn parse_bar_query(raw: &str) -> BarQuery<'_> {
+    let sigil = match raw.chars().next() {
+        Some('>') => BarSigil::Command,
+        Some('~') => BarSigil::Directory,
+        _ => {
+            return BarQuery {
+                sigil: None,
+                query: raw,
+            }
+        }
+    };
+    BarQuery {
+        sigil: Some(sigil),
+        query: &raw[1..],
+    }
 }
 
 /// One row of the result list, already resolved to what it renders and what it
@@ -50,6 +106,9 @@ pub struct BarRow {
     pub field: Option<MatchFieldName>,
     pub ranges: Vec<MatchRange>,
     pub dead: bool,
+    /// Every chord bound to a command row's action, displayed beside it and
+    /// never matched. Empty for every other kind.
+    pub chords: Vec<String>,
 }
 
 impl BarRow {
@@ -78,7 +137,7 @@ fn kind_title(kind: CandidateKind) -> &'static str {
 }
 
 /// What a keystroke asked the bar to do.
-#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
 pub enum BarOutcome {
     /// The bar stays up.
     Stay,
@@ -128,40 +187,112 @@ pub fn session_candidate(session: &Session, home_dir: &str) -> SessionCandidate
     }
 }
 
+/// One command row: a distinct [`Action`] and every chord bound to it.
+///
+/// Dedupe is by **action, never by chord** — the default map binds both
+/// `enter` and `tab` to `AttachHighlighted`, and listed naively that is two
+/// identical rows. Actions that share a `help_label` collapse too:
+/// `AttachHighlighted` and `ToggleAttachHighlighted` are the same match arm in
+/// `app.rs` and genuinely do the same thing, so they are one row carrying both
+/// chords rather than two rows a reader cannot tell apart. `Noop` is left out:
+/// it exists to suppress a default binding, not as something to run.
+///
+/// Input order is the keymap's own (`Keymap::entries` sorts by chord), and the
+/// first mention of each action keeps its place — the registry order the
+/// contract asks an empty `>` query to list.
+pub fn command_entries(entries: &[(String, Action)]) -> Vec<(Action, Vec<String>)> {
+    let mut out: Vec<(Action, Vec<String>)> = Vec::new();
+    for (chord, action) in entries {
+        if *action == Action::Noop {
+            continue;
+        }
+        let label = action.help_label();
+        match out
+            .iter_mut()
+            .find(|(kept, _)| kept == action || kept.help_label() == label)
+        {
+            Some((_, chords)) => {
+                if !chords.iter().any(|c| c == chord) {
+                    chords.push(chord.clone());
+                }
+            }
+            None => out.push((action.clone(), vec![chord.clone()])),
+        }
+    }
+    out
+}
+
+/// One candidate plus what it renders and what Enter does with it. The matcher
+/// never sees anything but `candidate`.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
+struct BarEntry {
+    candidate: MatchCandidate,
+    target: BarTarget,
+    dead: bool,
+    chords: Vec<String>,
+}
+
+impl BarEntry {
+    fn candidate_kind(&self) -> CandidateKind {
+        match self.candidate {
+            MatchCandidate::Session(_) => CandidateKind::Session,
+            MatchCandidate::Command(_) => CandidateKind::Command,
+            MatchCandidate::Directory(_) => CandidateKind::Directory,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// The bar's state while it is up: the query buffer, the candidates it was
 /// opened over, the rows the current query produces, and the highlight.
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub struct CommandBar {
+    /// Identity for routing an async directory load back to this bar.
+    id: u64,
     input: TextInput,
-    /// Matcher input, in the empty-query order. Never reordered — the matcher's
-    /// last tie-break is what keeps that order meaningful.
-    candidates: Vec<MatchCandidate>,
-    /// What each candidate opens, parallel to `candidates`.
-    targets: Vec<BarTarget>,
-    /// Whether each candidate's session is dead, parallel to `candidates`.
-    dead: Vec<bool>,
+    home_dir: String,
+    /// Matcher input per kind, in the empty-query order. Never reordered —
+    /// the matcher's last tie-break is what keeps that order meaningful.
+    sessions: Vec<BarEntry>,
+    commands: Vec<BarEntry>,
+    directories: Vec<BarEntry>,
     rows: Vec<BarRow>,
     highlight: usize,
 }
 
 impl CommandBar {
-    /// Open the bar over the sessions the catalog has right now.
-    pub fn new(sessions: &[Session], home_dir: &str) -> Self {
+    /// Open the bar over the sessions the catalog has right now and the live
+    /// keymap for the current mode. Directories arrive later
+    /// ([`Self::set_directories`]) — they are a network round trip and the
+    /// keystroke must not wait on one.
+    pub fn new(sessions: &[Session], keymap: &[(String, Action)], home_dir: &str) -> Self {
         let ordered = order_sessions_for_bar(sessions);
-        let candidates = ordered
+        let sessions = ordered
             .iter()
-            .map(|s| MatchCandidate::Session(session_candidate(s, home_dir)))
+            .map(|s| BarEntry {
+                candidate: MatchCandidate::Session(session_candidate(s, home_dir)),
+                target: BarTarget::Session(s.id),
+                dead: s.status == SessionStatus::Dead,
+                chords: Vec::new(),
+            })
             .collect();
-        let targets = ordered.iter().map(|s| BarTarget::Session(s.id)).collect();
-        let dead = ordered
-            .iter()
-            .map(|s| s.status == SessionStatus::Dead)
+        let commands = command_entries(keymap)
+            .into_iter()
+            .map(|(action, chords)| BarEntry {
+                candidate: MatchCandidate::Command(CommandCandidate {
+                    label: action.help_label(),
+                }),
+                target: BarTarget::Command(action),
+                dead: false,
+                chords,
+            })
             .collect();
         let mut bar = Self {
+            id: NEXT_BAR_ID.fetch_add(1, std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed),
             input: TextInput::default(),
-            candidates,
-            targets,
-            dead,
+            home_dir: home_dir.to_string(),
+            sessions,
+            commands,
+            directories: Vec::new(),
             rows: Vec::new(),
             highlight: 0,
         };
@@ -169,6 +300,34 @@ impl CommandBar {
         bar
     }
 
+    pub fn id(&self) -> u64 {
+        self.id
+    }
+
+    /// Hand the bar `~`'s candidates once the daemon has answered: recent dirs
+    /// (newest first) ahead of the project list, deduped by the directory a
+    /// spawn would land in, keeping the first mention of each.
+    pub fn set_directories(&mut self, paths: &[PathBuf]) {
+        let mut seen: Vec<&Path> = Vec::new();
+        let mut entries = Vec::new();
+        for path in paths {
+            if path.as_os_str().is_empty() || seen.contains(&path.as_path()) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            seen.push(path.as_path());
+            entries.push(BarEntry {
+                candidate: MatchCandidate::Directory(DirectoryCandidate {
+                    path: abbreviate_dir(path, &self.home_dir),
+                }),
+                target: BarTarget::Directory(path.clone()),
+                dead: false,
+                chords: Vec::new(),
+            });
+        }
+        self.directories = entries;
+        self.recompute();
+    }
+
     pub fn query(&self) -> &str {
         self.input.value()
     }
@@ -224,7 +383,7 @@ impl CommandBar {
         match key {
             InputKey::Esc => BarOutcome::Close,
             InputKey::Enter => match self.selected() {
-                Some(row) => BarOutcome::Open(row.target),
+                Some(row) => BarOutcome::Open(row.target.clone()),
                 // Nothing to open: the bar stays up rather than closing on a
                 // key that did nothing.
                 None => BarOutcome::Stay,
@@ -257,31 +416,58 @@ impl CommandBar {
         }
     }
 
+    /// The sigil in force for the query as it stands.
+    pub fn sigil(&self) -> Option<BarSigil> {
+        parse_bar_query(self.input.value()).sigil
+    }
+
+    /// The candidates the query line asks for. A sigil narrows to one kind;
+    /// with no sigil the list is mixed — sessions and commands ranked together
+    /// — except on an empty query, where the bar is a session switcher.
+    fn active_entries(&self, parsed: BarQuery<'_>) -> Vec<&BarEntry> {
+        match parsed.sigil {
+            Some(BarSigil::Command) => self.commands.iter().collect(),
+            Some(BarSigil::Directory) => self.directories.iter().collect(),
+            None if parsed.query.is_empty() => self.sessions.iter().collect(),
+            None => self.sessions.iter().chain(self.commands.iter()).collect(),
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Re-rank for the current query. The highlight starts on the globally
     /// best row every time the list changes: an old index would point at a
     /// different result.
     fn recompute(&mut self) {
         let rows: Vec<BarRow> = {
-            let results = match_and_rank(self.input.value(), &self.candidates);
-            results
+            let parsed = parse_bar_query(self.input.value());
+            let entries = self.active_entries(parsed);
+            let candidates: Vec<MatchCandidate> =
+                entries.iter().map(|e| e.candidate.clone()).collect();
+            match_and_rank(parsed.query, &candidates)
                 .iter()
                 .map(|result| {
-                    let index = self
-                        .candidates
+                    let index = candidates
                         .iter()
                         .position(|c| std::ptr::eq(c, result.candidate))
-                        .expect("every result borrows one of this bar's candidates");
-                    let MatchCandidate::Session(session) = result.candidate else {
-                        unreachable!("sessions are the only kind the bar builds (#153)")
+                        .expect("every result borrows one of this query's candidates");
+                    let entry = entries[index];
+                    let (name, meta) = match &entry.candidate {
+                        MatchCandidate::Session(session) => {
+                            (session.name.clone(), meta_text(session, result.field))
+                        }
+                        // A command's label and a directory's path are the row
+                        // itself; neither has a second field to fall back to.
+                        MatchCandidate::Command(command) => (command.label.clone(), None),
+                        MatchCandidate::Directory(directory) => (directory.path.clone(), None),
                     };
                     BarRow {
-                        kind: CandidateKind::Session,
-                        target: self.targets[index],
-                        name: session.name.clone(),
-                        meta: meta_text(session, result.field),
+                        kind: entry.candidate_kind(),
+                        target: entry.target.clone(),
+                        name,
+                        meta,
                         field: result.field,
                         ranges: result.ranges.clone(),
-                        dead: self.dead[index],
+                        dead: entry.dead,
+                        chords: entry.chords.clone(),
                     }
                 })
                 .collect()
@@ -297,7 +483,11 @@ impl CommandBar {
         let area = centered(parent, 72, height);
         f.render_widget(Clear, area);
         let block = Block::default()
-            .title(" go to ")
+            .title(match self.sigil() {
+                Some(BarSigil::Command) => " run a command ",
+                Some(BarSigil::Directory) => " spawn in ",
+                None => " go to ",
+            })
             .borders(Borders::ALL)
             .style(pal.card.base())
             .border_style(pal.border_style(true));
@@ -349,11 +539,16 @@ impl CommandBar {
         // sits on so the scroll can keep it visible.
         let mut lines: Vec<Line<'static>> = Vec::new();
         let mut highlight_line = 0usize;
+        // While a sigil is in force there is one kind, so the header is
+        // dropped — it would name what the whole list already is.
+        let headers = self.sigil().is_none();
         for group in self.groups() {
-            lines.push(Line::from(Span::styled(
-                group.title.to_string(),
-                pal.group_row_style(),
-            )));
+            if headers {
+                lines.push(Line::from(Span::styled(
+                    group.title.to_string(),
+                    pal.group_row_style(),
+                )));
+            }
             for index in group.start..group.start + group.len {
                 if index == self.highlight {
                     highlight_line = lines.len();
@@ -384,6 +579,12 @@ impl CommandBar {
             &row.ranges
         };
         spans.extend(highlighted_spans(&row.name, name_ranges, base, hit));
+        // The chord is teaching material, not a match target: it comes from
+        // the live keymap and is never fed to the matcher.
+        if !row.chords.is_empty() {
+            spans.push(Span::styled("  ", base));
+            spans.push(Span::styled(row.chords.join(", "), surface.muted_style()));
+        }
         if let Some(meta) = &row.meta {
             let meta_style = surface.muted_style();
             let meta_hit = meta_style.add_modifier(Modifier::BOLD | Modifier::UNDERLINED);
@@ -485,6 +686,7 @@ mod tests {
         rows.iter()
             .map(|r| match r.target {
                 BarTarget::Session(id) => id,
+                ref other => panic!("expected a session row, got {other:?}"),
             })
             .collect()
     }
@@ -509,7 +711,7 @@ mod tests {
         let mut c = named(3, "charlie");
         c.last_focused_at = Some(at(20));
 
