Code in Moon Desktop

In Moon Desktop, Code puts Moon CLI to work directly on a folder on your computer: the agent reads and edits the code, runs commands and uses your connectors, and you follow everything in the Moon AI interface. You switch from Chat to Code with the Chat | Code switch in the title bar (at the top of the sidebar before Moon Desktop 2.1). Since Moon Desktop 2.0, Code is also a coding tool: an explorer, an editor, search, a Git view and a terminal, around your conversation with Moon.

What you need#Link to the What you need section

• Moon CLI 0.3.0 or later, installed on the computer. Moon Desktop ships Moon CLI on Windows and Linux: the Windows installer offers it (the “Install Moon CLI” option), and so does the welcome assistant at first launch; since Moon Desktop 2.0.1, the app also keeps Moon CLI up to date, Mac included (see Moon CLI updates). On Mac, the app does not include Moon CLI: the welcome assistant offers “Download and install Moon CLI”, which downloads it from realmoon.ai and checks its signature. A newer version that is already installed is kept. Otherwise, see Install Moon CLI. Since Moon Desktop 2.5, when Moon CLI is missing, “Install Moon CLI” in Code opens the Moon Desktop assistant at the Moon CLI step: on Windows and Linux it installs the copy that comes with the app, and on Mac it downloads it and checks its signature, with your consent. “Update now” goes through the same assistant when Moon CLI is too old.
• A plan that includes Moon CLI on your workspace: see pricing.
• Moon CLI signed in to the same account as Moon Desktop. The first time, “Link Moon CLI” opens the authorization page in an app window: one click on “Authorize” is enough. Moon Desktop never sees the Moon CLI token. Since Moon Desktop 2.5, if Moon CLI is linked to another account (your personal account while Moon Desktop is signed in to your organization’s, for example), Code says so clearly and offers “Link Moon CLI” to this account.
• Moon Desktop 2.0 or later for the coding tool. With an older version, Code stays the conversation page, with no explorer or terminal: see Updates. “Pick an element” in the preview and “Create the PR” in the Git view require Moon Desktop 2.0.2 or later.
• Git on the computer, for the Git view and to review Moon’s changes file by file. Without it, the Git view shows “Git is not installed” and offers “Download Git”.

Open a folder#Link to the Open a folder section

1. In Code, click “Open a folder”, or pick one from “Recent folders”.
2. Choose your project folder in the system window. The root of a drive is refused: the agent would see the whole drive.
3. The first time, Moon Desktop asks whether this folder comes from a trusted source: see Trust a folder.
4. Write what Moon should do.

A folder picked from “Recent folders” is confirmed at most once per app launch, in a Moon Desktop window: “Open ‘my-project’ in Code?”, with “Moon will work in this folder, which is already trusted.” When you have just clicked in the page, or reloaded it, “Open” is the main button. Otherwise, the window warns that the Code page is asking to open this folder without you choosing it just before, and “Cancel” becomes the main button: cancel if you did not just ask for it.

Moon AI only receives the folder name, never its full path. To open it in File Explorer, the Finder, VS Code or Cursor, see Open the folder elsewhere.

Opening another folder while Moon is working no longer stops anything: Moon keeps going in the first one (see Several folders at once). “Choose another folder” and “Stop Moon CLI” stop the current work: if Moon is working, a “Moon is still working” window warns you (“If you leave now, the work in progress stops. The files already changed stay as they are.”). “Stay” keeps the session, “Stop and leave” confirms.

Several folders at once#Link to the Several folders at once section

Moon can work in several folders at the same time. Open another folder in the sidebar while it works: the first folder’s session keeps going in the background, and you find it just as you left it when you come back to that folder.

• Up to 4 folders at work at the same time. A folder with nothing in progress does not count: it makes room for the next one. Beyond that, nothing is closed: “Moon is already working in 4 places at once. Wait for one to finish, or stop one, then open this one again.”
• In the sidebar, a spinner (“Moon is working in this folder”) marks each folder where Moon is working out of view, and a dot marks those where it is waiting for your answer. When it is done there, a “Done, ready for review” dot stays on the folder until you go back to it. Expand the folder: its sessions keep their marks, and you can rename, archive or delete them like those of the open folder.
• You get notified when Moon is done, is waiting for your approval or has a question in a folder you are not looking at: “Moon is done in my-project”, “Moon is waiting for your approval in my-project” or “Moon has a question in my-project”. “View” opens that folder and that session; from Chat, “Open Code”. See also Get notified.

On the web, the Code page does the same with your machines linked through moon rc: see Several machines.

Reload, close or quit while Moon is working#Link to the Reload, close or quit while Moon is working section

Since Moon Desktop 2.0.3, when Moon is working (an answer in progress, a permission waiting) or a terminal of the coding tool is running, Moon Desktop asks for confirmation before it:

• reloads the page (F5, CtrlR or the menu);
• closes a window, except the last one when it only hides in the notification area;
• quits the app (the menu, CtrlQ or the notification area icon);
• restarts to install an update;
• since Moon Desktop 2.1, goes back or forward to a page that reloads: “Back” and “Forward” in the title bar, Alt← and Alt→ (⌘[ and ⌘] on Mac), the mouse buttons or the menu. Moving from one Code page to another without a reload asks nothing.

The window says what would stop, for example “Moon is still working in this window” and “Reloading the page stops Moon in the middle of its work. The files already changed stay as they are.” “Cancel” is selected by default, and both Enter and Esc cancel; “Reload anyway”, “Close anyway”, “Quit anyway”, “Restart anyway” or “Change page anyway” confirms. For an update, the window reminds you that otherwise it will be installed when Moon Desktop closes.

Since Moon Desktop 2.2, closing the window while a Code session is working or waiting also offers “Finish in the background”: see Finish in the background.

With nothing in progress, nothing changes: the action happens right away. “Quit” from the macOS Dock and signing out of your session on the computer ask nothing.

