sessions
run five agents at once. each tab belongs to one session, so picks never mix.
on this page
which session gets a pick#
| situation | goes to |
|---|---|
| the tab is assigned to a session | that session |
| unassigned tab, one session running | that session (and the tab is assigned to it) |
| unassigned tab, several sessions | the drawer opens on sessions to ask, showing each session's last prompt |
the toolbar badge shows which session owns the current tab.
assign a tab#
open the drawer's sessions tab (⌥⇧S), then press a number or click a session. unassign this tab frees it again.
tabs your agent opens with el open <url>, and tabs opened from a tab a session owns, belong to that session automatically.
how sessions are found#
the hub keys a session by the agent process (claude, codex, …) that its hooks and shell commands run under. there's no config or environment variable per session. a session disappears when that process exits.
each codex window is its own session too. codex runs every window's hooks in one background app-server, so element tells windows apart by conversation; a new window shows up after its first message.
agents on other machines#
an agent on a dev box, a vm or a cloud sandbox can pick from the browser on your laptop. its sessions show up next to your local ones as claude · api (devbox), and work like them: assign tabs, pick, chips, el get, el snapshot, el open. this is part of Pro and Max. install element on that machine too, then connect it one of two ways:
- sign in there. run
el installwith its agent andel loginwith the account this computer is signed in to. the first time, the tab in front asks devbox wants to pick from this browser with a code; click allow, or runel allow devbox(el denykeeps it out, and either one changes an earlier answer). after that its sessions just show up. it goes through remote.elmts.dev, sealed end to end: the relay can't read your picks. it needs node 22 or later on both machines. - or over ssh. on your laptop, signed in, run
el link devbox(any ssh destination, ssh options after it) and leave it running. nothing goes through our servers.
it works both ways: a machine with a browser of its own can show your laptop's sessions too, once you allow them there. a linked machine only ever sees the tabs you give its agents. el status shows which machines are asking and this machine's code, to compare with the one the browser shows.
no limit#
any number of sessions in parallel, on every plan.