# From the first step to your own workflow. Find explanations for the workbench, agents, devices and voice, with key product-design principles included for direct reading. ## Getting to know Bruce From an idea to a result you can review. Bruce combines a professional development workbench, agent management and connected devices. Edit yourself or describe an outcome to an agent, follow execution, answer questions and accept the result after reviewing the changes. Public distribution for installers and IDE plugins is being prepared. Availability and installation instructions will be published on this website. These guides explain product behavior, usage and platform scope in the meantime. - Choose a project and describe the goal, boundaries and acceptance criteria. - Follow conversations, tool records and real terminals; add instructions when needed. - Review Git changes and test results, then retain important decisions and project knowledge. > Bruce product position and working principles: Build a solid foundation; let users and projects define tasks, roles and workflows. ## Workbench, layout and keymaps Keep professional IDE habits and a workspace of your own. IDEA-style interaction is Bruce’s current reference. The title bar, activity rails and status bar form a continuous base plate, with the editor and tool windows arranged as content islands for files, Git, agents, Run and terminals. Adjust tool positions and sizes, choose light, dark or system appearance, and use familiar configurable keymaps. The active file, selection, Git state and terminal output can also help the agent understand the task. - Read and edit the project through files and editor tabs. - Open the Git, Run, Terminal and Agent tools the task needs. - Keep your working habits while delegating more repetitive execution. > Workbench content-island design: Editors and tool windows are islands on a continuous plate; layout supports the work without prescribing a project workflow. ## Git and code review Local changes, branches, history and merging together. Git is a central part of Bruce. IDEA’s actual interactions guide ongoing work on local changes, staging, commits, history and branch graphs, connected with diff, three-way merge, action feedback and the console. For agent-written code, inspect the files and diff, then examine test and run results. Bring specific changes and questions back to the conversation. Branch operations and commits are still performed by real Git. - Inspect local changes, staging scope, commit content and file history. - Use supported branches, Fetch / Pull / Push, Rebase, Cherry-pick, Stash and Shelf operations. - Understand conflicts through side-by-side diff and three-way merge, within the current version’s supported scope. > Git interaction reference principle: Use professional Git behavior and semantics as the reference, so people can carefully verify every change. ## Agents, native sessions and terminals Understand native execution and make it readable. Bruce organizes agent conversations and discovers supported sessions started in other terminals. Messages, public reasoning summaries, tool inputs and results, questions and execution states become readable views through each native adapter. Real terminals remain available. PTYs and terminal screen/ANSI/TUI parsing preserve interactive commands. Resume, queued input, model, thinking and permission controls depend on the agent and adapter’s actual capabilities. - Manage context by project and session, with running work and decisions in view. - Add instructions, answer native questions or stop execution in supported sessions. - Use existing agent accounts or model configurations; subscriptions remain with the relevant providers. > Native session adaptation principle: Preserve native messages, tools and completion semantics; an unknown or incomplete result must not appear successful. ## Workgroup devices and mobile Bring connected projects and computers into one view. Connect your Mac, Windows workstation or Linux host, then inspect its tasks and sessions from your phone. Enter the right project and continue with messages, files, Git and terminals. Same-network connections prefer a direct path; configured relay connectivity is used when away. Native clients include iOS, Android and HarmonyOS NEXT. Advanced features depend on client and host support: iOS provides Live Activities, configured push and screen/control for supported hosts. Computers must stay awake, powered on and online. - Connect by scanning or account, then choose the project or session to work with. - Use activity and pending decisions to see which computer needs you. - Screen and input controls require host capabilities and OS permissions; offline hosts are shown as offline. > Device interconnection and session ownership: Keep device connections explicit, with each project and session belonging to a clear host. ## Independent host, headless and browser Clients can leave while execution and state stay with the host. The Bruce host owns tasks, terminals, files, sessions and tool execution. It can run independently of a desktop window and serve mobile and other supported clients, including an always-on development machine or headless host. The browser client connects through an independent frontend. Automatic OS background-service registration is currently primarily available on macOS. Service-first distribution, on-demand UI packages and independent updates remain product directions. - Choose a suitable host deployment and keep connectivity available. - Closing a client is different from stopping a remote task; behavior depends on the running mode. - Public installation channels are being