Trust a folder#Link to the Trust a folder section

A folder can contain a Git configuration that runs commands on your computer: a downloaded archive or a repository prepared by someone else, for example. Since Moon Desktop 2.0, until you trust a folder, Moon Desktop runs neither Moon CLI, nor Git, nor a terminal in it.

The first time you open a folder, including from File Explorer, a Moon Desktop window asks “Do you trust the source of this folder?”, with the folder name. You always answer in this window, never in the Code page:

• “Trust this folder”: Moon CLI starts, and the Git view, the terminal and the review of Moon’s changes work. The button stays inactive for a moment after the window appears, so that a click meant for something else does not count.
• “Not now”, which has the keyboard focus (Esc does the same): the folder opens without Moon CLI. The explorer lists the files, and the editor and search work. The Git view shows the question; the terminal shows a single line, “Trust this folder to use the terminal.”, with “Trust…”. Above the conversation, “Trust this folder” brings the question back; this card collapses to one line when the Git view is on screen. You can write your message in the meantime, and send it once the folder is trusted.

Trust covers the folder and its subfolders, except for a broad folder (root of a drive or share, home folder, Desktop, Documents, Downloads, OneDrive): since Moon Desktop 2.1.1, such a folder is trusted for itself only, and each project inside it gets its own question. An entry like this saved by an earlier version is narrowed the same way, and Moon Desktop tells you once. If the folder’s Git repository is elsewhere (a folder opened inside a repository, a worktree), the window says so: “Its Git repository is elsewhere, and will be trusted too:”, followed by its path. Since Moon Desktop 2.1, that repository is trusted for itself only, never for the folders it contains. A worktree created from the Git view of a trusted folder is trusted too. If a .git file later appears in the folder and points to a repository elsewhere, the question is asked again.

When trust is not possible#Link to the When trust is not possible section

The window shows “This folder cannot be trusted” and only offers “Close”:

• “Its Git repository is elsewhere, on the network: Moon Desktop does not connect to it.”: the folder’s .git file points to a repository on a network share. Moon Desktop never contacts such a repository, before or after the question.
• “Its .git file could not be read the way Git reads it:”: the folder’s .git file is unreadable, too large or malformed.
• “Its .git file points to a folder that is not a Git repository (Git refuses it too):” (Moon Desktop 2.1): the folder’s .git file points to an arbitrary folder, for example in a downloaded archive.
• “Its Git repository would be a far too broad folder (root of a drive, parent folder, home folder, Documents…):” (Moon Desktop 2.1): no real repository has its Git folder there.

Moon CLI, Git and the terminal stay off in this folder as long as that .git file is there: remove or fix it, then reopen the folder.

After updating from version 1.0#Link to the After updating from version 1.0 section

At the first launch of Moon Desktop 2.0, the recent Code folders, where Moon CLI was already working, are carried over as trusted, once. Each one is carried over on its own, without its subfolders. A broad folder (your home folder, the Desktop, Documents, Downloads, the root of a OneDrive) or a folder whose Git repository is on the network is not carried over: you will be asked the next time you open it.

Remove trust#Link to the Remove trust section

Since Moon Desktop 2.4 (on Mac, since 2.5), “Trusted folders…” (File menu › “Quick settings”, or “Manage…” in “Settings” › “Moon Desktop”) opens the list in an app window: “Remove” for one folder, “Remove all…” for all of them, with a confirmation. See Moon Desktop settings. Before 2.4, and on Mac for now, Moon Desktop menu › “App settings” › “Trusted folders” lists the trusted folders: click a folder to stop trusting it, or “Stop trusting all folders…”, then confirm. Moon CLI, Git and the terminal stop in this folder and its subfolders, and the question will be asked again the next time it opens. In the Code page, the message “Trust for this folder was removed in the app settings. Moon CLI stopped.” offers “Restart Moon CLI”, which asks the question again.

The coding tool#Link to the The coding tool section

Since Moon Desktop 2.0, Code looks like a code editor, with the conversation on the right. Since 2.1, each area is a rounded card in the colors of the rest of Moon AI, and the areas can be moved: see Arrange the panels. By default:

You can drag the edges of the areas with the mouse, or move them with the arrow keys. The “Moon CLI” panel shows the version, the account, the workspace, Moon Blur and Moon Guard, opens the project rules (AGENTS.md) in the editor, and launches “Context and limits”, Moon Blur, Moon Guard, “Session workspace” and “Check Moon CLI”.

Arrange the panels#Link to the Arrange the panels section

Since Moon Desktop 2.1, the “Panel layout” menu places each area. It opens from its button at the bottom of the activity bar, or from the button of the same name in the title bar.

“Back to the default layout” puts everything back in place: side panel on the left, terminal at the bottom, conversation on the right. The same choices are in the commands (CtrlShiftP), for example “Side panel on the right”, “Terminal on the left” or “Conversation on the left”.

• A hidden panel comes back through the same menu, or through its button in the activity bar. See A panel disappeared.
• When space runs short, the panels shrink; the editor always keeps a usable width.
• The layout (positions, widths, terminal height, “Conversation only”) is saved for you, the same in every folder. Before 2.1, it was saved per folder: a folder’s layout is used until you choose one.

The Code title bar#Link to the The Code title bar section

In Moon Desktop 2.1, the session bar moves into the window’s title bar: the session title, with the folder and the branch, then its buttons. On the web, they stay at the top of the Code page.

• “Preview” opens or closes the preview, when it is in use.
• “Changed files”, with their count, opens the list of files changed by Moon.
• “Session map” and “In progress”, when Moon CLI offers them: see Go back, review, publish.
• “Panel layout” opens the menu that arranges the panels.
• “Session actions” offers “Rename”, “Archive”, “Export as Markdown”, “Copy conversation”, “Copy into a new session”, “Open folder”, “Open in editor”, “Choose another folder” and “Stop Moon CLI” (“Reconnect” when the connection is lost).

The rest of the title bar is described in The title bar.

Shortcuts#Link to the Shortcuts section

On Mac, ⌘ replaces Ctrl. In the terminal, CtrlB and CtrlL go to the shell.