-        let bar = CommandBar::new(&[a, b, c], "/home/me");
+        let bar = CommandBar::new(&[a, b, c], &[], "/home/me");
         assert_eq!(
             ids(bar.rows()),
             vec![Uuid::from_u128(2), Uuid::from_u128(3), Uuid::from_u128(1)]
@@ -527,7 +729,7 @@ mod tests {
         let mut newer = named(3, "newer");
         newer.created_at = at(20);
 
-        let bar = CommandBar::new(&[older, newer, focused], "/home/me");
+        let bar = CommandBar::new(&[older, newer, focused], &[], "/home/me");
         assert_eq!(
             ids(bar.rows()),
             vec![Uuid::from_u128(1), Uuid::from_u128(3), Uuid::from_u128(2)]
@@ -542,7 +744,7 @@ mod tests {
         dead.last_focused_at = Some(at(99));
         let live = named(2, "live");
 
-        let bar = CommandBar::new(&[dead, live], "/home/me");
+        let bar = CommandBar::new(&[dead, live], &[], "/home/me");
         assert_eq!(
             ids(bar.rows()),
             vec![Uuid::from_u128(2), Uuid::from_u128(1)]
@@ -552,7 +754,11 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn typing_ranks_through_the_matcher_and_returns_ranges() {
-        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "web-search"), named(2, "websearch")], "/home/me");
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(
+            &[named(1, "web-search"), named(2, "websearch")],
+            &[],
+            "/home/me",
+        );
         typed(&mut bar, "ws");
         // F9: the `s` after `-` earns the boundary bonus.
         assert_eq!(
@@ -565,7 +771,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn a_query_matching_nothing_leaves_no_rows() {
-        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha")], "/home/me");
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha")], &[], "/home/me");
         typed(&mut bar, "zzz");
         assert!(bar.rows().is_empty());
         assert!(bar.selected().is_none());
@@ -577,7 +783,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn a_directory_match_highlights_in_the_meta_text() {
         let mut worker = named(1, "worker");
         worker.cwd = PathBuf::from("/home/me/dev/api");
-        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[worker], "/home/me");
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[worker], &[], "/home/me");
         typed(&mut bar, "api");
         assert_eq!(bar.rows()[0].field, Some(MatchFieldName::Directory));
         assert_eq!(bar.rows()[0].meta.as_deref(), Some("~/dev/api"));
@@ -590,7 +796,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn the_tool_field_is_a_candidate_field() {
         let mut nameless = named(1, "nameless");
         nameless.command = "claude --resume".into();
-        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[nameless, named(2, "clay")], "/home/me");
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[nameless, named(2, "clay")], &[], "/home/me");
         typed(&mut bar, "claude");
         assert_eq!(ids(bar.rows()), vec![Uuid::from_u128(1)]);
         assert_eq!(bar.rows()[0].field, Some(MatchFieldName::Tool));
@@ -598,7 +804,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn results_group_under_kind_headers_with_the_best_row_first() {
-        let bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha"), named(2, "bravo")], "/home/me");
+        let bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha"), named(2, "bravo")], &[], "/home/me");
         let groups = bar.groups();
         assert_eq!(groups.len(), 1);
         assert_eq!(groups[0].title, "Sessions");
@@ -612,6 +818,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn arrows_and_ctrl_pn_move_the_highlight_without_wrapping() {
         let mut bar = CommandBar::new(
             &[named(1, "alpha"), named(2, "bravo"), named(3, "charlie")],
+            &[],
             "/home/me",
         );
         assert_eq!(bar.handle_key(&InputKey::Down), BarOutcome::Stay);
@@ -640,7 +847,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn enter_opens_the_highlighted_session_and_escape_closes() {
-        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha"), named(2, "bravo")], "/home/me");
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha"), named(2, "bravo")], &[], "/home/me");
         bar.handle_key(&InputKey::Down);
         assert_eq!(
             bar.handle_key(&InputKey::Enter),
@@ -651,14 +858,14 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn enter_with_no_results_leaves_the_bar_up() {
-        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha")], "/home/me");
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha")], &[], "/home/me");
         typed(&mut bar, "zzz");
         assert_eq!(bar.handle_key(&InputKey::Enter), BarOutcome::Stay);
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn editing_the_query_re_ranks_and_resets_the_highlight() {
-        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha"), named(2, "alpine")], "/home/me");
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha"), named(2, "alpine")], &[], "/home/me");
         bar.handle_key(&InputKey::Down);
         assert_eq!(bar.highlight(), 1);
         typed(&mut bar, "alp");
@@ -676,7 +883,7 @@ mod tests {
         let mut recent = named(1, "alpha");
         recent.last_focused_at = Some(at(50));
         let older = named(2, "alpine");
-        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[older, recent], "/home/me");
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[older, recent], &[], "/home/me");
         typed(&mut bar, "alpi");
         assert_eq!(ids(bar.rows()), vec![Uuid::from_u128(2)]);
         for _ in 0..4 {
@@ -689,6 +896,251 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    fn keymap(pairs: &[(&str, Action)]) -> Vec<(String, Action)> {
+        pairs
+            .iter()
+            .map(|(chord, action)| (chord.to_string(), action.clone()))
+            .collect()
+    }
+
+    fn labels(rows: &[BarRow]) -> Vec<String> {
+        rows.iter().map(|r| r.name.clone()).collect()
+    }
+
+    // ---- sigil parsing ----
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_leading_sigil_is_a_sigil_and_the_rest_is_the_query() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            parse_bar_query(">kill"),
+            BarQuery {
+                sigil: Some(BarSigil::Command),
+                query: "kill"
+            }
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            parse_bar_query("~dev"),
+            BarQuery {
+                sigil: Some(BarSigil::Directory),
+                query: "dev"
+            }
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            parse_bar_query("api"),
+            BarQuery {
+                sigil: None,
+                query: "api"
+            }
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            parse_bar_query(""),
+            BarQuery {
+                sigil: None,
+                query: ""
+            }
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// A directory query is where a second `~` is most likely to be typed, and
+    /// it must reach the matcher.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_sigil_anywhere_but_first_is_a_literal_query_character() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            parse_bar_query("~~/dev"),
+            BarQuery {
+                sigil: Some(BarSigil::Directory),
+                query: "~/dev"
+            }
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            parse_bar_query("a>b"),
+            BarQuery {
+                sigil: None,
+                query: "a>b"
+            }
+        );
+    }
+
+    // ---- `>` commands ----
+
+    /// The default map binds both `enter` and `tab` to `AttachHighlighted`;
+    /// listed naively that is two identical rows.
+    #[test]
+    fn command_rows_dedupe_by_action_and_keep_every_chord() {
+        let entries = command_entries(&keymap(&[
+            ("enter", Action::AttachHighlighted),
+            ("tab", Action::AttachHighlighted),
+            ("q", Action::Quit),
+        ]));
+        assert_eq!(
+            entries,
+            vec![
+                (
+                    Action::AttachHighlighted,
+                    vec!["enter".to_string(), "tab".to_string()]
+                ),
+                (Action::Quit, vec!["q".to_string()]),
+            ]
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// `AttachHighlighted` and `ToggleAttachHighlighted` share a `help_label`
+    /// because they are the same match arm and genuinely do the same thing.
+    /// Two rows a reader cannot tell apart is the bug; relabelling them would
+    /// describe behaviour that does not exist.
+    #[test]
+    fn actions_sharing_a_label_collapse_into_one_row() {
+        let entries = command_entries(&keymap(&[
+            ("enter", Action::AttachHighlighted),
+            ("o", Action::ToggleAttachHighlighted),
+        ]));
+        assert_eq!(entries.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(entries[0].1, vec!["enter".to_string(), "o".to_string()]);
+    }
+
+    /// `Noop` exists to suppress a default binding, not as something to run.
+    #[test]
+    fn noop_bindings_are_not_commands() {
+        let entries = command_entries(&keymap(&[("x", Action::Noop), ("q", Action::Quit)]));
+        assert_eq!(entries, vec![(Action::Quit, vec!["q".to_string()])]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn the_command_sigil_narrows_to_commands_matched_on_their_label() {
+        let map = keymap(&[
+            ("K", Action::KillHighlighted),
+            ("q", Action::Quit),
+            ("r", Action::RenameHighlighted),
+        ]);
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "kill-me")], &map, "/home/me");
+        typed(&mut bar, ">kill");
+        assert_eq!(
+            labels(bar.rows()),
+            vec!["Kill selected session".to_string()]
+        );
+        assert!(bar.rows().iter().all(|r| r.kind == CandidateKind::Command));
+        assert_eq!(bar.rows()[0].chords, vec!["K".to_string()]);
+    }
+
+    /// Matching the chord would make `>` results depend on a user's rebinds.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_chord_is_displayed_and_never_matched() {
+        let map = keymap(&[("zzz", Action::Quit)]);
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[], &map, "/home/me");
+        typed(&mut bar, ">zzz");
+        assert!(bar.rows().is_empty(), "{:?}", labels(bar.rows()));
+        bar.handle_key(&InputKey::Backspace);
+        bar.handle_key(&InputKey::Backspace);
+        bar.handle_key(&InputKey::Backspace);
+        assert_eq!(labels(bar.rows()), vec!["Quit Maestro".to_string()]);
+        assert_eq!(bar.rows()[0].chords, vec!["zzz".to_string()]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn enter_on_a_command_row_dispatches_its_action() {
+        let map = keymap(&[("q", Action::Quit)]);
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[], &map, "/home/me");
+        typed(&mut bar, ">quit");
+        assert_eq!(
+            bar.handle_key(&InputKey::Enter),
+            BarOutcome::Open(BarTarget::Command(Action::Quit))
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// An empty `>` query lists every command in keymap order.
+    #[test]
+    fn an_empty_command_query_lists_the_whole_keymap() {
+        let map = keymap(&[("K", Action::KillHighlighted), ("q", Action::Quit)]);
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha")], &map, "/home/me");
+        typed(&mut bar, ">");
+        assert_eq!(
+            labels(bar.rows()),
+            vec![
+                "Kill selected session".to_string(),
+                "Quit Maestro".to_string()
+            ]
+        );
+    }
+
+    // ---- `~` directories ----
+
+    #[test]
+    fn the_directory_sigil_narrows_to_directories_deduped_and_abbreviated() {
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha")], &[], "/home/me");
+        bar.set_directories(&[
+            PathBuf::from("/home/me/dev/api"),
+            PathBuf::from("/home/me/dev/api"),
+            PathBuf::from("/srv/www"),
+        ]);
+        typed(&mut bar, "~");
+        assert_eq!(
+            labels(bar.rows()),
+            vec!["~/dev/api".to_string(), "/srv/www".to_string()]
+        );
+        assert!(bar
+            .rows()
+            .iter()
+            .all(|r| r.kind == CandidateKind::Directory));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn enter_on_a_directory_row_spawns_there() {
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[], &[], "/home/me");
+        bar.set_directories(&[PathBuf::from("/home/me/dev/api")]);
+        typed(&mut bar, "~api");
+        assert_eq!(
+            bar.handle_key(&InputKey::Enter),
+            BarOutcome::Open(BarTarget::Directory(PathBuf::from("/home/me/dev/api")))
+        );
+    }
+
+    // ---- the mixed list ----
+
+    #[test]
+    fn no_sigil_ranks_sessions_and_commands_together_under_kind_headers() {
+        let map = keymap(&[("K", Action::KillHighlighted)]);
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "killer")], &map, "/home/me");
+        typed(&mut bar, "kill");
+        let groups = bar.groups();
+        assert_eq!(
+            groups.iter().map(|g| g.title).collect::<Vec<_>>(),
+            vec!["Sessions", "Commands"]
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            labels(bar.rows()),
+            vec!["killer".to_string(), "Kill selected session".to_string()]
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// An empty bar is a session switcher: commands and directories need a
+    /// sigil or a query to appear.
+    #[test]
+    fn an_empty_query_lists_sessions_only() {
+        let map = keymap(&[("q", Action::Quit)]);
+        let bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha")], &map, "/home/me");
+        assert_eq!(labels(bar.rows()), vec!["alpha".to_string()]);
+    }
+
+    /// The sigil is one character of the query like any other: deleting it is
+    /// not a special key.
+    #[test]
+    fn backspacing_past_a_sigil_returns_to_the_mixed_list() {
+        let map = keymap(&[("K", Action::KillHighlighted)]);
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "kill-me")], &map, "/home/me");
+        typed(&mut bar, ">kill");
+        assert_eq!(bar.rows().len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(bar.sigil(), Some(BarSigil::Command));
+        bar.handle_key(&InputKey::Home);
+        bar.handle_key(&InputKey::Right);
+        bar.handle_key(&InputKey::Backspace);
+        assert_eq!(bar.query(), "kill");
+        assert_eq!(bar.sigil(), None);
+        assert_eq!(
+            labels(bar.rows()),
+            vec!["kill-me".to_string(), "Kill selected session".to_string()]
+        );
+    }
+
     fn render_to_string(bar: &CommandBar, w: u16, h: u16) -> String {
         let backend = TestBackend::new(w, h);
         let mut terminal = Terminal::new(backend).unwrap();
@@ -710,7 +1162,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn renders_the_query_the_headers_and_the_rows() {
-        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha"), named(2, "alpine")], "/home/me");
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha"), named(2, "alpine")], &[], "/home/me");
         typed(&mut bar, "alp");
         let rendered = render_to_string(&bar, 90, 20);
         assert!(rendered.contains("go to"), "{rendered}");
@@ -721,9 +1173,21 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(rendered.contains("[esc] close"), "{rendered}");
     }
 
