Terminal and IDE preferences

Local execution targets can store terminal and IDE launch preferences. Configure them during ovld setup or in the desktop settings, then verify the result with ovld doctor.

These preferences affect how a local run opens; they do not grant repository access or change the agent’s subscription.

Preferences are per execution target

Terminal launch settings are configured per execution target, so each machine can use a different terminal app and launch style. This is intentional:

your laptop may launch differently from a remote server
one target may use tmux while another opens a native terminal window
launch behavior can be tuned for the shell or terminal on that specific machine

Open the Execution Targets page in settings and edit the target you want to change.

Choose the terminal

Each execution target can use one of the supported terminal profiles:

System Default
Terminal
iTerm2
Warp
tmux
Ghostty
Alacritty
Kitty
Hyper
cmux
Custom

If you choose Custom, enter the terminal name or path Overlord should use for that target.

Choose how it launches

For terminals that support it, you can choose how a launch opens:

New window
New tab
Custom — send a specific hotkey, then type the launch command into the active terminal

tmux and cmux

When the selected profile is tmux or cmux, Overlord exposes tmux-specific settings: which host terminal tmux runs inside, an optional custom host terminal name or path, and the launch command template. The default template is:

tmux new-session bash {script}

Use {script} where Overlord should insert the generated launch script.

Launch command placeholders

The launch command is generated from the target settings and the agent-specific command Overlord needs to run. When you use a custom command template, keep these placeholders intact:

{script} — the generated launch script in tmux-style profiles
{command} — the generated agent launch command in the server-terminal flow
{window} — the mission window name in that same flow

Do not remove a placeholder unless the UI for that setting no longer requires it.

How this affects launches

When Overlord creates an execution request it stores the chosen target and its launch settings alongside the mission. The runner uses those settings when it opens the terminal and starts the agent — which is why the same project can launch differently on two machines, and why launch behavior stays with the machine that actually runs the work.