Presets

Workspace templates for quickly launching common development tasks

What are Presets?

Presets are workspace templates that define a set of commands to run when creating a new workspace. They allow you to automate repetitive setup tasks and jump straight into development.

Think of presets as “saved terminal commands” that run automatically when you create a workspace.

Use Cases

• Agent Launch: Start a coding agent with a specific prompt
• Dev Environment: Launch dev server, database, and monitoring tools
• Test Suite: Run tests in watch mode
• Build Pipeline: Start build watchers and linters
• Multi-Service Setup: Launch multiple services (API, frontend, workers)

How to Create Presets

Via Settings UI

1. Open Settings → Terminal Presets (⌘/)
2. Click Add Preset
3. Configure your preset:
   • Name: Display name (e.g., “Dev Server”)
   • Description: What the preset does (optional)
   • Commands: Shell commands to execute
   • Working Directory: Where to run commands (relative to workspace root)
   • Execution Mode: How to run the commands

Execution Modes

Presets support three execution modes:

Split Pane

Runs all commands in the active tab, each in its own split pane.

Best for: Multiple long-running services

New Tab

Creates a new tab for each command.

Best for: Independent tasks you want to monitor separately

New Tab + Split

Creates one new tab with all commands in split panes.

Best for: Related commands you want grouped together

Preset Configuration

Presets are stored in the local database with this structure:

{
  id: string;                        // UUID
  name: string;                      // Display name
  description?: string;              // Optional description
  cwd: string;                       // Working directory (relative path)
  commands: string[];                // Shell commands to run
  pinnedToBar?: boolean;             // Show in presets bar
  isDefault?: boolean;               // Apply automatically to new tabs
  applyOnWorkspaceCreated?: boolean; // Run when workspace is created
  applyOnNewTab?: boolean;           // Run when creating new tab
  executionMode?: ExecutionMode;     // "split-pane" | "new-tab" | "new-tab-split-pane"
}

Example Presets

Launch Claude Code Agent

{
  "name": "Claude Agent",
  "description": "Start Claude Code with task prompt",
  "cwd": ".",
  "commands": ["claude code"],
  "executionMode": "split-pane",
  "pinnedToBar": true
}

Full Stack Dev Environment

{
  "name": "Dev Environment",
  "description": "Start API, frontend, and database",
  "cwd": ".",
  "commands": [
    "cd api && bun run dev",
    "cd web && bun run dev",
    "docker-compose up postgres redis"
  ],
  "executionMode": "new-tab-split-pane",
  "pinnedToBar": true
}

Test Runner

{
  "name": "Tests",
  "description": "Run tests in watch mode",
  "cwd": ".",
  "commands": ["bun test --watch"],
  "executionMode": "new-tab",
  "pinnedToBar": false
}

Build Watchers

{
  "name": "Build Tools",
  "description": "TypeScript compiler and ESLint watcher",
  "cwd": ".",
  "commands": [
    "bun run typecheck --watch",
    "bun run lint --watch"
  ],
  "executionMode": "split-pane",
  "pinnedToBar": true
}

Common Preset Patterns

1. Agent Launch Preset

Launch a coding agent with a specific task:

{
  "name": "OpenCode Agent",
  "cwd": ".",
  "commands": ["opencode"],
  "executionMode": "split-pane",
  "applyOnWorkspaceCreated": true
}

Set applyOnWorkspaceCreated: true to automatically launch the agent when creating a workspace with ⌘⇧N (Quick Create).

2. Dev Server Preset

Start your development server:

{
  "name": "Dev Server",
  "cwd": ".",
  "commands": ["bun run dev"],
  "executionMode": "new-tab"
}

3. Multi-Service Preset

Launch multiple services in split panes:

{
  "name": "Full Stack",
  "cwd": ".",
  "commands": [
    "cd apps/api && bun run dev",
    "cd apps/web && bun run dev",
    "cd apps/worker && bun run dev"
  ],
  "executionMode": "split-pane"
}

4. Database Setup Preset

Start databases and run migrations:

{
  "name": "Database Setup",
  "cwd": ".",
  "commands": [
    "docker-compose up -d postgres redis",
    "sleep 5 && bun run migrate"
  ],
  "executionMode": "new-tab"
}

5. Test Suite Preset

Run tests across multiple packages:

{
  "name": "Test All",
  "cwd": ".",
  "commands": [
    "cd packages/api && bun test --watch",
    "cd packages/web && bun test --watch",
    "cd packages/shared && bun test --watch"
  ],
  "executionMode": "new-tab-split-pane"
}

Quick Create with Presets

The fastest way to use presets:

Keyboard Shortcut: ⌘⇧N

Press ⌘⇧N to instantly create a workspace with your default preset.

What happens:

1. New workspace is created
2. Default preset commands run automatically
3. You’re ready to work immediately

Mark a preset as default by enabling Apply on Workspace Created in preset settings.

Ctrl+[1-9]: Launch Pinned Preset

Press Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+9 to launch presets pinned to the presets bar.

Setup:

1. Open Settings → Terminal Presets
2. Enable Pin to Presets Bar for your favorite presets
3. They’ll appear in the terminal interface
4. Press Ctrl+[1-9] to launch them

Preset Options

Pin to Presets Bar

Option: pinnedToBar: boolean

Displays the preset in the terminal presets bar for quick access.