Since Moon Desktop 2.1, the button that collapses the Moon AI sidebar is in the title bar: on the keyboard, it is CtrlShiftS. CtrlB stays with the side panel of the coding tool.

Since Moon Desktop 2.0.3, shortcuts follow the letter the key types on your keyboard (AZERTY, QWERTZ, Dvorak…), and use its position only on a keyboard without Latin letters (Cyrillic, Greek), as browsers do. The terminal shortcut uses the key to the left of 1, which Moon Desktop and the page write the way your keyboard does: “Ctrl+²” on a French keyboard.

The explorer#Link to the The explorer section

The folder tree follows .gitignore: “Show ignored files (.gitignore)” shows the others. Files changed by Moon in the session carry the “Moon” mark and, in a trusted folder, a letter says what Git sees (modified, added, deleted…). “New file” and “New folder” are at the top of the panel: a path such as src/tools/a.ts also creates the folders. The right-click menu also offers “Rename”, “Move to Trash”, “Copy relative path”, “Copy full path”, “Add to my message” (Moon Desktop 2.1.1: the file joins your message as @path) and “Open in File Explorer” (“Reveal in Finder” on Mac; on Linux, the entry keeps this name and opens the file manager).

“Move to Trash” always asks for confirmation and sends the file to the computer’s trash, where you can recover it: the tool never deletes anything permanently. The .git folder never appears, and the tool never writes to it.

The editor#Link to the The editor section

Files open in tabs, from the explorer, search, Git or CtrlP, and save with CtrlS.

• File changed on disk: when Moon changes an open file, the editor reloads it. If you had unsaved changes, it merges them with the version on disk; when both touch the same lines, it lets you choose, “Keep mine” or “Take the disk version”. A file that changed since you opened it is never overwritten unless you click “Overwrite”.
• Ask Moon: select lines, then “Ask Moon” or CtrlL. A reference to the file and lines goes into your message, which you complete before sending it; Moon reads the file itself.
• What does not open: a binary file, or a file over 8 MB. A file in an encoding other than UTF-8 or UTF-16 opens read-only, so it does not get damaged.

Search#Link to the Search section

The “Search” panel searches the folder’s files, with “Match case”, “Whole word”, “Regular expression”, and the “Files to include” and “Files to exclude” filters. Files ignored by .gitignore and node_modules are left out, unless you check “Also search ignored files and node_modules”.

Replacing goes through a preview: only the matches you choose, and only if they are still in place, are replaced, after a confirmation. A search that runs too long stops by itself after 20 seconds: narrow it down.

Moon’s changes#Link to the Moon’s changes section

Each file Moon changes in the session is marked in the explorer. Its “Moon’s changes” view, in the editor, shows its version from before Moon next to yours (“Side by side” or “Inline”), with two buttons:

• “Keep”: the file is no longer marked.
• “Undo this file” (called “Cancel this file” before Moon Desktop 2.0.3): the file goes back to its version from before Moon in this session; a file created by Moon goes to the trash. If it has unsaved changes in the editor, the “Undo Moon’s changes?” confirmation says they will be lost.

The “Session changes” panel lists these files; a click opens their changes in the editor. “Keep all” removes them from the list. “Undo all”, after the “Undo session changes?” confirmation, removes Moon’s requests from the first one that changed a file: they leave the conversation, their changes to files are undone, and /redo brings them back one by one. “Undo all” is grayed out while Moon is working, and outside a Git repository: in that case, undo the files one by one in the editor.

To show the previous version, Moon Desktop takes a snapshot of the folder at the start of each of Moon’s turns, in its own data on your computer, never in your Git repository. It only does so in a trusted folder, with Git installed. Secret files (.env, keys, credentials), files ignored by .gitignore, heavy folders such as node_modules and files over 50 MB are never copied: their previous version is unknown, and the editor says so. Undo them with /undo or with Git instead. A folder’s snapshots are deleted after 14 days without use. When a folder’s snapshots go over 1 GB, Moon Desktop stops taking them for that folder until the next launch, when they are deleted: the previous version of files changed in the meantime is unknown.

Git#Link to the Git section

The Git view shows the branch, the staged and modified files, and the latest commits. It only acts in a trusted folder, with your computer’s Git and its configuration: your credentials and the repository’s hooks apply as in a terminal.

• Stage and commit: “Stage”, “Unstage”, then “Commit” with the commit message (CtrlEnter). If nothing is staged, the button becomes “Commit all”: since Moon Desktop 2.0.3, it stages and commits all changes in one step, with no further question. The commit stays on your computer until you push it.
• “Message by Moon”: Moon writes a message based on the staged changes, through a request you can see in the conversation, and puts it in the message field. Read it over before you commit.
• Push and pull: “Push” and “Publish branch” always ask for confirmation, naming the branch that goes out: “The local commits of branch ‘main’ go to the remote repository: the people who can access it will see them.” “Pull” is at the top of the view, like “Push”; “More actions” also offers “Fetch from remote”.
• “Discard changes” (or “Discard all”): always asks for confirmation, “Discard the changes?”, which closes without touching anything with “Keep”, the first choice offered. Once you confirm, the changes are lost, and a new file goes to the trash.
• Branches: the branch name, at the top of the view, opens the list of branches so you can switch, with “New branch”.
• “New session in a worktree”: creates a branch in a folder next to the repository, then opens a new Moon CLI session in that folder, trusted like the repository. Several sessions can move forward in parallel this way without getting in each other’s way.
• “Initialize a repository”: in a folder that is not a Git repository.
• “Create the PR” (Moon Desktop 2.0.2): puts /pr in Moon’s input box, with the cursor at the end. Read it, add details if needed (“draft”, the target branch), then send: nothing goes out without you. Moon then prepares the branch, the commit and the description, and both git push and creating the PR are asked in the Moon Desktop permission window, in every mode: see Create a PR with /pr. If your message to Moon is not empty, it is left alone: send it or clear it, then click again. Since Moon Desktop 2.0.3, the button only appears in a Git repository in a trusted folder; it is grayed out, with the reason below it, when there is no remote repository, no Moon CLI session in the folder, or a Moon CLI older than 0.5.0.

