LingTai TUI help — the discoverable umbrella

Mental model — read this first

lingtai-tui and lingtai-portal are control and presentation surfaces. The running agent is a separate LingTai kernel process with its own heartbeat, listeners, lifecycle, and durable working directory.

• Closing the TUI or its terminal quits the interface; it does not stop a

running agent. Reopening the TUI observes the current state and does not silently revive an intentionally stopped agent.

• Agent lifecycle changes are explicit. Use /sleep, /suspend, /cpr, or

/refresh according to the intended transition; use lingtai-tui list --detailed or /projects to inspect current state.

• launchd is not the default remedy for ordinary persistence after TUI

exit. The agent already runs independently; adding another supervisor can create duplicate-process races. Use a separate scheduler/service contract only for a separately authorized advanced workflow.

• For source-backed proof, load lingtai-tui-anatomy, start at the repository

root ANATOMY.md, and descend to tui/ANATOMY.md or portal/ANATOMY.md. Kernel-side process, heartbeat, listener, and lifecycle internals belong to lingtai-kernel-anatomy; cross-repo references stay narrative.

Sanitized regression question: “关闭 TUI/终端后 agent 会不会停止？” No. UI exit is not an agent lifecycle command; the agent continues until an explicit lifecycle action or an external process failure stops it. Do not install a launchd job merely to keep an ordinary agent alive after closing the TUI.

Feature route catalog

This YAML is the machine-readable map. Each route names the first owner to load; next is optional deeper evidence.

yaml
- feature: runtime-lifecycle-source
  route: lingtai-tui-anatomy
  next: lingtai-kernel-anatomy
- feature: slash-commands-keyboard-interaction
  route: assets/slash-commands.en.md
  localized_routes: [assets/slash-commands.zh.md, assets/slash-commands.wen.md]
- feature: presets-providers-capabilities
  route: lingtai-preset-skill
- feature: portal-visualization-replay
  route: lingtai-portal-guide
- feature: tutorial-orientation
  route: tutorial-guide
- feature: install-update-build
  route: lingtai-update
- feature: contributor-setup-source-troubleshooting
  route: lingtai-dev-guide
- feature: runtime-health-doctor
  route: lingtai-doctor
- feature: projects-and-running-agent-inventory
  route: assets/slash-commands.en.md
  localized_routes: [assets/slash-commands.zh.md, assets/slash-commands.wen.md]
  next: lingtai-tui-anatomy
- feature: addons-and-external-channels
  route: mcp-manual

Human routing table

| Need | Start here | What remains authoritative | |---|---|---| | Does closing TUI stop an agent? How do attach, list, quit, or lifecycle controls work? | lingtai-tui-anatomy | Repo-root ANATOMY.md → tui/ANATOMY.md / portal/ANATOMY.md; kernel internals → lingtai-kernel-anatomy | | What does a slash command do? Which keys drive the interface? | assets/slash-commands.en.md or its ZH/Wen sibling | DefaultCommands() and the localized help assets | | How do presets, providers, model parameters, and capabilities work? | lingtai-preset-skill | That skill's provider and operation routes | | How do Portal topology, APIs, recording, and replay work? | lingtai-portal-guide | Portal guide, then Portal Anatomy/source for implementation | | I am new to LingTai or want the guided course | tutorial-guide | Its lesson sequence | | How do I install, update, build, or diagnose install method? | lingtai-update | Its focused update/install references | | How do I contribute, set up a dev checkout, or troubleshoot source? | lingtai-dev-guide | Its focused contributor/debug references | | Is an agent offline, unreachable, or inconsistent across process/heartbeat/log surfaces? | lingtai-doctor | Its layered read-only health diagnostics | | How do /projects and running-agent inventory work? | Localized slash-command asset | lingtai-tui list --detailed, /projects, then lingtai-tui-anatomy for source | | How do I configure addons or external messaging channels? | mcp-manual | The curated addon documentation it routes to |

Slash-command assets

The complete slash-command reference remains in three language assets so the in-app /help view can render the current UI language directly:

• assets/slash-commands.en.md — English (canonical wording).
• assets/slash-commands.zh.md — 简体中文.
• assets/slash-commands.wen.md — 文言.

Keep these assets in sync with DefaultCommands() in tui/internal/tui/palette.go. When a command is added, changed, or removed, update all three assets together.

How in-app /help resolves the language

The top-level skill is the discoverable umbrella; the in-app /help command is a focused shortcut to the slash-command guide. It calls i18n.Lang() ("en", "zh", or "wen") and opens the matching concrete asset from the list above in the Markdown viewer. Unknown locales fall back to assets/slash-commands.en.md.

Ownership boundary

Keep general TUI orientation and feature routing here. Do not copy precise Go architecture from Anatomy, provider contracts from lingtai-preset-skill, Portal detail from lingtai-portal-guide, or tutorial/update/addon procedures from their owners. Route, then load only the source that owns the question.