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Coding tools
Anywhere Truetask shows a pull request or a linked task, it also offers to open that work in your coding tool. The launch carries the repository, the branch and the task, so you do not reassemble the context by hand.
The split button
The button appears on the task's Code tab, on rows in the board's Code view, and on rows in the Reviews page.
It has two halves.
- The left half launches straight away, using the tool you used last, or your preferred tool if you have not used one yet. Its icon and tooltip name the tool it will use.
- The caret opens the Open in menu: your enabled tools in your order, with a check on the one the quick half would use, then Copy checkout, then Customize tools.
Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+O runs the quick half from the keyboard. It is remappable in Customize > Shortcuts; see Keyboard shortcuts.
The tools
| Tool | What happens |
|---|---|
| Claude Code | Launches natively through the Truetask desktop app when it is installed. Otherwise it copies a checkout plus the Claude Code command. |
| Codex CLI | Launches natively through the desktop app when it is installed. Otherwise it copies a checkout plus the Codex CLI command. |
| Cursor | Opens Cursor's prompt deep link, as long as the prompt is short enough to fit in a URL. |
| VS Code | Uses VS Code's git clone deep link from the browser. |
| Zed | Opens the local checkout in Zed through the desktop app when it is installed. Otherwise it copies a checkout plus the Zed command. |
| Copy prompt | Copies the generated agent prompt, for any tool at all. |
| Copy checkout | Copies only the shell script that clones or fetches and checks out the right branch. |
What a launch carries
Truetask builds a prompt from what it knows and hands it to the tool. It contains, when available:
- The instruction that matches your prompt template.
- Repository context: full name, provider, remote and default branch.
- Pull request context: number, title, state, branch pair, head SHA and URL.
- Linked task context: task ID, key, title, URL and description.
- A checkout command as a shell block.
- Working expectations, plus a pointer to the agent protocol document if this workspace serves one.
The checkout command clones the repository if it is not there, fetches the pull request's head ref into a local branch, and falls back to the source branch or a plain fetch.
Credentials are never launched
A repository remote that carries a token, a password or a credential-looking query parameter is refused rather than passed to a tool or written into a checkout script. The launch reports that the repository has no usable remote instead.
The Code tools dialog
Open the avatar menu and choose Code tools. The row appears once at least one board in the workspace has a repository. Everything in it is personal and saves as you change it, so there is no Save button.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Preferred coding tool | The default action when you open coding context from a linked task or a review. Only enabled tools can be chosen. |
| Enabled tools | Which tools appear in the Open in menu, and the order they use. Drag to reorder. |
| Prompt template | Shapes the generated prompt: Implementation builds the requested change, Bug fix emphasizes reproduction and validation, Review focuses on findings, and Debugging asks the tool to investigate. |
| Terminal | Where generated terminal commands run: System default, Integrated terminal or External terminal. |
| Fallback | What to do when the preferred tool cannot be launched or the prompt is too large: Copy agent prompt, Copy checkout command, or Show an error. |
The dialog also shows Last used, and a Truetask Desktop section: an invitation to install the app, or a line confirming which version is connected.
Out of the box the enabled tools are Copy prompt, VS Code and Cursor, and the preferred tool is Copy prompt. Turn on Claude Code, Codex CLI or Zed when you want them in the menu.
In the browser versus in the desktop app
The launch path depends on where Truetask is running.
| Browser | Truetask Desktop | |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code, Codex CLI | Tries the truetask:// hand-off, then falls back to copying | Native launch with a verified repository, branch and SHA |
| Cursor | Cursor's own prompt deep link | Native launch |
| VS Code | VS Code's git clone deep link | Native launch |
| Zed | Copies a checkout plus zed . | Native launch |
The browser hand-off waits about a second and a half for the app to take over. If nothing happens in that time, the action falls back to your fallback setting rather than hanging.
In the desktop app every tool goes through the shell: it resolves the repository inside one of your clone roots, verifies the branch and SHA, and launches with arguments only, never through a shell. Terminal agents open in a real terminal with the prompt handed over in a file. See Settings and links.
When a launch is not possible
A few situations stop a direct launch, and Truetask says so instead of failing quietly.
- The repository has no usable remote, so Copy checkout is disabled and the launch falls back.
- The prompt is too long for Cursor's deep link, which caps at 8000 characters after encoding, so the entry falls back.
- The tool is not enabled, so it simply is not in the menu.
In each case the fallback you chose in the Code tools dialog is used, and a toast says what was copied.