The Git commands Moon runs itself in the conversation go through its permission requests, and its git push is always asked: see Publish.

The terminal#Link to the The terminal section

The terminal opens at the bottom, in the project folder, with your system’s shell: PowerShell on Windows (PowerShell 7 if it is installed), your usual shell on Mac and Linux. “New terminal” adds a tab, up to 8 per session.

• Startup: only on a click in its area (“Click here to start the terminal.”), never on a key press, and only in a trusted folder; otherwise it only shows “Trust this folder to use the terminal.” Since Moon Desktop 2.0.3, the first line of a new terminal is the shell’s own: the help text no longer leaves a trace there.
• Keyboard: the terminal only receives your keystrokes after a click in its area; a border shows that it has the keyboard. If it has given it back, because you clicked elsewhere or its area moved, it shows “Click in the terminal to type in it.”
• Paste: text on several lines first asks “Paste several lines?”, since each line can run a command. Since Moon Desktop 2.0.2, text that contains control characters (Esc, Ctrl+O…), which can run a command without you pressing Enter, asks “Paste control characters?”: “Paste without them”, the first choice offered, or “Paste as is”.
• “Send to Moon”: puts the text you selected into your message, presented as chosen by you, never sent on its own. It is the only path from the terminal output to Moon.
• Links: Ctrl + click (⌘ + click on Mac) on an address opens it in your browser.
• Terminals stop with the session; their output is never written to disk.

The terminal has your permissions, like any terminal on your computer: what you run in it is not limited to the folder.

The preview#Link to the The preview section

When Moon builds a website or a web app, the preview shows it in a tab in the center of the tool. It opens from the “Preview” button in the title bar (in the session bar before Moon Desktop 2.1), with /preview followed by an address if needed, or on its own, once, when Moon creates or changes an .html file in the folder.

• Only local addresses (localhost, 127.0.0.1) and the folder’s files open there: a link to any other address opens in your browser.
• When a command shows the address of a development server, the page offers “Open preview of http://localhost:5173”. A local address only opens in the preview when you click. Since Moon Desktop 2.0.2, the first time, a Moon Desktop window also asks “Show this address in the preview?”, with the address: “It is a service of this computer. Moon Desktop shows it in an isolated view, which the Moon AI site cannot access directly.” Answer “Open in the preview”, the main button, or “Cancel”, which has the keyboard focus. “Learn more” explains that the Moon AI site can receive captures of the preview, taken by Moon Desktop after a click or the Enter key in its page. Only open the address you just asked for, the one of your development server. It then stays allowed for this folder until the app closes.
• When a page does not load, the preview says so in plain words, for example “Nothing answers at this address. Is the development server running?”, with “Reload” (except for a blocked page) and the technical details in small print below (Moon Desktop 2.0.3).
• The preview bar offers “Back”, “Reload”, the address, “Open in the browser”, the screen size (“Computer”, “Tablet”, “Phone”), “Pick an element” (see Pick an element in the preview), “Send the errors to Moon” (they go into your message, never sent on their own) and “Attach a screenshot of the preview”.
• The preview is isolated: it has neither your Moon AI cookies nor access to the app. The Code page only receives its address, its title and the console errors; it only sees what the preview shows through a capture or a picked element that you attach.
• In a folder that is not trusted yet, Moon CLI does not run: the preview is not offered, and asking for it shows “Trust the folder first.”

What the preview can reach#Link to the What the preview can reach section

Since Moon Desktop 2.0.2, the site shown in the preview cannot reach any other service on your computer, or any private address (on a local network or a VPN), that you have not opened or allowed for this folder: not through a request (an API, an image, a script, a WebSocket connection), and not through a frame. The web itself stays reachable, as in a browser.

The first time a request from the displayed page is blocked, for example when it calls its API on http://127.0.0.1:8000, a Moon Desktop window asks “Let the preview reach this service?”, with its address: “The page shown in the preview wants to reach this service, which you have not opened for this folder. Only allow a service of your project, its API for example.” For an address on the local network or a VPN, it adds “This service is on your local network or a VPN, not on this computer.” The window waits until you stop acting in the page and in the preview: it never shows up while you type, click or scroll.

• “Allow for this folder”: the page shown in the preview can send its requests to this service (data, images, scripts), for this folder, until the app closes. This approval does not let the preview show this service as a page: that is asked separately, with the address question. The blocked request is not sent again on its own: reload the preview afterwards.
• “Refuse”, the main button, which has the keyboard focus (Esc does the same): the request stays blocked, and the question is no longer asked for this service, in this folder, until Moon Desktop closes, not even after a reload or when the folder is reopened.

The details are under “Learn more”. The site in the preview can know where the “Allow for this folder” button sits, so the button only accepts a click from a pointer that entered it after the window appeared, or the button reached with Tab. Otherwise, the window says “To confirm, move the pointer off the button, then come back and click it. With the keyboard: Tab, then Enter.” On a touch screen, a tap alone is not enough: use the mouse, the touchpad or the keyboard (Tab, then Enter).

Only allow a service of your project. The questions do not pile up: one at a time, at least 3 seconds apart, five at most per folder and per app launch. The question is never asked for a preview that is hidden, too small, or covered by another preview or a panel of the coding tool: the request then stays blocked, without anything being counted or refused. For your computer, it is only asked for localhost, 127.0.0.1 or [::1], over http or ws. A request to another form of its address (0.0.0.0, its address on the network, a name that leads to it), or over https, does not trigger the question: it only goes through to a port already open for the folder, over http.

Captures and gestures#Link to the Captures and gestures section

Since Moon Desktop 2.0.2, a new local address, a capture of the preview or a picked element only happens after a gesture of yours in the page: a click, a tap, or the Enter key on its own. A typed letter, Space (even on a button), ShiftEnter or a right-click do not count. Each gesture counts for one action only. The Enter key that sends your message also counts as a gesture. A capture, of the whole preview or of a picked element, is only taken if the preview is fully visible and still:

• never when a panel of the coding tool or another preview covers it: “Another preview or a panel of the code tool covers the preview: show all of it to capture it.”;
• never right after it appeared, moved, or changed size or page: “The preview just appeared or moved: try again in a moment.”

