Scratchpads🔗

A scratchpad is a hidden window pool. Toggle it to bring a window to the foreground as a floating overlay; toggle again to hide it. Scratchpads are useful for tools you need briefly and often — a terminal, a calculator, a notes app.

Default Scratchpad🔗

The default scratchpad is a single slot. Send the focused window to it:

triad msg move-to-scratchpad

Toggle it visible or hidden:

triad msg toggle-scratchpad

Bind both for quick access:

bindings {
  bind "Super+s"       "move-to-scratchpad"
  bind "Super+Alt+s"   "toggle-scratchpad"
  bind "Super+Shift+s" "restore-scratchpad"
}

Named Scratchpads🔗

Named scratchpads let you maintain separate pools for different tools:

triad msg move-to-named-scratchpad "terminal"
triad msg toggle-named-scratchpad  "terminal"

bindings {
  bind "Super+Ctrl+e"       "toggle-named-scratchpad terminal"
  bind "Super+Ctrl+Shift+e" "move-to-named-scratchpad terminal"
}

Named scratchpads are created on first use. A name can hold multiple windows; toggling shows or hides the entire pool.

Workflow🔗

A typical setup keeps a terminal in a named scratchpad:

1. Open a terminal (Super+Return).
2. Send it to the scratchpad (triad msg move-to-named-scratchpad "terminal").
3. From any workspace, Super+Ctrl+e brings it up as a centered overlay.
4. Super+Ctrl+e again hides it.

The window stays running in the background. Its state — shell history, running processes — persists between toggles.