Work from the Macintosh.

Start a session

Open TimeWarp only when you plan to use the Macintosh. Choose the provider and project folder, then press Start TimeWarp.

The selected folder serves two purposes: it is the coding agent's working directory and the highest folder visible to flatmac's file browser.

Send a request

Type into flatmac's input field and press Return. Ordinary text goes directly to the selected provider. Assistant text and tool activity stream back as compact protocol messages.

Inspect this project and explain how its event loop works.

Now fix the redraw bug and run the relevant tests.

The interface shows tool names and targets in order, but it does not reproduce the provider's terminal UI. TimeWarp consumes structured JSON events from each provider and renders one shared Macintosh conversation.

Use the Interrupt command in flatmac when a turn should stop. TimeWarp signals the entire provider process group so child build commands do not keep running.

Browse and download files

Open Server Files from flatmac. Return opens the selected folder or downloads the selected file. Escape closes the browser or cancels a transfer.

Use /cd path/to/folder when you want future provider sessions, file operations, and session listings to use a narrower root.

Display an image

Ask TimeWarp to convert an image underneath the current project root:

/image references/interface.png

TimeWarp scales the source to at most 448 × 280, converts it to a one-bit QuickDraw bitmap, and opens it in a native Macintosh window. Escape closes the image.

flatmac commands

TimeWarp implements these commands itself. Provider-specific terminal commands are intentionally not exposed because they do not behave consistently in headless JSON modes.

/clear

End the current provider session and start fresh.

/model <name>

Choose a model override and begin a fresh session.

/cost

Show the current session's token usage and cost summary.

/cd <path>

Change the project root. Use /cd with no path to reset it.

/image <path>

Scale, dither, and display an image from the project.

/rebuild

Build flatmac and download the new application.

/restart

Restart the TimeWarp server process.

/help

Show this command list on the Macintosh.

Any other input—including an unknown slash command—is sent to the selected coding agent as ordinary text.

Disconnect and return

A brief Wi-Fi interruption does not have to end the work. flatmac retries transient connections, while TimeWarp parks the provider session for a bounded reconnection window.

When the Macintosh reconnects, the handshake can reclaim the live session or restore a persisted one and replay its recent history. After the window expires, TimeWarp stops its helper and returns to an idle app.

Common problems