Pick an element in the preview#Link to the Pick an element in the preview section

Since Moon Desktop 2.0.2, you can show Moon an element of the page it is building instead of describing it:

1. In the preview bar, click “Pick an element”. The bar says “Click an element in the preview. Press Escape to cancel.”
2. Hover over the page: a frame surrounds the element under the mouse, with its tag and size. Click the button or block you want; the preview page does not receive this click.
3. A capture of the element and a short description (tag, role, visible text, short path in the page, size, page address) arrive in the input box, as an “Preview element” attachment. A click on the attachment shows in full what will go with the message; one click removes it.
4. Write what Moon should do with it, for example “make this button bigger”, then send.

• Nothing goes out before you send, and never without some text from you: “Write what Moon should do with this element.”
• Esc, a second click on “Pick an element”, or the preview being hidden, reloaded or closed stops the picking without attaching anything. It also stops by itself after 2 minutes.
• Four elements at most per message; their captures count among the four images of a message. With a model that does not read images, only the description goes out.
• Moon receives the description as a quote from the displayed page, not as an instruction. In the thread, an “Preview element” line recalls the element’s tag and text.
• Picking is run by Moon Desktop: the page shown in the preview can neither start it nor choose an element for you.

What goes out is limited to what you see: the element’s visible text, never the value of a field or a password, and the page address without its parameters (a token placed in the address does not go out). Since Moon Desktop 2.0.3, text that is too small to read, blurred or transparent does not go out, nor does text that is clipped or covered, nor the names a page gives an element without showing them (for accessibility, in a tooltip). In the capture, the text of fields and input areas is masked. Limits:

• text that cannot be seen without being hidden may still be picked up, and the description may then contradict the image: text in the background color, under a mask, or covered by a transparent layer;
• what is typed in a frame from another site (an embedded form, for example) is not masked in the image. In that case, the attachment opens by itself with the warning “A frame from another site is in the captured area: what is typed in it could not be hidden in the image.”, which does not go out with the message;
• fields placed in a web component with a closed shadow root are not masked either, and nothing points it out.

Open the attachment before sending to see what goes out.

Open the folder elsewhere#Link to the Open the folder elsewhere section

From the “Session actions” menu in the title bar (the session bar before Moon Desktop 2.1), or from the “/” menu of the input box:

• “Open folder” (/open) shows it in Windows File Explorer, the Finder on Mac or the file manager on Linux.
• “Open in editor” (/editor) opens it in VS Code, or else in Cursor, if they are installed; otherwise, in the file manager.
• /terminal opens a terminal of your system in the folder: Windows Terminal or PowerShell, Terminal on Mac, the default terminal on Linux.

Since Moon Desktop 2.0, the system editor and terminal only open in a trusted folder: some editors run the tasks a folder defines as soon as they open it, without asking anything. Until the folder is trusted, “Open in editor” is grayed out, with “Trust the folder first.”, and /editor and /terminal are not offered. Since the tool has its own terminal, /terminal is not in its commands (CtrlShiftP), only in the “/” menu.

What is still asked#Link to the What is still asked section

The coding tool changes nothing in Moon CLI’s permissions, and the Code page cannot run anything on your computer without you:

• Moon’s requests (a command, a file change, a connector action) are answered in the Moon Desktop permission window, as before. git push, creating a PR, a deployment or a package publication by Moon are asked every time, in Autonomous mode too since Moon CLI 0.6.1. Since Moon Desktop 2.0.3, this window, “Moon asks for your permission”, lets you see the conversation behind it, dimmed, without any click or keystroke reaching it; its “Folder:” line gives the folder name, with its full path in a tooltip. Enter, Space and Esc only refuse once the window is ready: a key typed for the page just before it appeared no longer refuses the request. With the mouse, “Refuse” answers right away.
• Reloading, closing, quitting or restarting for an update while Moon is working or a terminal is running is confirmed first: see Reload, close or quit while Moon is working.
• Trusting a folder is done in a Moon Desktop window, never in the page.
• Keeping a mode, or lowering Moon Blur, for a folder is confirmed in a Moon Desktop window, never in the page: see Keep the mode and set Moon Blur for the folder.
• Your actions in the panels (save, rename, move to trash, replace, stage, commit, push, switch branch) always start from a click or a key press in the panel itself: the Code page only places the panels and shows them.
• Always confirmed in the panel: “Push” and “Publish branch”, “Discard changes” in the Git view, “Move to Trash”, and replacing in search.
• A panel that has just appeared or moved ignores your clicks and keystrokes for 0.7 seconds. If “Commit”, “Pull”, “Fetch from remote”, a branch switch, “Initialize a repository”, a worktree or “Undo this file” comes too soon after, or comes from the keyboard without a click in the panel, the panel asks “Confirm this action?”.
• The terminal only starts and takes the keyboard after a click in its area; pasting several lines, or control characters, is confirmed.
• The preview only opens a local address, attaches a capture or picks an element after your gesture in the page. Since Moon Desktop 2.0.2, a new local address, and a service on the computer or the network that the preview’s site wants to reach, also require your approval in a Moon Desktop window: see What the preview can reach.
• “Create the PR” only puts /pr in your input box: you are the one who sends it, and both git push and creating the PR are then asked.
• Opening the folder, the editor or a system terminal requires your click in the page.

Keep the mode and set Moon Blur for the folder#Link to the Keep the mode and set Moon Blur for the folder section

Since Moon Desktop 2.1.2, with Moon CLI 0.5.4 or later (included on Windows and Linux), Code keeps two settings per folder, from one session to the next: the permission mode and the Moon Blur level. Anything that weakens them is confirmed in a Moon Desktop window, never in the page.