+    /// While a sigil is in force there is one kind, so the kind header goes.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_sigil_drops_the_kind_header_and_renders_the_chord() {
+        let map = keymap(&[("K", Action::KillHighlighted)]);
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha")], &map, "/home/me");
+        typed(&mut bar, ">kill");
+        let rendered = render_to_string(&bar, 90, 20);
+        assert!(rendered.contains("Kill selected session"), "{rendered}");
+        assert!(rendered.contains(" K"), "{rendered}");
+        assert!(!rendered.contains("Commands"), "{rendered}");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn renders_a_no_results_state() {
-        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha")], "/home/me");
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "alpha")], &[], "/home/me");
         typed(&mut bar, "zzz");
         let rendered = render_to_string(&bar, 90, 20);
         assert!(rendered.contains("No matches"), "{rendered}");
@@ -732,7 +1196,7 @@ mod tests {
     /// The matched characters are drawn bold, so the row shows why it matched.
     #[test]
     fn matched_ranges_are_styled_apart_from_the_rest_of_the_row() {
-        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "web-search")], "/home/me");
+        let mut bar = CommandBar::new(&[named(1, "web-search")], &[], "/home/me");
         typed(&mut bar, "ws");
         let backend = TestBackend::new(90, 20);
         let mut terminal = Terminal::new(backend).unwrap();

crates/maestro-tui/src/fast_forward.rs

@@ -49,6 +49,33 @@ pub fn resolve(
                 .into_iter()
                 .next()
         });
+    defaults(project, presets, handle)
+}
+
+/// Resolve the defaults for a spawn pinned to one directory — the command
+/// bar's `~` (#154), where the operator named the directory and nothing may
+/// override it. Unlike [`resolve`] there is no recency fallback: a directory
+/// the project scan does not know leaves `project` `None`, which is an
+/// unresolvable default, so the keystroke opens the pre-filled form instead of
+/// spawning somewhere else.
+pub fn resolve_at(
+    dir: &std::path::Path,
+    projects: &[Project],
+    presets: &[SpawnPreset],
+    handle: Option<String>,
+) -> FastForwardDefaults {
+    let project = projects.iter().find(|p| p.path == dir).cloned();
+    defaults(project, presets, handle)
+}
+
+/// The project's last command, or the first non-custom preset, wrapped up with
+/// the rest of the defaults. Shared by both resolvers so the two entry points
+/// can never settle on different commands.
+fn defaults(
+    project: Option<Project>,
+    presets: &[SpawnPreset],
+    handle: Option<String>,
+) -> FastForwardDefaults {
     let command = project
         .as_ref()
         .and_then(|p| p.last_command.clone())
@@ -159,6 +186,46 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
+    /// The command bar's `~` names the directory; nothing may override it.
+    #[test]
+    fn resolve_at_pins_the_directory_over_the_recency_ranking() {
+        let projects = vec![
+            project("/repos/fresh", 0, Some("aider")),
+            project("/repos/pinned", 30, Some("zsh")),
+        ];
+        let resolved = resolve_at(
+            std::path::Path::new("/repos/pinned"),
+            &projects,
+            &[preset("claude", "claude")],
+            Some("otter".into()),
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            resolved.project.as_ref().map(|p| p.path.clone()),
+            Some(PathBuf::from("/repos/pinned"))
+        );
+        assert_eq!(resolved.command.as_deref(), Some("zsh"));
+        let req = resolved.build_request().expect("every default resolved");
+        assert_eq!(req.cwd, PathBuf::from("/repos/pinned"));
+    }
+
+    /// A directory the scan does not know resolves no project, so there is no
+    /// request to build — the caller opens the pre-filled form instead of
+    /// spawning somewhere else.
+    #[test]
+    fn resolve_at_takes_no_fallback_for_an_unknown_directory() {
+        let projects = vec![project("/repos/fresh", 0, Some("aider"))];
+        let resolved = resolve_at(
+            std::path::Path::new("/elsewhere"),
+            &projects,
+            &[preset("claude", "claude")],
+            Some("otter".into()),
+        );
+        assert_eq!(resolved.project, None);
+        // The preset still resolves; the missing project is what blocks it.
+        assert_eq!(resolved.command.as_deref(), Some("claude"));
+        assert_eq!(resolved.build_request(), None);
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn resolves_every_default_from_the_most_recent_project() {
         let projects = vec![

web/src/attach.ts

@@ -50,6 +50,10 @@ export interface AttachConnection {
   onUnmount(): void;
   /** Put the keyboard back into this terminal — what leaving the sidebar does. */
   focusTerminal(): void;
+  /** Type raw bytes straight into the PTY, bypassing the terminal's own key
+   *  handling — the leader's literal Ctrl-K escape hatch
+   *  (docs/COMMAND-BAR.md). */
+  sendInput(data: string): void;
   /** Fully disconnect: close the WS, dispose the terminal, remove the element. */
   dispose(): void;
 }
@@ -506,6 +510,9 @@ export function createAttachConnection(
     focusTerminal() {
       term.focus();
     },
+    // The closure above: the same bytes-out path keystrokes and the mobile key
+    // bar already take.
+    sendInput,
     dispose() {
       if (disposed) return;
       disposed = true;

web/src/barActions.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+// @vitest-environment happy-dom
+//
+// The sidebar's half of the command bar's action page (#151): the bar picks
+// kill or rename and raises the flow the card already has, so what the page
+// runs is what the ✕ button and the `r` key run.
+import { afterEach, beforeAll, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import { KILL_SESSION_EVENT, RENAME_SESSION_EVENT, renderSidebar } from "./catalog.js";
+import type { CatalogListener, CatalogStore } from "./events.js";
+import type { Session } from "./types.js";
+
+beforeAll(() => {
+  Object.defineProperty(window, "localStorage", {
+    value: { getItem: () => null, setItem: () => {} },
+  });
+});
+
+let mounted: { el: HTMLElement; dispose: () => void } | null = null;
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  document.querySelector(".kill-dialog")?.remove();
+  mounted?.dispose();
+  mounted = null;
+  document.body.replaceChildren();
+});
+
+function session(overrides: Partial<Session> = {}): Session {
+  return {
+    id: "aaaaaaaa-0000-0000-0000-0000000000ff",
+    cwd: "/home/naps/tea/maestro",
+    command: "claude",
+    env: {},
+    metadata: { name: "amber-falcon" },
+    status: "Running",
+    created_at: "2026-08-24T10:00:00Z",
+    ...overrides,
+  };
+}
+
+function storeWith(sessions: Session[]): CatalogStore {
+  const state = { sessions: new Map(sessions.map((s) => [s.id, s])) };
+  return {
+    snapshot: () => state,
+    subscribe: (fn: CatalogListener) => {
+      fn(state);
+      return () => {};
+    },
+  } as unknown as CatalogStore;
+}
+
+function mount(s: Session): HTMLElement {
+  const handle = renderSidebar(storeWith([s]));
+  mounted = handle;
+  document.body.appendChild(handle.el);
+  return handle.el;
+}
+
+function raise(name: string, s: Session): void {
+  document.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent(name, { detail: s }));
+}
+
+/** Let the kill chain's awaits (fetch, its json body) settle. */
+async function flush(): Promise<void> {
+  for (let i = 0; i < 8; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+}
+
+describe("kill from the action page", () => {
+  it("goes through the daemon, without a first confirmation", async () => {
+    const calls: string[] = [];
+    window.fetch = ((url: string, init?: RequestInit) => {
+      calls.push(`${init?.method ?? "GET"} ${url}`);
+      return Promise.resolve(new Response(null, { status: 204 }));
+    }) as typeof fetch;
+    const s = session();
+    mount(s);
+    raise(KILL_SESSION_EVENT, s);
+    await flush();
+    expect(calls).toContain(`DELETE /api/sessions/${s.id}`);
+    expect(document.querySelector(".kill-dialog")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("raises the existing confirm-and-blockers dialog on a guarded refusal", async () => {
+    window.fetch = ((url: string) => {
+      if (String(url).includes("force=true")) {
+        return Promise.resolve(new Response(null, { status: 204 }));
+      }
+      return Promise.resolve(
+        new Response(
+          JSON.stringify({
+            error: {
+              code: "kill_guarded",
+              message: "worktree has unsaved work",
+              unsaved_work: { untracked_files: 1 },
+            },
+          }),
+          { status: 409, headers: { "content-type": "application/json" } },
+        ),
+      );
+    }) as typeof fetch;
+    const s = session({ blocked_work: { untracked_files: 1 } });
+    mount(s);
+    raise(KILL_SESSION_EVENT, s);
+    await flush();
+    const dialog = document.querySelector(".kill-dialog");
+    expect(dialog?.getAttribute("aria-label")).toBe("Kill amber-falcon");
+    expect(dialog?.textContent).toContain("1 untracked file");
+  });
+});
+
+describe("rename from the action page", () => {
+  it("expands the folder hiding the card, since the prompt lives in the card", () => {
+    window.fetch = (() => Promise.reject(new Error("offline"))) as typeof fetch;
+    const s = session();
+    const el = mount(s);
+    const folder = el.querySelector<HTMLElement>(".tree-folder-header");
+    folder?.click();
+    expect(el.querySelector(`[data-session-id="${s.id}"]`)).toBeNull();
+    raise(RENAME_SESSION_EVENT, s);
+    expect(el.querySelector<HTMLInputElement>(".leaf-rename")?.value).toBe("amber-falcon");
+  });
+
+  it("raises the card's own prompt, pre-filled with the session's name", () => {
+    window.fetch = (() => Promise.reject(new Error("offline"))) as typeof fetch;
+    const s = session();
+    const el = mount(s);
+    raise(RENAME_SESSION_EVENT, s);
+    const input = el.querySelector<HTMLInputElement>(".leaf-rename");
+    expect(input?.value).toBe("amber-falcon");
+    expect(input?.getAttribute("aria-label")).toBe("Rename amber-falcon");
+  });
+});

web/src/catalog.ts

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { CommandSet, defineCommands } from "./commands.js";
 import { CatalogStore } from "./events.js";
 import type { InTheWay, Session } from "./types.js";
 import {
+  abbreviateCwd,
   abbreviateFolderName,
   blockerStats,
   customSessionName,
@@ -16,6 +17,7 @@ import {
   sessionBlockers,
   isProvisionalName,
   sessionName,
+  sessionTreePath,
 } from "./types.js";
 import { splitCommand, toolIconSvg } from "./toolIcon.js";
 import {
@@ -50,6 +52,17 @@ export const FOCUS_SIDEBAR_EVENT = "catalog-focus-sidebar";
  *  ("Spawn similar"). Detail is the session being cloned. */
 export const SPAWN_SIMILAR_EVENT = "catalog-spawn-similar";
 
