> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cortex-foundation-add13747-droid-1a2462c9-cor-444-sanitize.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sessions

> A Code session is a timeline of the task you asked for and the work that followed — files read, edits, commands, plans — not a chat transcript.

A session is where Code does its work on one repository. It records every turn as a timeline: what you asked, which files the agent read, what it edited, which commands it ran, and the plan it wrote when you asked for one. You can stop a turn at any point and follow up with another.

## Anatomy of a session

| Part         | What it shows                                                                                                   |
| ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Header**   | Repository, host (Cloud in the web app), run state, and **Stop**                                                |
| **Turns**    | Your request, then the work: reads, edits with diffs, commands with output, plan blocks                         |
| **Mode**     | Ask, Plan, or Agent on each turn; the session row holds the default. See [Ask, Plan, Agent](/code/interactions) |
| **Composer** | Where the next turn starts                                                                                      |

In the CLI the same session appears as a terminal timeline with tool rows — the tool name, a short argument summary, and the result indented beneath it. See [The TUI](/cli/tui).

## Start a session

<Steps>
  <Step title="Sign in and open Code">
    Exact `/code` is the public product page for a guest; the working UI is for members.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Connect GitHub if the work needs a repository">
    [Connect GitHub](/code/github) from Code Home, the repository picker, or **Settings → Integrations**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick the repository">
    Cortex starts and attaches a Cloud guest for it, then prepares the environment. If no runtime is attached when the first command would run, the harness starts one — an unattached runtime is never the first step you see.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Describe the change and watch the timeline">
    Reads, edits, and commands appear as they happen. **Stop** cancels the live turn if it is heading the wrong way.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Follow-ups

A session is a conversation with a repository, so follow-ups carry context: *now add the test*, *undo the last change*, *explain why you chose that library*. Each follow-up can pick a different mode.

## Stop and cancel

**Stop** in the header cancels the live turn. The timeline records that the turn stopped; the work already written to the repository stays, so read the diff before your next turn. In the CLI, **Esc** interrupts and the timeline shows `× Stopped`.

## What is in the session and what is not

| In the session                                      | Not in the session                                                      |
| --------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| The repository, checked out in the guest            | Your other repositories                                                 |
| Environment the agent installed for this repository | A shared Secrets page — there is none; environment belongs to the guest |
| Files, diffs, command output, plans                 | A Chat transcript or Chat's Python sandbox                              |
| The mode you chose per turn                         | A model picker — web Code has none                                      |

## Web, desktop, CLI

| Surface     | Host options                              | Session storage                                                                                               |
| ----------- | ----------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Web app     | Cloud                                     | On your account                                                                                               |
| Desktop app | Cloud, This PC, SSH                       | On your account                                                                                               |
| CLI         | Cloud by default, This PC / SSH by opt-in | On your account, plus a local transcript you can resume, export, and share. See [CLI sessions](/cli/sessions) |

The CLI reuses the same Code session id for a workspace, so turns from the terminal continue the same coding session.

## Related

* [Ask, Plan, Agent](/code/interactions) — what each mode may do.
* [Cloud runtimes](/code/cloud) — the guest behind the session.
* [How Code works](/code/how-it-works) — the workspace tool catalog.