Keep the chosen mode#Link to the Keep the chosen mode section

A session starts in “Ask every time” mode, unless you keep a mode for its folder:

1. In the input box, open the mode pill (or “+” › “Permissions”) and check “Keep the chosen mode”: “Future sessions in this folder start in the last mode you chose.”
2. A Moon Desktop window asks “Keep this mode for this folder?”. It says what the next sessions will do, what is still asked in every mode, and warns that a booby-trapped file, comment or page can push Moon to run a harmful command without asking you. “Cancel” is the main button; “Keep this mode” confirms.
3. From then on, each mode you choose in a session of this folder becomes the kept mode. Switching to Autonomous mode is confirmed as usual, and the window then adds: “This mode is kept for this folder: the next sessions will start in this mode too.”

Each time a session opens, a line in the thread recalls the kept mode: “Autonomous mode, kept for this folder. Moon acts without asking in this session.” or “Accept edits mode, kept for this folder.”

• To stop, choose “Ask every time”, or uncheck “Keep the chosen mode”, with no further question.
• The kept mode takes nothing away from what is always asked: connectors, anything outside the folder, files that run on their own (Git hooks, project scripts), git push and creating a PR. Moon Guard, when it is on, still blocks dangerous commands.
• The mode kept in Moon Desktop only applies in Moon Desktop. The Code page on the web keeps its own choice (see Keep the chosen mode), and the terminal ignores it.
• If your organization does not allow Autonomous mode, it is no longer offered, and the menu says so: “Moon CLI’s Autonomous mode is turned off by your organization.” A kept Autonomous mode is not applied: “Autonomous mode, kept for this folder, is turned off by your organization, so this session starts in Ask mode.” See Moon CLI Autonomous mode.

Moon Blur for the folder#Link to the Moon Blur for the folder section

The “Moon Blur” line of the “+” menu shows the folder’s Moon Blur level, for example “Secrets”. When the level is lower than the default level, or off, the pill on the “+” button turns amber. In “+” › “Moon Blur”, “Reset” restores the default level in one click.

“Open Moon Blur”, in the same submenu, opens the Moon Blur window: the current level and where it comes from, the values masked in the session, and the “Strict”, “Secrets and personal data”, “Secrets” (the default level) and “Off” levels, with what each one does.

• Raising the level applies right away, with no question.
• Lowering the level, down to “Off”, opens a Moon Desktop window, “Lower Moon Blur for this folder?”, with the level before and after (“Secrets → Off”) and what will go to the model as is. At the “Off” level: “Nothing will be masked any more: your messages, the content of the files read and the output of commands will go as they are to the model, including the passwords, API keys, tokens, IBANs, card numbers, email addresses and phone numbers they contain.” “Keep the protection” is the main button; “Lower Moon Blur” confirms.
• The level applies to the current session right away. It then applies to this folder in Moon Desktop and in the terminal, until you set it back: it is the same setting as moon blur <level> --here (see Moon Blur in Moon CLI). Code on the web keeps its own level if it has one.
• A workspace that requires Moon Blur takes precedence: “Your workspace requires Moon Blur. It cannot go below Secrets.” The MOON_BLUR_MODE variable, if you have set it, also takes precedence.

After “Cancel” or “Keep the protection”, nothing changes, and the same question is not asked again for this folder for 30 seconds: the page shows, for example, “Moon Blur unchanged: you just refused, try again in a moment.” Repeated requests therefore cannot wear you down into one click too many.

With Moon Desktop 2.1.1 or earlier, raising Moon Blur is still possible, but the page shows “Update Moon Desktop to keep the mode from the app.” and “Update Moon Desktop to lower Moon Blur from the app, or lower it in the terminal.” With Moon CLI 0.5.3 or earlier, neither the checkbox nor the pill appears: Moon Desktop updates Moon CLI by itself, or you can run moon update.

Run a task#Link to the Run a task section

Since Moon Desktop 2.2, with Moon CLI 0.6.0 (included on Windows and Linux), Code runs a task as on the web: Moon asks its questions along the way, its deletions go through the trash and stay on record, a status line and a rail show where it stands, and the “Instructions” card says what it follows. See Run a task. Moon Desktop adds the following.

Finish in the background#Link to the Finish in the background section

Closing the window while a Code session is working or waiting offers three choices: “Finish in the background” (the default), “Close anyway” and “Cancel”. “Finish in the background” hides the window: Moon keeps going and tells you when it is done, is waiting for your permission or has a question, with a system notification (“Moon is done · my-project”). A click on the notification reopens the window on the session. Quitting from the notification area during a turn asks the question again, without “Finish in the background”.

Since Moon Desktop 2.5, these notifications can be set one by one (see Code notifications), and the computer does not go to sleep while Moon is working or waiting for you (see When Moon is working).

Keep or undo part by part#Link to the Keep or undo part by part section

In the editor’s Moon’s changes view, each part has “Keep” and “Undo”, and the file banner offers “Previous”, “Next”, “Keep all in this file” and “Undo this file”.

• “Keep”: nothing is written, and the part leaves the review (“Part kept.”).
• “Undo” puts this part back as it was at the start of the turn, based on the Moon Desktop snapshot. A copy of the current version goes to the trash first: “Part undone. The previous version is in the Trash; once restored, it comes back in the ‘.moon-versions-abandonnees’ folder next to the file.” If the trash refuses the copy, nothing is written.
• A file that changed on disk since it was displayed is read again before writing; if it has changed, nothing is undone. With unsaved changes in the editor: “Save your changes to this file first.”

The “Files” card in the page’s rail lists the files with a part still “to review”; a click opens their changes in the editor. The Code sidebar also marks the session “To review”.

Documents#Link to the Documents section

A folder without a Git repository opens in the “task” layout: Git and the terminal collapsed, the explorer and the rail open, and Ask mode recommended (see A folder without a Git repository).

In the rail’s “Files” card, “Preview” opens a file from the folder in a Moon Desktop window, “Preview · report.pdf”: PDF, Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx, .csv), images (.png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .webp), Markdown and text, 50 MB at most.