+/** Ask the sidebar to kill a session — the command bar's action page picking
+ *  `kill` (#151). Detail is the session. Handled here, so the kill goes
+ *  through the same confirm-and-blockers flow the card's ✕ does
+ *  (`docs/WORKTREES.md`); the bar never reimplements it. */
+export const KILL_SESSION_EVENT = "catalog-kill-session";
+
+/** Ask the sidebar to rename a session — the command bar's action page picking
+ *  `rename` (#151). Detail is the session. The prompt is the card's own inline
+ *  field, pre-filled with the session's name (`docs/SIDEBAR.md`). */
+export const RENAME_SESSION_EVENT = "catalog-rename-session";
+
 /** A session row was clicked (issue #133). The row's `href` drives normal
  *  hash navigation, but a split/drag can move focus without ever touching
  *  `location.hash` — so a click back onto a session whose hash still
@@ -745,6 +758,40 @@ export function renderSidebar(store: CatalogStore, opts: SidebarOptions = {}): S
   };
   document.addEventListener("catalog-rerender", rerenderHandler);
 
+  // The command bar's action page (#151) picks an action and hands it here:
+  // both flows are the ones the card already has, reached by session rather
+  // than by row.
+  const killHandler = (ev: Event) => {
+    const s = (ev as CustomEvent<Session>).detail;
+    void requestKill(s, sessionName(s));
+  };
+  const renameHandler = (ev: Event) => {
+    const s = (ev as CustomEvent<Session>).detail;
+    const row = rowForSession(s);
+    if (row) beginRename(row, s);
+  };
+  document.addEventListener(KILL_SESSION_EVENT, killHandler);
+  document.addEventListener(RENAME_SESSION_EVENT, renameHandler);
+
+  /** The card a session is rendered as, expanding whatever folder hides it
+   *  first: the rename prompt lives inside the card, so a collapsed folder
+   *  would otherwise swallow the request. */
+  function rowForSession(s: Session): HTMLElement | null {
+    const find = () => treeHost.querySelector<HTMLElement>(`.tree-leaf[data-session-id="${s.id}"]`);
+    const found = find();
+    if (found) return found;
+    // Folder paths are the abbreviated directory's segments joined back up
+    // (see buildTree), so the session's own path is normalised the same way
+    // before it is compared against them.
+    const cwd = sessionTreePath(s);
+    const path = (cwd ? abbreviateCwd(cwd, homeDir) : "").split("/").filter(Boolean).join("/");
+    for (const folder of [...collapsed]) {
+      if (path === folder || path.startsWith(`${folder}/`)) collapsed.delete(folder);
+    }
+    rerenderHandler();
+    return find();
+  }
+
   // "Spawn similar" (#28) is dispatched here and handled in main.ts, where the
   // multi-view controller can seed the spawn modal with the session's dir/command.
 
@@ -794,6 +841,8 @@ export function renderSidebar(store: CatalogStore, opts: SidebarOptions = {}): S
       // refusing to refresh.
       renamingId = null;
       document.removeEventListener("catalog-rerender", rerenderHandler);
+      document.removeEventListener(KILL_SESSION_EVENT, killHandler);
+      document.removeEventListener(RENAME_SESSION_EVENT, renameHandler);
       unsubscribe();
     },
   };

web/src/commandBar.test.ts

@@ -1,18 +1,30 @@
 // @vitest-environment happy-dom
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 
-import { SESSION_SELECT_EVENT } from "./catalog.js";
+import {
+  KILL_SESSION_EVENT,
+  RENAME_SESSION_EVENT,
+  SESSION_SELECT_EVENT,
+  SPAWN_SIMILAR_EVENT,
+} from "./catalog.js";
 import {
   barGroups,
   barRows,
   closeCommandBar,
+  commandBarCandidates,
+  dedupeCommands,
+  directoryBarCandidates,
+  directoryCandidate,
   isCommandBarOpen,
   openCommandBar,
   orderSessionsForBar,
+  parseBarQuery,
   sessionBarCandidates,
+  sessionActionCandidates,
   sessionCandidate,
+  SPAWN_DIRECTORY_EVENT,
 } from "./commandBar.js";
-import { COMMAND_SPECS } from "./commands.js";
+import { COMMAND_SPECS, type Command } from "./commands.js";
 import type { Session } from "./types.js";
 
 function session(id: string, over: Partial<Session> = {}): Session {
@@ -173,8 +185,12 @@ describe("the overlay", () => {
     session("notes", { metadata: { name: "notes" }, current_cwd: "/home/me/notes" }),
   ];
 
+  // Sessions only: the mixed list's command half is the sigil describe's
+  // business, and the registry is whatever another test file happened to bind.
   function open(over: Parameters<typeof openCommandBar>[0] | null = null) {
-    return openCommandBar(over ?? { sessions, homeDir: "/home/me", onOpenSession: () => {} });
+    return openCommandBar(
+      over ?? { sessions, homeDir: "/home/me", commands: [], onOpenSession: () => {} },
+    );
   }
 
   it("is a registry command, so the help overlay lists it", () => {
@@ -252,7 +268,7 @@ describe("the overlay", () => {
     const seen: string[] = [];
     const listener = (e: Event) => seen.push((e as CustomEvent<string>).detail);
     document.addEventListener(SESSION_SELECT_EVENT, listener);
-    openCommandBar({ sessions, homeDir: "/home/me" });
+    openCommandBar({ sessions, homeDir: "/home/me", commands: [] });
     press("ArrowDown");
     press("Enter");
     document.removeEventListener(SESSION_SELECT_EVENT, listener);
@@ -262,7 +278,7 @@ describe("the overlay", () => {
 
   it("Enter on an empty result list does nothing", () => {
     const onOpenSession = vi.fn();
-    open({ sessions, homeDir: "/home/me", onOpenSession });
+    open({ sessions, homeDir: "/home/me", commands: [], onOpenSession });
     type("zzz");
     press("Enter");
     expect(onOpenSession).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
@@ -301,9 +317,407 @@ describe("the overlay", () => {
 
