Files & previews
Keep source, specs, reports, and media beside the agents working on them, with live updates and direct editing where you need it.
While an agent changes the code, you may need the spec, a report, or an image to judge the result. A render pane brings a file into your workspace so you and your agent can refer to the same material without switching applications or copying it into chat.
Open the source while an agent changes it, read a generated PDF before approving it, or make a small wording correction yourself. hob chooses the renderer for the file and keeps its contents current as changes are saved.
Opening files
In the guestbook task, ask the agent to open
app.js beside the conversation so you can review the counter function:
Ask your agent
You can bring files into view yourself too:
| Starting point | Action |
|---|---|
| You know the filename | Open Go to File with Cmd/Ctrl+P and search by name |
| You want to browse the project | Open Files with Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+E and choose a file |
| The agent has shown a file reference | Select its file link or preview in the conversation |
| You are working from a terminal | Run hob open file app.js |
Render panes tile with your agents. Keep a frequently used reference in the Dock when you need it across workspace changes.
Live reload
An open render pane watches its file. When an agent or another tool saves a
change to disk, a clean pane reloads it. You can keep the counter implementation
in view while the agent works instead of repeatedly reopening app.js.
If you have your own unsaved edits, hob preserves them and asks you to resolve the competing disk version. That distinction matters when a person and an agent touch the same file.
Editing files
Code and Markdown panes support direct editing. Click into the document to
make a change; use Cmd/Ctrl+F to find text and Cmd/Ctrl+S to save immediately.
For a larger implementation, keep the agent working on the task and use the
pane to inspect the result.
Autosave is on by default, after a short delay. In Settings → Files & search → File behavior → Autosave code changes, choose After a short delay, When focus changes, or Off — save manually. This setting applies to both code and Markdown editors.
Markdown uses one editable document view. Formatting stays rendered around
you; source markup appears for the block you are editing. The file remains
ordinary Markdown. Its diff control switches to a comparison with Git
HEAD; other text files use source / diff, while SVG also has a
preview / source choice.
When the file changes on disk
If a save finds that the disk version has changed, hob stops autosaving and shows File changed on disk. In this example, the comment typed in the pane has not been written over the other version:
Reload discards your unsaved edits and reads the disk version. Overwrite writes the full contents currently in your pane. Copy any local text you want to preserve before reloading, and coordinate with the agent before overwriting its work. The prompt does not merge the two versions for you.
What render panes show
Use the same workspace for the different kinds of material a task produces:
| Content | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Code | Read syntax-highlighted source, edit it, search, and wrap long lines |
| Markdown | Read and edit a formatted document in one view |
| Navigate pages, zoom, fit the page or width, select text, and search | |
| Images and SVG | Inspect with zoom and pan; SVG also offers source editing |
| Video and audio | Play media in the pane, subject to supported formats and codecs |
| Diffs | Review changes against the baseline; see Diff viewer |
| Very large text or unusually long lines | Read through the large-file/large-text modes |
A generated review report is a file you can read alongside the conversation, just like a project spec. This illustrative guestbook report is an actual PDF:
PDF page controls let you jump to a page, choose Fit width or Fit page, and adjust zoom. The appearance button cycles Auto, Light, and Dark; it changes the viewer's presentation, not the file. Search with the pane's Find control to locate text in the document.
Editing depends on the surface
Code and Markdown files are editable in normal file panes. Read-only artifact surfaces and large-file viewing modes do not provide the same editing path. PDFs, images, audio, and video are previews rather than document or media editors. An unsupported file shows its status instead of pretending to render it.
For an interactive HTML page or a local development server, open a browser preview. That guide covers the URL bar, watch patterns, and saved preview-server recipes. Use the Diff viewer guide for reviewing changes; opening a source file alone does not mark it reviewed.
For agents
Show the relevant file in hob instead of pasting its contents into the conversation. The person can read the whole document, inspect neighboring lines, and keep it visible while discussing the change with you.
hob open file app.js --line 58
hob attention file:app.js --location line:58 \
--title "Counter update" --message "This function reads the note length."The line number is an example from the pictured change; verify the current
file's gutter before pointing. hob open file brings the file into view, and
hob attention returns a link the agent includes in its reply to highlight the
detail. A PDF can be targeted by page, with matching text when useful:
hob attention file:reports/counter-review.pdf --location page:1 \
--match "Before approving"Working with your agent explains the shared interface for showing work, drawing attention, and offering walkthroughs. The report above is illustrative; an agent would first create or locate the actual file it wants you to review.
Find it again
Bookmark a line or pane when a detail deserves another look. Saved gives you a route back to that source. For the discussion that produced a file, use History to recover the agent's conversation; the History feed does not list ordinary file-viewing panes.