• The preview is read-only, with no network and no macros: a Word or Excel document is shown as formatted text, an Excel workbook keeps its sheets (“Sheet 1”…), but its dates stay as numbers.
• “Show in folder” shows it in File Explorer or the Finder; “Close” closes the preview. Eight previews at most are open at once.
• Refused: an unsupported format (“This format cannot be previewed.”), a file that is too large (“File too large to preview (50 MB at most).”) or whose content does not match its extension, and the old .doc and .xls formats.

Instructions#Link to the Instructions section

The rail’s “Instructions” card shows the folder’s instructions file (AGENTS.md) and your Moon CLI instructions. “Open” opens them in the app’s editor: the folder’s file is created when you save it if it does not exist, and your own instructions are called “Your Moon CLI instructions”. Moon CLI started by Moon Desktop does not read the folder’s configuration, AGENTS.md included, until the folder is approved: the card says so (“Not read until the folder is trusted”).

Deletions and the trash#Link to the Deletions and the trash section

A deletion requested by Moon shows in red in the Moon Desktop permission window, with the full list of files; “Refuse” has the keyboard focus and Esc refuses. From the panels, the explorer’s “Move to Trash”, “Undo this file” on a file created by Moon and “Discard changes” on an untracked file in the Git view always move to the trash; without a trash, nothing is deleted. In the rail’s “Files” card, “Show in trash” opens the system trash, and “Restore” puts back the files Moon moved there (Windows and Linux).

Autonomous mode#Link to the Autonomous mode section

Since Moon Desktop 2.2, with Moon CLI 0.6.0, Autonomous mode asks for almost nothing; since Moon CLI 0.6.1, it always asks before publishing or deploying. Switching to Autonomous, and “Keep this mode” for Autonomous, are confirmed in a Moon Desktop window, which says: “Like the no-permissions mode of other coding tools. An organization admin can forbid it.” and then, as a warning:

Each deletion or connector write made without asking leaves a trace in the thread and in the rail: see Autonomous mode.

Open a folder from File Explorer#Link to the Open a folder from File Explorer section

On Windows, right-click a folder in File Explorer, or inside an open folder (on the window background), then choose “Open in Moon Desktop”. Moon Desktop opens, or comes to the front, on Code with this folder: it is the same as “Open a folder” in Code. Nothing is sent to Moon until you write, and Moon CLI’s permissions are asked as usual. With Moon Desktop 2.0, a folder opened this way also goes through the trust question the first time: the right-click points to the folder, it does not trust it.

• Windows 11: the entry is under “Show more options” (or Shift+F10), as for most software.
• Turn it on or remove it: the installer offers it (the “Add “Open in Moon Desktop” to the folder right-click menu” box, checked). The same box adds “Ask Moon AI” to the right-click menu of files, and the setting adds or removes both together: see A file to Moon. After that, since Moon Desktop 2.4, it is in “Settings” › “Moon Desktop” › “Code”: adding it is confirmed in a Moon Desktop window, removing it asks nothing (also in the File menu › “Quick settings”, “Remove “Open in Moon Desktop” from File Explorer”). Before 2.4, it was in the Moon Desktop menu (the ☰ button in the title bar): File › App settings › “Open in Moon Desktop” in File Explorer, and in the menu of the notification area icon. If you already had Moon Desktop before version 1.0.3, the update does not add it: check this setting. Uninstalling removes it.
• Which window: if the folder is already open in a window, that window comes to the front. A window where a Moon CLI session is running is never replaced: a new window opens.
• Refused folders: the root of a drive (C:\), a network folder opened by its address (\\server\share: use its drive letter instead, or “Open a folder” in Code), and any path that is not a folder. Moon Desktop says so in a window.
• The portable version of Moon Desktop adds nothing to the right-click menu. On Mac and Linux, this entry does not exist yet.

The Code workspace#Link to the The Code workspace section

Code works in the workspace open in the site’s sidebar. A session started from Moon Desktop uses this workspace and its plan, and Moon CLI follows it (Moon Desktop 1.0.2 or later): switching workspaces in the sidebar changes the workspace of the next sessions. As with moon workspace use, the Moon CLI workspace can then change in your terminals too.

If the open workspace does not include Moon CLI (a free personal workspace, for example), Code opens no session: the home screen shows “This workspace does not include Moon CLI”, with a “Switch to the … workspace” button for each workspace that includes it, and “View plans”. Your folders and sessions stay listed: nothing is lost.

Sessions#Link to the Sessions section

In the Code sidebar, each session of the folder has a “…” menu: “Rename”, “Archive” (or “Unarchive”), “Select several” and “Delete”, as on the web. These actions require Moon CLI 0.4.0 or later, included with Moon Desktop since version 1.0.1. With an older version, they are grayed out with “Update Moon CLI (0.4.0)”: run moon update in a terminal.

A folder’s list is read again each time you open it and when you come back to the app: a session started with Moon CLI in a terminal, in this folder, shows up there too. In the coding tool, the “Sessions” panel of the activity bar also lists the folder’s sessions, with “Waiting for your answer” and “Moon is working”; “New” opens a new one. Sessions of the same folder share the explorer, the editor and the terminal; to move two sessions forward in parallel without them touching the same files, open one in a worktree (see Git).

Deleting always asks for confirmation, in a Moon Desktop window: “Delete this session?” (or “Delete these 3 sessions?”), with the title of each session, and “Cancel” selected by default. The conversation and its history are deleted from the computer, and the files Moon changed stay as they are. A session where Moon is working cannot be deleted: stop Moon first. Details: Manage sessions.

An answer cut off by its length#Link to the An answer cut off by its length section

A model that thinks a lot can use the whole length allowed for an answer just thinking. Since Moon Desktop 2.1.3, which installs Moon CLI 0.5.5 at its first launch, Code gives it more room, sends the request again once with less thinking when the thinking took everything, and otherwise ends the answer with a note that says it was interrupted and asks you to type “continue” for the rest. An action cut off in the middle of being written, a half-written file for example, is not run. Details: Interrupted reply.