   it("clicking a row opens that session", () => {
     const onOpenSession = vi.fn();
-    open({ sessions, homeDir: "/home/me", onOpenSession });
+    open({ sessions, homeDir: "/home/me", commands: [], onOpenSession });
     (document.querySelectorAll(".cmdbar-row")[1] as HTMLElement).click();
     expect(onOpenSession).toHaveBeenCalledWith("worker");
     expect(isCommandBarOpen()).toBe(false);
   });
 });
+
+// ---- the sigils (#150) ----
+
+function command(id: string, label: string, keys: string[], run = () => {}): Command {
+  return { id, label, group: "Test", keys, scope: "global", run };
+}
+
+const flush = () => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 0));
+
+function rowKeys(): string[][] {
+  return [...document.querySelectorAll(".cmdbar-row-keys")].map((el) =>
+    [...el.querySelectorAll("kbd")].map((k) => k.textContent ?? ""),
+  );
+}
+
+describe("parsing the query line", () => {
+  it("reads a sigil only in first position", () => {
+    expect(parseBarQuery(">kill")).toEqual({ sigil: ">", query: "kill" });
+    expect(parseBarQuery("~/dev")).toEqual({ sigil: "~", query: "/dev" });
+    expect(parseBarQuery("")).toEqual({ sigil: null, query: "" });
+    expect(parseBarQuery("api")).toEqual({ sigil: null, query: "api" });
+  });
+
+  it("leaves a sigil character elsewhere in the query literal", () => {
+    expect(parseBarQuery("api>x")).toEqual({ sigil: null, query: "api>x" });
+    // The case that matters: the second `~` of a directory query reaches the
+    // matcher.
+    expect(parseBarQuery("~~/dev")).toEqual({ sigil: "~", query: "~/dev" });
+  });
+
+  it("returns to the mixed list when the sigil is backspaced away", () => {
+    expect(parseBarQuery(">").sigil).toBe(">");
+    expect(parseBarQuery("").sigil).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
+describe("command candidates", () => {
+  it("dedupes by action, not by chord", () => {
+    const run = () => {};
+    const kill = command("a.kill", "Kill the session", ["x"], run);
+    const alias = command("b.kill", "Kill the session", ["ctrl-x"], run);
+    const other = command("c.rename", "Rename the session", ["r"]);
+    expect(dedupeCommands([kill, alias, other]).map((c) => c.id)).toEqual(["a.kill", "c.rename"]);
+  });
+
+  it("matches on the label only, and keeps the chord for display", () => {
+    const candidates = commandBarCandidates([command("a", "Open the spawn form", ["ctrl-k"])]);
+    expect(candidates[0].fields).toEqual({ label: "Open the spawn form" });
+    expect(candidates[0].command.keys).toEqual(["ctrl-k"]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("directory candidates", () => {
+  it("abbreviates the path it shows and keeps the one it spawns in", () => {
+    const c = directoryCandidate("/home/me/dev/api", "/home/me");
+    expect(c).toEqual({ kind: "directory", path: "/home/me/dev/api", fields: { path: "~/dev/api" } });
+  });
+
+  it("expands a typed `~` and dedupes by the directory spawned in", () => {
+    const paths = ["~/dev/api", "/home/me/dev/api", "/tmp/scratch"];
+    expect(directoryBarCandidates(paths, "/home/me").map((c) => c.path)).toEqual([
+      "/home/me/dev/api",
+      "/tmp/scratch",
+    ]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("the sigils in the overlay", () => {
+  const sessions = [session("api", { metadata: { name: "api" }, current_cwd: "/home/me/dev/api" })];
+  const ran: string[] = [];
+  const commands = [
+    command("spawn.open", "Open the spawn form", ["n"], () => ran.push("spawn.open")),
+    command("list.kill", "Kill the highlighted session", ["x"], () => ran.push("list.kill")),
+  ];
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    ran.length = 0;
+  });
+
+  function open(over: Partial<Parameters<typeof openCommandBar>[0]> = {}) {
+    return openCommandBar({
+      sessions,
+      homeDir: "/home/me",
+      commands,
+      onOpenSession: () => {},
+      loadDirectories: async () => [],
+      listDirEntries: async () => [],
+      onSpawnDirectory: () => {},
+      ...over,
+    });
+  }
+
+  it("lists every command in registry order under `>`, with its chord and no header", () => {
+    open();
+    type(">");
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual(["Open the spawn form", "Kill the highlighted session"]);
+    expect(rowKeys()).toEqual([["n"], ["x"]]);
+    expect(document.querySelectorAll(".cmdbar-group-title")).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("matches a command on its label and never on its chord", () => {
+    open();
+    type(">kill");
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual(["Kill the highlighted session"]);
+    // `n` and `x` are chords, not label text: querying one finds nothing that
+    // the label does not also justify.
+    type(">ctrlx");
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("runs the highlighted command on Enter", () => {
+    open();
+    type(">kill");
+    press("Enter");
+    expect(ran).toEqual(["list.kill"]);
+    expect(isCommandBarOpen()).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the list mixed with no sigil, and returns to it when the sigil goes", () => {
+    open();
+    type("s");
+    expect([...document.querySelectorAll(".cmdbar-group-title")].map((h) => h.textContent)).toEqual([
+      "Sessions",
+      "Commands",
+    ]);
+    type(">spawn");
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual(["Open the spawn form"]);
+    // Backspacing the sigil away is ordinary editing.
+    type("spawn");
+    expect(rowNames()).toContain("Open the spawn form");
+    type("");
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual(["api"]);
+  });
+
+  it("lists recent dirs then projects under `~`", async () => {
+    open({ loadDirectories: async () => ["/home/me/dev/api", "/srv/www"] });
+    type("~");
+    await flush();
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual(["~/dev/api", "/srv/www"]);
+    expect(document.querySelectorAll(".cmdbar-group-title")).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("fills the list in from /api/dirs as a path is typed", async () => {
+    const asked: string[] = [];
+    open({
+      loadDirectories: async () => ["/home/me/notes"],
+      listDirEntries: async (dir) => {
+        asked.push(dir);
+        return ["maestro", "api"];
+      },
+    });
+    // The second `~` is a literal query character and reaches the matcher.
+    type("~~/dev/mae");
+    await flush();
+    expect(asked).toEqual(["~/dev/"]);
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual(["~/dev/maestro"]);
+  });
+
+  it("spawns in the highlighted directory on Enter", async () => {
+    const spawned: string[] = [];
+    open({
+      loadDirectories: async () => ["~/dev/api"],
+      onSpawnDirectory: (path) => spawned.push(path),
+    });
+    type("~api");
+    await flush();
+    press("Enter");
+    expect(spawned).toEqual(["/home/me/dev/api"]);
+    expect(isCommandBarOpen()).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("raises the spawn event when the caller supplies no handler", async () => {
+    const seen: string[] = [];
+    const listener = (e: Event) => seen.push((e as CustomEvent<string>).detail);
+    document.addEventListener(SPAWN_DIRECTORY_EVENT, listener);
+    openCommandBar({
+      sessions,
+      homeDir: "/home/me",
+      commands,
+      onOpenSession: () => {},
+      loadDirectories: async () => ["/home/me/dev/api"],
+      listDirEntries: async () => [],
+    });
+    type("~");
+    await flush();
+    press("Enter");
+    document.removeEventListener(SPAWN_DIRECTORY_EVENT, listener);
+    expect(seen).toEqual(["/home/me/dev/api"]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("the focus round-trip over a pane (#152)", () => {
+  function terminalTextarea(): HTMLTextAreaElement {
+    const ta = document.createElement("textarea");
+    ta.className = "xterm-helper-textarea";
+    document.body.appendChild(ta);
+    return ta;
+  }
+
+  it("hands the keyboard back to the terminal that had it", () => {
+    const ta = terminalTextarea();
+    ta.focus();
+    openCommandBar({ sessions: [], commands: [] });
+    expect(document.activeElement).toBe(document.querySelector(".cmdbar-input"));
+    press("Escape");
+    expect(document.activeElement).toBe(ta);
+  });
+
+  it("reports no focus change to the daemon, opening or closing", () => {
+    const fetchMock = vi.fn(() => Promise.resolve(new Response(null, { status: 204 })));
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", fetchMock);
+    try {
+      const ta = terminalTextarea();
+      ta.focus();
+      openCommandBar({ sessions: [], commands: [] });
+      press("Escape");
+      const focusCalls = fetchMock.mock.calls.filter(([url]: unknown[]) =>
+        String(url).includes("/focus"),
+      );
+      expect(focusCalls).toEqual([]);
+    } finally {
+      vi.unstubAllGlobals();
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+describe("the session action page (#151)", () => {
+  const sessions = [
+    session("api", {
+      metadata: { name: "api" },
+      current_cwd: "/home/me/dev/api",
+      last_focused_at: "2026-01-01T11:00:00Z",
+    }),
+    session("worker", {
+      metadata: { name: "worker" },
+      current_cwd: "/home/me/dev/worker",
+      last_focused_at: "2026-01-01T10:00:00Z",
+    }),
+  ];
+
+  function open(over: Partial<Parameters<typeof openCommandBar>[0]> = {}) {
+    return openCommandBar({
+      sessions,
+      homeDir: "/home/me",
+      commands: [],
+      onOpenSession: () => {},
+      ...over,
+    });
+  }
+
+  function headerText(): string | undefined {
+    return document.querySelector(".cmdbar-page-header")?.textContent ?? undefined;
+  }
+
+  it("lists kill, rename and spawn similar for the highlighted session", () => {
+    open();
+    press("Tab");
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual(["Kill session", "Rename session", "Spawn similar"]);
+    expect(activeName()).toBe("Kill session");
+  });
+
+  it("names the session being acted on", () => {
+    open();
+    press("ArrowDown");
+    press("Tab");
+    expect(headerText()).toContain("worker");
+  });
+
+  it("drops the kind headers, since the page is one kind", () => {
+    open();
+    press("Tab");
+    expect(document.querySelectorAll(".cmdbar-group-title")).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("stays fuzzy-searchable over the three actions", () => {
+    open();
+    press("Tab");
+    type("ren");
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual(["Rename session"]);
+    type("spwn");
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual(["Spawn similar"]);
+    type("zzz");
+    expect(document.querySelector(".cmdbar-empty")?.textContent).toBe("No matches");
+  });
+
+  it("does nothing on a command row", () => {
+    openCommandBar({
+      sessions,
+      homeDir: "/home/me",
+      commands: [{ ...COMMAND_SPECS[0], run: () => {} } as Command],
+      onOpenSession: () => {},
+    });
+    type(">");
+    const before = rowNames();
+    press("Tab");
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual(before);
+    expect(headerText()).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it("does nothing on a directory row", async () => {
+    open({ loadDirectories: () => Promise.resolve(["/home/me/dev/api"]) });
+    type("~");
+    await Promise.resolve();
+    press("Tab");
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual(["~/dev/api"]);
+    expect(headerText()).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it("returns to the result list on Escape, with the previous query intact", () => {
+    open();
+    type("wor");
+    press("Tab");
+    expect(headerText()).toContain("worker");
+    press("Escape");
+    expect(isCommandBarOpen()).toBe(true);
+    expect(headerText()).toBeUndefined();
+    expect((document.querySelector(".cmdbar-input") as HTMLInputElement).value).toBe("wor");
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual(["worker"]);
+  });
+
+  it("returns to the result list on backspace at an empty query", () => {
+    open();
+    type("wor");
+    press("Tab");
+    type("");
+    press("Backspace");
+    expect(headerText()).toBeUndefined();
+    expect((document.querySelector(".cmdbar-input") as HTMLInputElement).value).toBe("wor");
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual(["worker"]);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps backspace ordinary while the page's query has text", () => {
+    open();
+    press("Tab");
+    type("ren");
+    press("Backspace");
+    expect(headerText()).toContain("api");
+    expect(rowNames()).toEqual(["Rename session"]);
+  });
+
+  it("closes the bar when the page's Escape has already been used", () => {
+    open();
+    press("Tab");
+    press("Escape");
+    press("Escape");
+    expect(isCommandBarOpen()).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("raises kill, rename and spawn similar with the session, closing the bar", () => {
+    const seen: string[] = [];
+    for (const [hook, key] of [
+      ["onKillSession", "Kill session"],
+      ["onRenameSession", "Rename session"],
+      ["onSpawnSimilar", "Spawn similar"],
+    ] as const) {
+      open({ [hook]: (s: Session) => seen.push(`${hook}:${s.id}`) });
+      type("wor");
+      press("Tab");
+      type(key);
+      press("Enter");
+      expect(isCommandBarOpen()).toBe(false);
+    }
+    expect(seen).toEqual([
+      "onKillSession:worker",
+      "onRenameSession:worker",
+      "onSpawnSimilar:worker",
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("hands each action to the flow it already has, by default", () => {
+    const seen: string[] = [];
+    const listeners: Array<[string, EventListener]> = [
+      [KILL_SESSION_EVENT, (e) => seen.push(`kill:${(e as CustomEvent<Session>).detail.id}`)],
+      [RENAME_SESSION_EVENT, (e) => seen.push(`rename:${(e as CustomEvent<Session>).detail.id}`)],
+      [SPAWN_SIMILAR_EVENT, (e) => seen.push(`similar:${(e as CustomEvent<Session>).detail.id}`)],
+    ];
+    for (const [name, fn] of listeners) document.addEventListener(name, fn);
+    try {
+      for (const action of ["Kill session", "Rename session", "Spawn similar"]) {
+        open();
+        press("Tab");
+        type(action);
+        press("Enter");
+      }
+    } finally {
+      for (const [name, fn] of listeners) document.removeEventListener(name, fn);
+    }
+    expect(seen).toEqual(["kill:api", "rename:api", "similar:api"]);
+  });
+
+  it("offers no action beyond the three", () => {
+    expect(sessionActionCandidates().map((c) => c.action.id)).toEqual([
+      "kill",
+      "rename",
+      "spawn-similar",
+    ]);
+  });
+});

web/src/commandBar.ts

@@ -1,33 +1,58 @@
 // The `ctrl-k` command bar (docs/COMMAND-BAR.md): a query line over a result
 // list, opened from the sidebar, closed with Escape.
 //
-// Sessions are the only kind here (#149); the sigils, the action page and the
-// terminal-focus binding land in #150-#152.
+// Three kinds live here: sessions and commands, ranked together by default,
+// and directories, which need the `~` sigil. `tab` on a session drills into
+// its action page (#151), which is the same overlay over three actions.
 
-import { SESSION_SELECT_EVENT } from "./catalog.js";
+import { listDir, projects as fetchProjects, recentDirs } from "./api.js";
+import {
+  KILL_SESSION_EVENT,
+  RENAME_SESSION_EVENT,
+  SESSION_SELECT_EVENT,
+  SPAWN_SIMILAR_EVENT,
+} from "./catalog.js";
+import { keyCaps, publishedCommands, type Command } from "./commands.js";
 import {
   matchAndRank,
   type CandidateKind,
+  type CommandCandidate,
+  type DirectoryCandidate,
   type MatchRange,
   type MatchResult,
   type SessionCandidate,
 } from "./matcher.js";
+import { splitPath } from "./paths.js";
 import { splitCommand } from "./toolIcon.js";
 import { abbreviateCwd, sessionName, sessionTreePath, type Session } from "./types.js";
 
-/** A matcher candidate that remembers which session it came from, so a result
- *  can be acted on without a second lookup. The extra property is invisible to
- *  the matcher, which only ever reads `kind` and `fields`. */
+/** A matcher candidate that remembers what it came from, so a result can be
+ *  acted on without a second lookup. The extra property is invisible to the
+ *  matcher, which only ever reads `kind` and `fields`. */
 export type SessionBarCandidate = SessionCandidate & { session: Session };
+export type CommandBarCandidate = CommandCandidate & { command: Command };
+/** `fields.path` is the abbreviated path the operator reads and the matcher
+ *  ranks; `path` is the one a spawn is made in. */
+export type DirectoryBarCandidate = DirectoryCandidate & { path: string };
 
-export type BarCandidate = SessionBarCandidate;
+/** One row of a session's action page. It is a `command` to the matcher — a
+ *  single `label` field, ranked exactly like a registry command — and carries
+ *  the action it stands for instead of a registry entry. */
+export type ActionBarCandidate = CommandCandidate & { action: SessionAction };
+
+export type BarCandidate =
+  SessionBarCandidate | CommandBarCandidate | ActionBarCandidate | DirectoryBarCandidate;
 export type BarResult = MatchResult<BarCandidate>;
 
+/** Raised when Enter lands on a directory row. The bar picks the directory; the
+ *  shell owns the spawn, which is the same fast-forward path `N` takes. */
+export const SPAWN_DIRECTORY_EVENT = "cmdbar-spawn-directory";
+
 /** One kind's slice of the ranked list, in rank order. */
-export interface BarGroup {
+export interface BarGroup<C extends BarCandidate = BarCandidate> {
   kind: CandidateKind;
   title: string;
-  results: BarResult[];
+  results: MatchResult<C>[];
 }
 
 const KIND_TITLES: Record<CandidateKind, string> = {
@@ -36,6 +61,63 @@ const KIND_TITLES: Record<CandidateKind, string> = {
   directory: "Directories",
 };
 
