How do I open the preview to see the app my agent is building?
Click the web button on the quadrant's button row. It is the small globe (🌐) with the word web next to it, sitting between plan and the settings tools icon. codus opens a built-in browser in the slot next to your quadrant and loads whatever your app is serving, so you watch the live page change as the agent edits the code. Click web again to hide it.
The preview is a real browser built into codus. You do not need Chrome or Safari open to use it, and unlike the terminal, your mouse works inside it: you can click links, scroll, and fill in forms just as you would in any browser.
Before you start
Two things have to be true for the preview to show anything:
- The neighbouring slot has to be switched on. The preview opens in the slot next to your quadrant, so that slot needs to be available. If it is off, clicking web does nothing and shows no error.
- There has to be an address to load. codus reads that from a running dev server on its own, or you set it by hand. If there is no address yet, the preview opens but reads "No URL". See Why does my preview say "No URL"? for how to fix that.
Steps
- Find the button row along the top of your quadrant.
- Click the web button (the globe, 🌐). Hover it first if you are not sure: it reads Open test browser in the adjacent slot.
- The preview opens in the slot beside your quadrant and loads your page.
- To put it away, click web again. Its label now reads Hide test browser.
How do I know it worked?
A browser panel appears next to your quadrant with a toolbar across the top and your page underneath. The web button stays highlighted while the preview is open.
Common problems
Clicking web does nothing. The slot next to your quadrant is switched off, so there is nowhere for the preview to open. Turn that neighbouring quadrant on, then click web again.
The preview opens but says "No URL". Nothing is being served yet. Start your dev server, or set an address by hand. The full fix is in Why does my preview say "No URL"?.
The preview is covering another panel. The preview and the Brain panel can share the same space. See The browser is covering the Brain panel.