prepared; deployment steps will accompany available versions. > Service and client responsibilities: The service owns behavior and state; the client identifies the message’s project, session and device. ## JetBrains and VS Code bridges Keep your IDE and connect its agent conversations. Bruce has bridge plugins for JetBrains and VS Code-based editors. They focus on agent sessions in IDE terminals, allowing messages from your phone or Bruce to continue in the original conversation. JetBrains plugins follow supported IDE versions, including adapted IDEA and WebStorm environments. The VS Code bridge also targets compatible editors such as Cursor. Distribution and installation instructions will accompany public versions; exact controls depend on IDE, terminal and agent support. - Keep existing editing, debugging, project settings and terminal habits. - Locate the original conversation, send messages and handle supported choice prompts. - Optional VS Code / Cursor-style main interfaces for Bruce are a separate future interface consideration. > IDE bridge design: Connect the process already running in the IDE, keeping messages in the same native conversation. ## In-app voice and AI cleanup Keep the original words, corrections and final intent. Desktop and iOS in-app voice records inside the conversation without an external voice keyboard or another app. Speech services must be configured for the available version. Android and HarmonyOS currently use system dictation. On iOS, a completed utterance can be tidied for a task or chat: remove fillers and repetition, apply later corrections and keep the original words for review. The confirmed draft reaches the agent with session and project context. - Add details and correct yourself naturally; cleanup keeps the final intent. - Switch between the tidied draft and original before deciding what to send. - OS microphone permission applies; transcription and cleanup scope depend on client support. > In-app AI voice design: Keep final intent, add nothing the speaker did not express, and preserve original wording where uncertain. ## Allowance, tokens and cost Understand usage and when capacity returns. Supported agent sources provide subscription windows, remaining allowance and reset times. Pay-as-you-go, balance and subscription information are presented according to the available meter, without inventing missing readings. Session usage also covers tokens, context and cache. Cost can be estimated when model prices are available; estimates may differ from provider billing. Capacity forecasting and automatic allocation of spare allowance remain further directions. - Plan the next stretch of work using available allowance and reset times. - Inspect context and cache to understand task consumption. - Model services and CLI subscriptions are billed by their providers; Bruce service details follow official releases. > Usage and allowance presentation: Separate subscription readings from session token accounting; unknown pricing must not be displayed as zero. ## Skills, MCP and project conventions The tools supply the foundation. Your project decides how to work. Bruce loads skills and project conventions, connects MCP tools and supports plugin tools, events and panels. It can also expose supported project state, tasks and memory to external agents. Users and projects configure roles, workflows, models and tools. Sessions work in the project directory by default, with optional worktrees for isolation. Broader plugin capabilities follow the support in each version. - Express project conventions through files such as AGENTS.md and reusable skills through SKILL.md. - Choose MCP tools, plugins and model providers for your project. - Use worktrees when needed without adopting a fixed set of roles or processes. > General-purpose foundation principle: Build the primitives well; make tasks, roles and workflows configurable. ## Project memory, timelines and creation Build the work, then explain what it means. Keep project decisions, pitfalls and milestones available for future recall. Memory, tasks and Git history can help Bruce reconstruct a timeline or draft development diaries, blogs, release notes and posts. Drafts should follow project evidence, without invented dates or outcomes. Richer creative timelines and video-related work will continue to evolve. You decide what to share or publish. - Review what shipped, what was decided, what went wrong and what comes next. - Turn version changes into release notes or a useful lesson into a blog draft. - Help independent developers, OPCs and teams reuse their project knowledge. > Project memory and creative prompting: Retrieve tasks, memory and version records first, then write specific, honest drafts. ## Product direction and interface choices Preserve habits as the project partner evolves. IDEA-style workbench interaction is the current focus. Optional VS Code / Cursor-style main editor interfaces are being considered to preserve familiar habits and lower migration and learning costs. Further directions include preparing environments and configuring agents from one instruction, capacity forecasting and spare-allowance dispatch, progressive installation and independent UI updates, and richer creative material. Delivery will follow specific releases. - Existing IDE bridge capabilities and future Bruce interface styles evolve within their own scopes. - Automation follows project rules, available resources and clear task boundaries. - Use official release information to confirm whether a capability is available. > Bruce product direction: Help people express goals and judge results, while understandable, manageable tools handle repeated execution.