+// ---- the sigils ----
+
+export type BarSigil = ">" | "~";
+
+export interface BarQuery {
+  /** The sigil in force, or null for the mixed list. */
+  sigil: BarSigil | null;
+  /** What the matcher sees: everything after a sigil, or the whole query. */
+  query: string;
+}
+
+/** Split a raw query line into its sigil and the query proper.
+ *
+ *  A sigil is only a sigil in first position: `>` or `~` anywhere else is a
+ *  literal query character, which is what a directory query with a second `~`
+ *  in it depends on. Backspacing past a sigil needs no special case either —
+ *  the first character goes and the query is a mixed one again. */
+export function parseBarQuery(raw: string): BarQuery {
+  const first = raw[0];
+  if (first === ">" || first === "~") return { sigil: first, query: raw.slice(1) };
+  return { sigil: null, query: raw };
+}
+
+// ---- the session action page ----
+
+/** The actions a session's action page offers, and no others: the bar picks
+ *  one and hands off to the flow that already implements it
+ *  (docs/COMMAND-BAR.md, "Drill-in"). */
+export type SessionActionId = "kill" | "rename" | "spawn-similar";
+
+export interface SessionAction {
+  id: SessionActionId;
+  label: string;
+}
+
+export const SESSION_ACTIONS: readonly SessionAction[] = [
+  { id: "kill", label: "Kill session" },
+  { id: "rename", label: "Rename session" },
+  { id: "spawn-similar", label: "Spawn similar" },
+];
+
+/** The action page's candidates, in the order above — which is the order an
+ *  empty query lists them in, since the matcher keeps input order. */
+export function sessionActionCandidates(): ActionBarCandidate[] {
+  return SESSION_ACTIONS.map((action) => ({
+    kind: "command",
+    action,
+    fields: { label: action.label },
+  }));
+}
+
+/** Narrow a `command` candidate to an action row. Both share the matcher's
+ *  `command` kind, so what separates them is what they carry. */
+export function isActionCandidate(candidate: BarCandidate): candidate is ActionBarCandidate {
+  return candidate.kind === "command" && "action" in candidate;
+}
+
 // ---- candidates ----
 
 function focusedAt(s: Session): number | null {
@@ -99,14 +181,92 @@ export function sessionBarCandidates(
   return orderSessionsForBar(sessions).map((s) => sessionCandidate(s, homeDir));
 }
 
+/** Drop the commands that would list twice. Several chords can be bound to one
+ *  action — the registry already carries its aliases on one entry, but nothing
+ *  stops two entries running the same handler, and listed naively that is two
+ *  identical rows. The dedupe is by **action**, never by chord: the chord is
+ *  displayed, so a command with two of them is still one row. */
+export function dedupeCommands(commands: readonly Command[]): Command[] {
+  const seenRun = new Set<Command["run"]>();
+  const seenLabel = new Set<string>();
+  const kept: Command[] = [];
+  for (const command of commands) {
+    if (seenRun.has(command.run) || seenLabel.has(command.label)) continue;
+    seenRun.add(command.run);
+    seenLabel.add(command.label);
+    kept.push(command);
+  }
+  return kept;
+}
+
+/** Every bound command as a candidate, in registry order. Only the label is a
+ *  field: the chord is displayed beside the row, never matched, because
+ *  matching it would make `>` results depend on a user's rebinds. */
+export function commandBarCandidates(commands: readonly Command[]): CommandBarCandidate[] {
+  return dedupeCommands(commands).map((command) => ({
+    kind: "command",
+    command,
+    fields: { label: command.label },
+  }));
+}
+
+/** `~/dev/api` back to `/home/me/dev/api` — the inverse of `abbreviateCwd`, for
+ *  a path the operator typed or `/api/dirs` completed. */
+export function expandHome(path: string, homeDir?: string): string {
+  if (!homeDir) return path;
+  if (path === "~") return homeDir;
+  return path.startsWith("~/") ? `${homeDir}${path.slice(1)}` : path;
+}
+
+export function directoryCandidate(path: string, homeDir?: string): DirectoryBarCandidate {
+  const absolute = expandHome(path, homeDir);
+  return { kind: "directory", path: absolute, fields: { path: abbreviateCwd(absolute, homeDir) } };
+}
+
+/** Candidates for `~`, deduped by the directory they spawn in and keeping the
+ *  first mention of each — recent dirs (newest first) ahead of the project
+ *  list, which is the empty-query order the contract asks for. */
+export function directoryBarCandidates(
+  paths: readonly string[],
+  homeDir?: string,
+): DirectoryBarCandidate[] {
+  const seen = new Set<string>();
+  const out: DirectoryBarCandidate[] = [];
+  for (const path of paths) {
+    if (path === "") continue;
+    const candidate = directoryCandidate(path, homeDir);
+    if (seen.has(candidate.path)) continue;
+    seen.add(candidate.path);
+    out.push(candidate);
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
+/** The directory list the bar starts from: what the spawn form already knows —
+ *  `GET /api/recent-dirs` and the project list — either alone if the other
+ *  fails. */
+export async function loadBarDirectories(): Promise<string[]> {
+  const [recents, discovered] = await Promise.all([
+    recentDirs()
+      .then((r) => r.dirs.map((d) => d.cwd))
+      .catch(() => [] as string[]),
+    fetchProjects()
+      .then((list) => list.map((p) => p.path))
+      .catch(() => [] as string[]),
+  ]);
+  return [...recents, ...discovered];
+}
+
 // ---- grouping ----
 
 /** Bucket a ranked list by kind for rendering. Grouping is a rendering of the
  *  ranking, never a reordering of it: a group holds its matches in rank order,
  *  and groups appear in the order their best-scoring member does — so the first
  *  row under the first header is the globally best result. */
-export function barGroups(results: readonly BarResult[]): BarGroup[] {
-  const groups: BarGroup[] = [];
+export function barGroups<C extends BarCandidate>(
+  results: readonly MatchResult<C>[],
+): BarGroup<C>[] {
+  const groups: BarGroup<C>[] = [];
   for (const result of results) {
     const kind = result.candidate.kind;
     let group = groups.find((g) => g.kind === kind);
@@ -122,7 +282,10 @@ export function barGroups(results: readonly BarResult[]): BarGroup[] {
 /** The rows a query produces, flat and in rank order — what the highlight walks
  *  and what Enter acts on. Headers are labels, not rows, so they are never in
  *  this list. */
-export function barRows(query: string, candidates: readonly BarCandidate[]): BarResult[] {
+export function barRows<C extends BarCandidate>(
+  query: string,
+  candidates: readonly C[],
+): MatchResult<C>[] {
   return matchAndRank(query, candidates);
 }
 
@@ -145,9 +308,25 @@ export function renderHighlighted(text: string, ranges: readonly MatchRange[]):
   return frag;
 }
 
-/** The secondary line under a row's name: the field the match was found in when
- *  that was not the name, so a session found through its directory says so. */
+/** The name line of a row: the session's name, the command's label, or the
+ *  directory's path. */
+function rowName(candidate: BarCandidate): string {
+  switch (candidate.kind) {
+    case "session":
+      return candidate.fields.name;
+    case "command":
+      return candidate.fields.label;
+    case "directory":
+      return candidate.fields.path;
+  }
+}
+
+/** The secondary line under a session row: the field the match was found in
+ *  when that was not the name, so a session found through its directory says
+ *  so. Only sessions have one — a command shows keycaps instead, and a
+ *  directory's path is already the name. */
 function metaText(result: BarResult): string | undefined {
+  if (result.candidate.kind !== "session") return undefined;
   const fields = result.candidate.fields;
   switch (result.field) {
     case "directory":
@@ -162,22 +341,46 @@ function metaText(result: BarResult): string | undefined {
 }
 
 function renderRow(result: BarResult, index: number): HTMLElement {
+  const candidate = result.candidate;
   const row = document.createElement("div");
   row.className = "cmdbar-row";
   row.setAttribute("role", "option");
   row.id = `cmdbar-row-${index}`;
   row.dataset.index = String(index);
-  row.dataset.sessionId = result.candidate.session.id;
-  if (result.candidate.session.status === "Dead") row.classList.add("is-dead");
+  row.dataset.kind = candidate.kind;
+  if (candidate.kind === "session") {
+    row.dataset.sessionId = candidate.session.id;
+    if (candidate.session.status === "Dead") row.classList.add("is-dead");
+  } else if (isActionCandidate(candidate)) {
+    row.dataset.actionId = candidate.action.id;
+  } else if (candidate.kind === "command") {
+    row.dataset.commandId = candidate.command.id;
+  } else {
+    row.dataset.path = candidate.path;
+  }
 
   const name = document.createElement("span");
   name.className = "cmdbar-row-name";
-  const nameText = result.candidate.fields.name;
-  name.append(
-    result.field === "name" ? renderHighlighted(nameText, result.ranges) : nameText,
-  );
+  const nameText = rowName(candidate);
+  const nameMatched =
+    result.field === "name" || result.field === "label" || result.field === "path";
+  name.append(nameMatched ? renderHighlighted(nameText, result.ranges) : nameText);
   row.appendChild(name);
 
+  // The chord is teaching material, not a match target: it is rendered from
+  // the live registry entry and never fed to the matcher.
+  if (candidate.kind === "command" && !isActionCandidate(candidate)) {
+    const keys = document.createElement("span");
+    keys.className = "cmdbar-row-keys";
+    for (const cap of keyCaps(candidate.command.keys[0])) {
+      const kbd = document.createElement("kbd");
+      kbd.textContent = cap;
+      keys.appendChild(kbd);
+    }
+    row.appendChild(keys);
+    return row;
+  }
+
   const meta = metaText(result);
   if (meta) {
     const el = document.createElement("span");
@@ -189,6 +392,12 @@ function renderRow(result: BarResult, index: number): HTMLElement {
   return row;
 }
 
+const PLACEHOLDERS: Record<"mixed" | BarSigil, string> = {
+  mixed: "Go to a session…",
+  ">": "Run a command…",
+  "~": "Spawn in a directory…",
+};
+
 // ---- the overlay ----
 
 export interface CommandBarOptions {
@@ -200,6 +409,25 @@ export interface CommandBarOptions {
    *  sidebar's click event — which is what the contract requires; tests pass
    *  their own. */
   onOpenSession?: (sessionId: string) => void;
+  /** The command registry to list under `>`. Defaults to every bound command,
+   *  in registry order. */
+  commands?: readonly Command[];
+  /** The directory list behind `~`, fetched once on first use. */
+  loadDirectories?: () => Promise<string[]>;
+  /** One directory's subdirectories, for filling the list in as a path is
+   *  typed. Defaults to `GET /api/dirs`. */
+  listDirEntries?: (dir: string) => Promise<string[]>;
+  /** Spawn a session in the highlighted directory. Defaults to raising
+   *  `SPAWN_DIRECTORY_EVENT`, which the shell turns into a fast-forward
+   *  spawn. */
+  onSpawnDirectory?: (path: string) => void;
+  /** The action page's three actions (#151). Each defaults to raising the
+   *  event the flow that already implements it listens on — the sidebar's
+   *  confirm-and-blockers kill, its inline rename prompt, the spawn form
+   *  seeded from the session. The bar picks the action and nothing more. */
+  onKillSession?: (session: Session) => void;
+  onRenameSession?: (session: Session) => void;
+  onSpawnSimilar?: (session: Session) => void;
 }
 
 interface OpenBar {
@@ -228,8 +456,29 @@ export function openCommandBar(opts: CommandBarOptions): HTMLElement {
   const openSession =
     opts.onOpenSession ??
     ((id: string) => document.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent(SESSION_SELECT_EVENT, { detail: id })));
+  const spawnDirectory =
+    opts.onSpawnDirectory ??
+    ((path: string) =>
+      document.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent(SPAWN_DIRECTORY_EVENT, { detail: path })));
+  const sessionEvent =
+    (name: string) =>
+    (session: Session): void => {
+      document.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent(name, { detail: session }));
+    };
+  const killSession = opts.onKillSession ?? sessionEvent(KILL_SESSION_EVENT);
+  const renameSession = opts.onRenameSession ?? sessionEvent(RENAME_SESSION_EVENT);
+  const spawnSimilar = opts.onSpawnSimilar ?? sessionEvent(SPAWN_SIMILAR_EVENT);
+  const loadDirectories = opts.loadDirectories ?? loadBarDirectories;
+  const listEntries =
+    opts.listDirEntries ?? ((dir: string) => listDir(dir).then((listing) => listing.entries));
 