{
  "pinnedToBar": true  // Shows preset in UI
}

Default Preset

Option: isDefault: boolean

Marks the preset as the default for new workspaces.

{
  "isDefault": true  // Used by ⌘⇧N
}

Only one preset can be marked as default. Setting a new default automatically unmarks the previous one.

Auto-Apply on Workspace Created

Option: applyOnWorkspaceCreated: boolean

Automatically runs the preset when creating a workspace with Quick Create (⌘⇧N).

{
  "applyOnWorkspaceCreated": true
}

Auto-Apply on New Tab

Option: applyOnNewTab: boolean

Automatically runs the preset when creating a new terminal tab (⌘T).

{
  "applyOnNewTab": true
}

Use applyOnNewTab to automatically start your dev server in every new terminal.

Working Directory

Option: cwd: string

The working directory is relative to the workspace root.

{
  "cwd": "."              // Workspace root
}

{
  "cwd": "apps/api"       // apps/api subdirectory
}

{
  "cwd": "packages/web"   // packages/web subdirectory  
}

All commands in the preset run from this directory.

Environment Variables in Presets

Preset commands have access to:

Variable	Description
SUPERSET_WORKSPACE_NAME	Current workspace name
SUPERSET_ROOT_PATH	Path to main repository

Use them in your preset commands:

{
  "name": "Echo Workspace",
  "commands": [
    "echo \"Working in workspace: $SUPERSET_WORKSPACE_NAME\"",
    "echo \"Main repo at: $SUPERSET_ROOT_PATH\""
  ]
}

Advanced Preset Techniques

Conditional Commands

Use shell conditionals in preset commands:

{
  "name": "Smart Dev Server",
  "commands": [
    "[ -f .env ] && echo '.env found' || echo 'Copying .env from main repo' && cp $SUPERSET_ROOT_PATH/.env .",
    "bun install",
    "bun run dev"
  ]
}

Sequential vs Parallel

Commands in a preset run in parallel by default (each in its own terminal pane).

For sequential execution, chain commands with &&:

{
  "name": "Sequential Setup",
  "commands": [
    "bun install && bun run migrate && bun run seed && bun run dev"
  ]
}

Background Processes

Launch background processes in presets:

{
  "name": "Background Services",
  "commands": [
    "docker-compose up -d",  // Runs in background
    "bun run dev"             // Runs in foreground
  ]
}

Preset Management

Editing Presets

1. Open Settings → Terminal Presets
2. Click the preset to edit
3. Modify settings
4. Click Save

Deleting Presets

1. Open Settings → Terminal Presets
2. Click the preset to delete
3. Click Delete Preset
4. Confirm deletion

Exporting Presets

Presets are stored in your local Superset database. To share presets:

1. Manually copy preset configuration from Settings
2. Share the JSON with your team
3. They can recreate the preset in their Superset instance

Future versions of Superset will support preset import/export.

Best Practices

Descriptive Names

Use clear, descriptive names. “Dev Server” is better than “Preset 1”.

Keep Commands Simple

Avoid complex shell scripts in presets. Use separate script files for complex logic.

Pin Your Favorites

Pin frequently-used presets to the presets bar for quick access via Ctrl+[1-9].

One Default Only

Mark only one preset as default for Quick Create. Choose your most common workflow.

Troubleshooting

Preset commands don't run

Possible causes:

• Working directory doesn’t exist
• Command binary not in PATH
• Shell syntax error

Solution: Test commands manually in a terminal first.

Environment variables not available

Cause: Variables like $SUPERSET_WORKSPACE_NAME only exist in workspace terminals, not your main shell.

Solution: These variables are automatically available when running preset commands in Superset workspaces.

Commands run in wrong directory

Cause: cwd is set incorrectly or directory doesn’t exist in worktree.

Solution: Verify the cwd path exists in your workspace. Use . for workspace root.

Preset keyboard shortcut doesn't work

Cause: Preset isn’t pinned to the presets bar.

Solution: Enable Pin to Presets Bar in preset settings.

Examples from Real Projects

Next.js Monorepo

{
  "name": "Next.js Dev",
  "description": "Start Next.js dev server with turbopack",
  "cwd": "apps/web",
  "commands": ["bun run dev"],
  "executionMode": "new-tab",
  "pinnedToBar": true
}

Rust Project

{
  "name": "Cargo Watch",
  "description": "Run cargo watch for auto-rebuild",
  "cwd": ".",
  "commands": ["cargo watch -x run"],
  "executionMode": "split-pane",
  "pinnedToBar": true
}

Python Flask App

{
  "name": "Flask Dev",
  "description": "Start Flask with debug mode",
  "cwd": ".",
  "commands": [
    "source venv/bin/activate && flask --app src.app --debug run"
  ],
  "executionMode": "new-tab",
  "pinnedToBar": true
}

Go Microservices

{
  "name": "Go Services",
  "description": "Start API and worker services",
  "cwd": ".",
  "commands": [
    "cd cmd/api && go run .",
    "cd cmd/worker && go run ."
  ],
  "executionMode": "split-pane",
  "pinnedToBar": true
}

Next Steps

Workspaces

Learn how presets integrate with workspaces

Configuration

Configure setup scripts that run before presets

Agents

Create presets to auto-launch coding agents

Keyboard Shortcuts

Master all preset keyboard shortcuts