Go back, review, publish#Link to the Go back, review, publish section

Code is the same page in Moon Desktop as on the web. With Moon CLI 0.5.0 or later on the computer (included with Moon Desktop 2.0 on Windows and Linux), you find there:

• Go back to a message: “Go back here”, “Edit and resend” and “Continue from here in a new session”, after a window that says which files will be restored and which will not;
• Undo a file, from “Changed files”;
• the Context panel, by clicking the context gauge;
• code review, with /revue and /revue-securite, and creating a PR with /pr;
• answer styles and behind the scenes of a session: summarized context, subagents, session map;
• with Moon CLI 0.5.1 or later, background commands, in the “In progress” panel, and stopping a single subagent.

With an older version of Moon CLI, these actions are grayed out with “Update Moon CLI (0.5.0)”, or missing for the 0.5.1 ones: run moon update in a terminal; Moon Desktop also keeps Moon CLI up to date by itself (see Moon CLI updates). In the coding tool, “Changed files”, the “Context” panel, the session map and the “In progress” panel open in a window above the tool. In the “In progress” panel, “Open preview of http://localhost:5173/” opens in the preview the address a command shows.

• git push and creating a PR are always asked, in Autonomous mode too since Moon CLI 0.6.1: the page shows the “Moon wants to publish” card, with the destination and the commits, and you answer in the Moon Desktop permission window, which only offers “Allow once” and “Refuse”. See Publish.
• “Go back here” and “Undo this file” are confirmed in the page’s window, as on the web.
• In the input box, “@” also suggests your own agents, in addition to explore and general.
• The input box has the same options as the Chat one, grouped in submenus of the “+” menu (the bar only keeps “+”, the model, the mode, the microphone and send, even in a narrow window): “Attach” › “Files or photos”, drag and drop anywhere on the page, long pasted texts as cards, CtrlShift2 (⌘Shift2 on Mac) for the model, “Commands” in the “+” menu. See The input box. “+” › “Attach” also offers “Screenshot”, and a file dropped on the page is attached to the message: it never opens in the window.
• On a review comment, “View” expands its details and its trail, as on the web.

What stays on your computer#Link to the What stays on your computer section

• The agent runs on your computer, in the folder you chose: your files are not copied to Moon AI’s servers.
• What the agent sends to the model goes through Moon AI as in Moon CLI, with Moon Blur at the folder’s level, your setting or your workspace’s rule: see Moon Blur for the folder and Moon Blur in Moon CLI.
• Permissions stay those of Moon CLI: the agent asks before a command or a change, and you answer in the Moon Desktop permission window, laid over the page, which shows the command or the changes. Moon Desktop never answers for you.
• The explorer, the editor, search, Git and the terminal are Moon Desktop panels, not part of the Code page. The Code page never receives a file’s content or the terminal output: only the path of the files you open in the editor, the branch name, the number of changes, and the texts you send to it (“Ask Moon”, “Send to Moon”). These names can be telling (a client’s name, a project’s).
• The snapshots of Moon’s changes stay in Moon Desktop’s data, on your computer, for up to 14 days after the folder was last used, without the secret files.
• A capture of the preview and a picked element (its capture and short description) only go out with the message you attach them to, like any attachment.
• When a permission is waiting and Moon Desktop is not in the foreground, the “Moon is waiting for your permission · my-project” notification names the step in words (“Run a command”, “Send with Gmail”) and the folder name, never the command, a path or an argument: a notification can also be read on the lock screen (Moon Desktop 2.0.3).

Known limits#Link to the Known limits section

• Trust is not a sandbox: once given, Git, its hooks and the terminal have your permissions in this folder. See Trust a folder.
• Git acts on the whole repository: if the open folder is a subfolder of a repository, the Git view only shows its files, but “Commit”, “Push”, “Pull” and switching branches act on the whole repository. “Commit” also commits what is staged elsewhere in the repository.
• Previous version unknown: “Undo this file”, in the editor, can do nothing for a secret file, a file ignored by .gitignore or a file over 50 MB, nor when Git is not installed. Undo it with /undo or with Git.
• “Commit all” commits everything: with nothing staged, it also takes new files, including a secret file that .gitignore does not exclude. Look at the list of changes before committing.
• The editor does not check the code: it highlights TypeScript and JavaScript without flagging their errors, because it does not know your project’s configuration.
• Files: a binary file or a file over 8 MB does not open in the editor, and a file in an encoding other than UTF-8 or UTF-16 opens read-only.
• “Open in Moon Desktop” in the right-click menu only exists on Windows.
• The preview is a web page: it reaches the web as a browser does, and can send there what it reads. Since Moon Desktop 2.0.2, only the services on your computer and private addresses (local network, VPN) stay closed to it without your approval: see What the preview can reach. The filter knows private addresses, not the whole local network: a device on the network reached through a public address, or a public range of a corporate VPN, stays reachable.
• “Pick an element” takes the element’s visible text, but text that is hidden without looking hidden (in the background color, under a mask or under a transparent layer) can still get through, and what is typed in a frame from another site is not masked in the capture (the attachment points it out): open the attachment before sending.
• Kept mode and the folder’s Moon Blur: they are stored in your Moon CLI settings, on the computer, by the folder’s path; another project placed later at the same path inherits them. This is not a barrier against Moon itself: a command it runs can change these settings, just as it can run moon blur off --here. In Ask mode, such a command is shown to you before it runs; in Autonomous mode, it runs without a question. This is why the thread recalls the kept mode each time a session opens, and the pill always shows the Moon Blur level.
• “Quit” from the macOS Dock and signing out of your session on the computer do not ask for confirmation, even when Moon is working.

If Code does not start#Link to the If Code does not start section

The messages of the coding tool (trust, terminal, Git view, preview) are explained in Moon Desktop troubleshooting. Other Moon CLI problems (PATH, proxy, sign-in) are solved as in the terminal: see Moon CLI troubleshooting.

See also#Link to the See also section

• Moon Desktop
• Use Moon CLI
• Moon Desktop troubleshooting