-  const candidates: BarCandidate[] = sessionBarCandidates(opts.sessions, opts.homeDir);
+  const sessionCandidates: SessionBarCandidate[] = sessionBarCandidates(
+    opts.sessions,
+    opts.homeDir,
+  );
+  const commandCandidates: CommandBarCandidate[] = commandBarCandidates(
+    opts.commands ?? publishedCommands(),
+  );
 
   const el = document.createElement("div");
   el.className = "cmdbar-overlay";
@@ -246,10 +495,10 @@ export function openCommandBar(opts: CommandBarOptions): HTMLElement {
   input.setAttribute("role", "combobox");
   input.setAttribute("aria-expanded", "true");
   input.setAttribute("aria-controls", "cmdbar-results");
-  input.setAttribute("aria-label", "Search sessions");
+  input.setAttribute("aria-label", "Search sessions, commands and directories");
   input.setAttribute("autocomplete", "off");
   input.spellcheck = false;
-  input.placeholder = "Go to a session…";
+  input.placeholder = PLACEHOLDERS.mixed;
 
   const results = document.createElement("div");
   results.className = "cmdbar-results";
@@ -263,6 +512,98 @@ export function openCommandBar(opts: CommandBarOptions): HTMLElement {
   let rows: BarResult[] = [];
   let highlighted = 0;
 
+  // The action page (#151). `page` is the session being acted on, `stashed`
+  // the result-list query it was drilled into from — backing out restores it,
+  // so the round trip costs the operator nothing.
+  let page: Session | null = null;
+  let stashed = "";
+  let header: HTMLElement | null = null;
+
+  // `~`'s candidates: the recents-and-projects list, fetched once, plus
+  // whatever `/api/dirs` has filled in for the directory being typed.
+  let directories: DirectoryBarCandidate[] = [];
+  let directoriesRequested = false;
+  let probed: DirectoryBarCandidate[] = [];
+  let probedDir: string | null = null;
+  const listings = new Map<string, string[]>();
+
+  function alive(): boolean {
+    return current?.el === el;
+  }
+
+  /** Fetch the recents-and-projects list the first time `~` is used. */
+  function ensureDirectories(): void {
+    if (directoriesRequested) return;
+    directoriesRequested = true;
+    loadDirectories()
+      .then((paths) => {
+        directories = directoryBarCandidates(paths, opts.homeDir);
+        if (alive()) render();
+      })
+      .catch(() => {
+        /* no directories is a shorter list, not an error state */
+      });
+  }
+
+  /** Fill the list in from `GET /api/dirs` once the query looks like a path:
+   *  the directory it names is listed and its children join the candidates, so
+   *  `~` reaches a directory that was never spawned in. */
+  function probeDirectories(query: string): void {
+    const { dir } = splitPath(query);
+    if (dir === "") {
+      probed = [];
+      probedDir = null;
+      return;
+    }
+    if (dir === probedDir) return;
+    probedDir = dir;
+    const cached = listings.get(dir);
+    if (cached) {
+      probed = directoryBarCandidates(
+        cached.map((entry) => `${dir}${entry}`),
+        opts.homeDir,
+      );
+      return;
+    }
+    probed = [];
+    listEntries(dir)
+      .then((entries) => {
+        listings.set(dir, entries);
+        if (!alive() || probedDir !== dir) return;
+        probed = directoryBarCandidates(
+          entries.map((entry) => `${dir}${entry}`),
+          opts.homeDir,
+        );
+        render();
+      })
+      .catch(() => {
+        /* an unreadable directory contributes nothing */
+      });
+  }
+
+  /** What the matcher sees for the query line as it stands. With no sigil the
+   *  list is mixed — sessions and commands together — except on an empty query,
+   *  where the bar is a session switcher. */
+  function candidatesFor(parsed: BarQuery): BarCandidate[] {
+    if (page) return sessionActionCandidates();
+    switch (parsed.sigil) {
+      case ">":
+        return [...commandCandidates];
+      case "~": {
+        ensureDirectories();
+        probeDirectories(parsed.query);
+        const seen = new Set<string>();
+        return [...directories, ...probed].filter((c) =>
+          seen.has(c.path) ? false : (seen.add(c.path), true),
+        );
+      }
+      default:
+        return parsed.query === ""
+          ? [...sessionCandidates]
+          : [...sessionCandidates, ...commandCandidates];
+    }
+  }
+
   function paintHighlight(): void {
     for (const row of results.querySelectorAll<HTMLElement>(".cmdbar-row")) {
       const active = Number(row.dataset.index) === highlighted;
@@ -276,8 +617,28 @@ export function openCommandBar(opts: CommandBarOptions): HTMLElement {
     if (rows.length === 0) input.removeAttribute("aria-activedescendant");
   }
 
+  /** The line naming the session being acted on, so the target is never
+   *  ambiguous. Present only while the action page is up. */
+  function paintHeader(): void {
+    header?.remove();
+    header = null;
+    if (!page) return;
+    header = document.createElement("div");
+    header.className = "cmdbar-page-header";
+    header.setAttribute("role", "presentation");
+    header.textContent = `Actions for "${sessionName(page)}"`;
+    panel.insertBefore(header, results);
+  }
+
   function render(): void {
-    rows = barRows(input.value, candidates);
+    // On the action page the query line is over the three actions, so there is
+    // no sigil to read: `>` and `~` are ordinary characters there.
+    const parsed = page ? { sigil: null, query: input.value } : parseBarQuery(input.value);
+    input.placeholder = page
+      ? `Act on ${sessionName(page)}…`
+      : PLACEHOLDERS[parsed.sigil ?? "mixed"];
+    paintHeader();
+    rows = barRows(parsed.query, candidatesFor(parsed));
     // The highlight starts on the globally best row every time the list
     // changes: an old index would point at a different result.
     highlighted = 0;
@@ -294,11 +655,15 @@ export function openCommandBar(opts: CommandBarOptions): HTMLElement {
 
     let index = 0;
     for (const group of barGroups(rows)) {
-      const header = document.createElement("div");
-      header.className = "cmdbar-group-title";
-      header.setAttribute("role", "presentation");
-      header.textContent = group.title;
-      results.appendChild(header);
+      // While a sigil is in force there is one kind, so the header is
+      // dropped — and the action page is one kind too.
+      if (parsed.sigil === null && !page) {
+        const header = document.createElement("div");
+        header.className = "cmdbar-group-title";
+        header.setAttribute("role", "presentation");
+        header.textContent = group.title;
+        results.appendChild(header);
+      }
       for (const result of group.results) {
         const at = index;
         const row = renderRow(result, at);
@@ -317,19 +682,82 @@ export function openCommandBar(opts: CommandBarOptions): HTMLElement {
     paintHighlight();
   }
 
+  /** `tab`: drill into the highlighted session's action page. No effect on any
+   *  other kind, and none on the page itself, which has no session rows. */
+  function drillIn(): void {
+    const candidate = rows[highlighted]?.candidate;
+    if (page || candidate?.kind !== "session") return;
+    page = candidate.session;
+    stashed = input.value;
+    input.value = "";
+    render();
+  }
+
+  /** Escape, or backspace at an empty query: back to the result list with the
+   *  query the drill-in was made from. */
+  function leavePage(): void {
+    page = null;
+    input.value = stashed;
+    stashed = "";
+    render();
+  }
+
+  function runAction(action: SessionAction, session: Session): void {
+    close();
+    switch (action.id) {
+      case "kill":
+        killSession(session);
+        return;
+      case "rename":
+        renameSession(session);
+        return;
+      case "spawn-similar":
+        spawnSimilar(session);
+        return;
+    }
+  }
+
   function activate(index: number): void {
     const result = rows[index];
     if (!result) return;
-    const sessionId = result.candidate.session.id;
+    const candidate = result.candidate;
+    if (isActionCandidate(candidate)) {
+      // The page cannot be up without a session to act on.
+      if (page) runAction(candidate.action, page);
+      return;
+    }
     close();
-    openSession(sessionId);
+    switch (candidate.kind) {
+      case "session":
+        openSession(candidate.session.id);
+        return;
+      case "command":
+        candidate.command.run();
+        return;
+      case "directory":
+        spawnDirectory(candidate.path);
+        return;
+    }
   }
 
   function onKeydown(e: KeyboardEvent): void {
     switch (e.key) {
       case "Escape":
         e.preventDefault();
-        close();
+        // On an action page Escape is one level up, not the way out.
+        if (page) leavePage();
+        else close();
+        return;
+      case "Tab":
+        e.preventDefault();
+        drillIn();
+        return;
+      case "Backspace":
+        // Ordinary editing, except at an empty query on the action page.
+        if (page && input.value === "") {
+          e.preventDefault();
+          leavePage();
+        }
         return;
       case "Enter":
         e.preventDefault();

web/src/commands.test.ts

@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ import {
   DEFAULT_LEADER,
   canonicalizeKey,
   defineCommands,
+  isBarTypingTarget,
+  isTerminalTextarea,
   isTypingTarget,
   keyCaps,
   publishedCommands,
@@ -234,3 +236,74 @@ describe("isTypingTarget", () => {
     expect(isTypingTarget(null)).toBe(false);
   });
 });
+
+describe("isTerminalTextarea", () => {
+  it("recognises xterm's offscreen textarea, and nothing else", () => {
+    expect(isTerminalTextarea(el('<textarea class="xterm-helper-textarea"></textarea>'))).toBe(true);
+    expect(isTerminalTextarea(el("<textarea></textarea>"))).toBe(false);
+    expect(isTerminalTextarea(el("<input>"))).toBe(false);
+    expect(isTerminalTextarea(null)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("isBarTypingTarget", () => {
+  it("holds the bar's keys out of real form fields", () => {
+    expect(isBarTypingTarget(el("<input>"))).toBe(true);
+    expect(isBarTypingTarget(el("<textarea></textarea>"))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("does not count the terminal's textarea, so ctrl-k reaches the bar there", () => {
+    expect(isBarTypingTarget(el('<textarea class="xterm-helper-textarea"></textarea>'))).toBe(false);
+    expect(isBarTypingTarget(el("<button></button>"))).toBe(false);
+    expect(isBarTypingTarget(null)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("ctrl-k over a focused pane (#152)", () => {
+  const terminal = () => el('<textarea class="xterm-helper-textarea"></textarea>');
+
+  /** The global listener's routing: the bar's set only sees a key that is not
+   *  aimed at a real form field. */
+  function route(set: CommandSet, target: HTMLElement, k: string, init?: KeyboardEventInit) {
+    if (isBarTypingTarget(target)) return false;
+    return pressOn(set, target, k, init);
+  }
+
+  it("opens the bar when the terminal has the keyboard", () => {
+    const open = vi.fn();
+    const set = new CommandSet(defineCommands({ "bar.open": open }));
+    expect(route(set, terminal(), "k", { ctrlKey: true })).toBe(true);
+    expect(open).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("leaves the spawn form's inputs their own Ctrl-K", () => {
+    const open = vi.fn();
+    const set = new CommandSet(defineCommands({ "bar.open": open }));
+    expect(route(set, el("<input>"), "k", { ctrlKey: true })).toBe(false);
+    expect(open).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("sends the literal 0x0B after the leader, without opening the bar", () => {
+    const open = vi.fn();
+    const literal = vi.fn();
+    const bar = new CommandSet(defineCommands({ "bar.open": open }));
+    const set = new CommandSet(defineCommands({ "pane.literalCtrlK": literal }), {
+      leader: DEFAULT_LEADER,
+    });
+    const target = terminal();
+    expect(pressOn(set, target, "a", { ctrlKey: true })).toBe(true);
+    const e = key("k", { ctrlKey: true });
+    Object.defineProperty(e, "target", { value: target });
+    expect(set.handle(e)).toBe(true);
+    expect(literal).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    // The leader's set consumed the key, so the bar's set never sees it.
+    expect(open).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(bar.handle(e)).toBe(true); // sanity: it would have opened otherwise
+    expect(open).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("binds the escape hatch behind the default leader", () => {
+    const spec = COMMAND_SPECS.find((s) => s.id === "pane.literalCtrlK");
+    expect(spec?.keys).toEqual([`${DEFAULT_LEADER} ctrl-k`]);
+  });
+});

web/src/commands.ts

@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@ export interface Command extends CommandSpec {
   run: () => void;
 }
 
