How do I browse files, history, and pull requests in DevTools?
Four of the DevTools tabs are for looking around your project rather than committing: Explorer browses files, History shows past commits, PRs lists GitHub pull requests, and Actions lists GitHub Actions runs. Open DevTools with the </> button on the preview's toolbar, then click the tab you want. Explorer and History work on any Git project; PRs and Actions need your GitHub account connected first.
Explorer: browse and open files
Explorer is a file tree of the folder in this quadrant.
- Click a folder to open or close it. A ▶ means closed, a ▼ means open.
- Click a file to open it. You can read it and edit it there.
- Type in the Search files… box to jump to a file by name, instead of clicking down through folders.
Explorer hides the heavy folders you rarely open by hand, such as node_modules, dist, build, and vendor, so you see your real project files.
History: past commits
History lists the project's commits, newest first. Each row shows a short code, the commit message, the author's initials, and how long ago it was made.
- Click a commit to see the exact lines it added and removed.
- Click Load more to show the next batch of older commits.
- Click ⟳ to refresh the list.
If the project has no commits yet, it reads "No commits yet".
PRs: GitHub pull requests
PRs lists the open pull requests for the folder's GitHub repository, so it needs your GitHub account connected.
The first time, the tab shows a Connect GitHub button. Click it, and codus opens GitHub in your default browser with a short code to enter. Type the code on GitHub, approve codus, and the list appears. You can cancel that step at any point.
Once connected, each pull request row has:
- Open, which opens the pull request on github.com.
- Checkout, which downloads its branch and switches your local folder to it.
The + New button at the top starts a new pull request if you have permission to push. If there are none open, the tab reads "No open pull requests".
Actions: GitHub Actions runs
Actions lists your GitHub Actions workflows and their recent runs. It needs GitHub connected, and with the extra workflow permission. If your connection is missing that permission, the tab shows a Reconnect to enable Actions button; clicking it grants the permission while keeping your existing access.
Once it is set up:
- Set the branch, tag, or commit to run against in the Ref box. It defaults to the branch you have checked out.
- Click Run on a workflow to start it.
- Click Open to see the workflow on github.com.
- Recent runs sit under each workflow. Click one to open it on GitHub.
Only workflows set up to be started by hand can be run this way. The rest show their past runs read-only, with a note that the workflow "has no workflow_dispatch trigger, so it can't be run manually".
Common problems
A tab is empty or says "Not a git repository". Explorer and History only work when the folder here is a Git project. Confirm a folder is pinned and that it is a Git repository.
PRs or Actions asks me to connect, again. These need your GitHub account connected. Click Connect GitHub and approve codus in your browser. For Actions, you also need the workflow permission; if it is missing, click Reconnect to enable Actions.
I connected GitHub but Actions is still blocked. Your connection has GitHub access but not the workflow permission. Click Reconnect to enable Actions to add it.