+/** Default leader, mirroring the TUI's `[tui].leader`. `ctrl-a` is select-all
+ *  in a browser, so a set that owns the leader `preventDefault`s it. */
+export const DEFAULT_LEADER = "ctrl-a";
+
 /** Every command the web client has. The single list this issue exists to
  *  create: labels, chords and grouping live here and nowhere else. */
 export const COMMAND_SPECS: readonly CommandSpec[] = [
@@ -56,6 +60,13 @@ export const COMMAND_SPECS: readonly CommandSpec[] = [
     keys: ["ctrl-k"],
     scope: "global",
   },
+  {
+    id: "pane.literalCtrlK",
+    label: "Send a literal Ctrl-K to the pane",
+    group: "Pane",
+    keys: [`${DEFAULT_LEADER} ctrl-k`],
+    scope: "global",
+  },
   {
     id: "focus.toggle",
     label: "Move the keyboard between the session list and the pane",
@@ -241,11 +252,19 @@ export function isTypingTarget(target: EventTarget | null): boolean {
 /** xterm's offscreen textarea. It is a typing target like any other, but it is
  *  also where the leader has to work — a pane is exactly where the operator
  *  needs the escape hatch (docs/COMMAND-BAR.md). */
-function isTerminalTextarea(target: EventTarget | null): boolean {
+export function isTerminalTextarea(target: EventTarget | null): boolean {
   const el = target as HTMLElement | null;
   return !!el && typeof el.className === "string" && el.classList?.contains("xterm-helper-textarea");
 }
 
+/** True where the command bar's own keys must stay out of the way: a real form
+ *  field, and not the pane. `ctrl-k` is intercepted ahead of xterm
+ *  (docs/COMMAND-BAR.md, "Opening"), so a focused terminal opens the bar, while
+ *  the spawn form's inputs keep their own Ctrl-K. */
+export function isBarTypingTarget(target: EventTarget | null): boolean {
+  return isTypingTarget(target) && !isTerminalTextarea(target);
+}
+
 // ---- display ----
 
 const CAPS: Record<string, string> = {
@@ -292,10 +311,6 @@ export function keyCaps(chord: string): string[] {
 
 // ---- dispatch ----
 
-/** Default leader, mirroring the TUI's `[tui].leader`. `ctrl-a` is select-all
- *  in a browser, so a set that owns the leader `preventDefault`s it. */
-export const DEFAULT_LEADER = "ctrl-a";
-
 /** How long a partial chord waits for its next key — the TUI's
  *  `chord_timeout_ms` default. */
 export const DEFAULT_CHORD_TIMEOUT_MS = 1000;

web/src/connections.test.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,23 @@ import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 
 import { ConnectionPool } from "./connections.js";
 
+// The pane's own bytes-out path, stubbed: the escape hatch only needs to know
+// the pool reaches the focused connection with them.
+const sent: { id: string; data: string }[] = [];
+vi.mock("./attach.js", () => ({
+  createAttachConnection: (id: string) => ({
+    sessionId: id,
+    el: document.createElement("div"),
+    onMount() {},
+    onUnmount() {},
+    focusTerminal() {},
+    sendInput(data: string) {
+      sent.push({ id, data });
+    },
+    dispose() {},
+  }),
+}));
+
 afterEach(() => {
   vi.unstubAllGlobals();
 });
@@ -85,3 +102,26 @@ describe("ConnectionPool.setFocus", () => {
     await Promise.resolve();
   });
 });
+
+describe("ConnectionPool.sendToFocused", () => {
+  it("types the bytes into the focused session's PTY", () => {
+    mockFetch();
+    sent.length = 0;
+    const pool = new ConnectionPool();
+    const pane = document.createElement("div");
+    pool.mount(A, pane);
+    pool.setFocus(A);
+
+    expect(pool.sendToFocused("\x0b")).toBe(true);
+    expect(sent).toEqual([{ id: A, data: "\x0b" }]);
+  });
+
+  it("is a no-op with nothing focused", () => {
+    mockFetch();
+    sent.length = 0;
+    const pool = new ConnectionPool();
+
+    expect(pool.sendToFocused("\x0b")).toBe(false);
+    expect(sent).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});

web/src/connections.ts

@@ -159,6 +159,18 @@ export class ConnectionPool {
     this.cache.get(this.focusedId)?.focusTerminal();
   }
 
+  /** Type raw bytes into the focused session's PTY. Returns false when there is
+   *  nothing focused, or its connection is gone — the leader's literal Ctrl-K
+   *  is a no-op over the welcome pane rather than an error
+   *  (docs/COMMAND-BAR.md). */
+  sendToFocused(data: string): boolean {
+    if (this.focusedId === null) return false;
+    const conn = this.cache.get(this.focusedId);
+    if (!conn) return false;
+    conn.sendInput(data);
+    return true;
+  }
+
   /** Fully disconnect + forget a session. */
   close(id: Uuid): void {
     const conn = this.cache.get(id);

web/src/main.ts

@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ import { ConnectionPool } from "./connections.js";
 import { installDrawer, installDrawerSwipe, requestToggleDrawer } from "./drawer.js";
 import { installHudKeybind } from "./debug.js";
 import { installHelpKeybind, isHelpOpen } from "./help.js";
-import { CommandSet, DEFAULT_LEADER, defineCommands, isTypingTarget } from "./commands.js";
-import { isCommandBarOpen, openCommandBar } from "./commandBar.js";
+import { CommandSet, DEFAULT_LEADER, defineCommands, isBarTypingTarget } from "./commands.js";
+import { isCommandBarOpen, openCommandBar, SPAWN_DIRECTORY_EVENT } from "./commandBar.js";
 import { DaemonLink } from "./daemonLink.js";
 import { CatalogStore } from "./events.js";
 import { installRestartOverlay } from "./restartOverlay.js";
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import {
   createSession,
   fetchNames,
   getDaemonInfo,
+  gitRoot,
   projects as fetchProjects,
 } from "./api.js";
 import {
@@ -337,6 +338,16 @@ function mountSpawned(session: Session, placement?: { newTab?: boolean }): void
 // a new branch named after that name. Anything unresolvable (no projects
 // known yet, no command, no generated name) opens the form pre-filled with
 // what did resolve instead.
+async function spawnPresets(): Promise<SpawnPreset[]> {
+  try {
+    const info = await getDaemonInfo();
+    if (info.presets?.length) return info.presets;
+  } catch {
+    /* keep fallbacks */
+  }
+  return FALLBACK_PRESETS;
+}
+
 async function requestFastForward(): Promise<void> {
   const [discovered, name] = await Promise.all([
     fetchProjects().catch(() => [] as Project[]),
@@ -344,13 +355,7 @@ async function requestFastForward(): Promise<void> {
       .then((batch) => batch.names[0])
       .catch(() => undefined),
   ]);
-  let presets: SpawnPreset[] = FALLBACK_PRESETS;
-  try {
-    const info = await getDaemonInfo();
-    if (info.presets?.length) presets = info.presets;
-  } catch {
-    /* keep fallbacks */
-  }
+  const presets = await spawnPresets();
   const resolved = resolveFastForward(discovered, presets, name, focusedProjectCwd());
   const req = buildFastForwardRequest(resolved);
   if (req) {
@@ -372,13 +377,54 @@ async function requestFastForward(): Promise<void> {
   });
 }
 
+// Enter on a `~` row in the command bar (docs/COMMAND-BAR.md): the same
+// fast-forward spawn, aimed at the chosen directory instead of the most recent
+// project. A directory the project scan never saw stands in as its own project;
+// one outside any repo spawns without a worktree, since there is no repo to cut
+// a branch from. Anything still unresolved opens the pre-filled form.
+async function requestSpawnInDirectory(path: string): Promise<void> {
+  const [discovered, name] = await Promise.all([
+    fetchProjects().catch(() => [] as Project[]),
+    fetchNames(1)
+      .then((batch) => batch.names[0])
+      .catch(() => undefined),
+  ]);
+  const presets = await spawnPresets();
+  const known = discovered.find((p) => p.path === path);
+  const project: Project = known ?? { path, name: path.split("/").filter(Boolean).pop() ?? path };
+  const resolved = resolveFastForward([project], presets, name, path);
+  const req = buildFastForwardRequest(resolved);
+  if (req) {
+    const inRepo =
+      known !== undefined ||
+      (await gitRoot(path)
+        .then((r) => !!r.root)
+        .catch(() => false));
+    if (!inRepo) delete req.worktree;
+    try {
+      mountSpawned(await createSession(req));
+      return;
+    } catch {
+      // A failed POST degrades to the pre-filled form, never a dead row.
+    }
+  }
+  openSpawnModal({
+    seed: fastForwardSeed(resolved),
+    onSuccess: (session) => mountSpawned(session),
+  });
+}
+
+document.addEventListener(SPAWN_DIRECTORY_EVENT, (ev) => {
+  void requestSpawnInDirectory((ev as CustomEvent<string>).detail);
+});
+
 // The global half of the command registry (#148). Two sets, because they
 // differ in one thing: the help overlay owns the keyboard while it is up, so
 // the plain keys go deaf behind it while the focus chord does not — an
 // attached terminal must never be able to trap the focus keys.
 //
 // `n` opens the spawn modal, `N` fast-forwards a spawn (#67). Both are plain
-// keys, so `isTypingTarget` keeps them out of form fields and the terminal's
+// keys, so `isTypingTarget` inside the set keeps them out of form fields and the terminal's
 // hidden textarea.
 const spawnKeys = new CommandSet(
   defineCommands({
@@ -405,6 +451,11 @@ const focusKeys = new CommandSet(
         sidebar.focusList();
       }
     },
+    // The escape hatch: binding ctrl-k takes readline's kill-to-end-of-line
+    // away from every pane, and leader ctrl-k gives it back as the literal
+    // 0x0B byte (docs/COMMAND-BAR.md). It resolves in this set, ahead of the
+    // bar's, so the chord never opens the bar.
+    "pane.literalCtrlK": () => pool.sendToFocused("\x0b"),
   }),
   { leader: DEFAULT_LEADER },
 );
@@ -433,9 +484,10 @@ window.addEventListener(
     if (focusKeys.handle(e)) return;
     // The help overlay owns the keyboard while it is up.
     if (isHelpOpen()) return;
-    // Opening the bar over a focused terminal is #152; until then the pane's
-    // hidden textarea keeps its Ctrl+K, like any other typing target.
-    if (!isTypingTarget(e.target) && barKeys.handle(e)) return;
+    // The pane's hidden textarea is not a typing target for the bar: ctrl-k is
+    // seen ahead of xterm and opens the bar (#152). A real form field — the
+    // spawn form's inputs — keeps its own Ctrl+K.
+    if (!isBarTypingTarget(e.target) && barKeys.handle(e)) return;
     spawnKeys.handle(e);
   },
   true,

web/src/styles.css

@@ -1472,6 +1472,15 @@ input.leaf-rename:focus {
   padding: var(--sp-2) 0;
 }
 
+/* The action page's header (#151): names the session being acted on, so the
+   target of kill/rename/spawn-similar is never ambiguous. */
+.cmdbar-page-header {
+  padding: var(--sp-2) var(--sp-4);
+  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border);
+  font-size: var(--fs-12);
+  color: var(--muted);
+}
+
 .cmdbar-group-title {
   padding: var(--sp-2) var(--sp-4) var(--sp-1);
   font-size: var(--fs-11);
@@ -1517,6 +1526,25 @@ input.leaf-rename:focus {
   text-overflow: ellipsis;
 }
 
+/* A command row's chord, shown so the bar teaches the keymap. */
+.cmdbar-row-keys {
+  flex: 1 1 auto;
+  display: flex;
+  justify-content: flex-end;
+  gap: var(--sp-1);
+  min-width: 0;
+}
+
+.cmdbar-row-keys kbd {
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: var(--fs-11);
+  color: var(--muted);
+  background: var(--surface-2);
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  border-radius: var(--r-1);
+  padding: 0 var(--sp-1);
+}
+
 .cmdbar-hit {
   background: none;
   color: var(--accent);