---
title: Where did the planner tab go?
question: where is the planner tab
area: workspace
order: 8
surface: desktop
audience: beginner
keywords: [planner, planner tab, hidden tab, central planner, default startup view, missing planner, cross-project planning, plan all, overview, settings, startup view]
related: [what-is-the-plans-tab, where-do-i-find-tasks-notes-and-done]
updated: 2026-07-21
---

# Where did the planner tab go?

codus has a **planner** view, but its tab is hidden by default while the feature is being polished, so you will not see a **planner** button along the top. You can still open it by setting your **Default startup view** to **planner** in settings, which makes codus open on it the next time it starts. This is a different thing from the visible **plans** tab: the planner is a full-window terminal for planning work across all your projects at once, while **plans** is the shapes canvas for a single project.

## Why you cannot see it

The **planner** tab was taken off the top bar on purpose. The view itself still works; only the button to it is hidden. So there is no **planner** button next to **coding** and **plans** right now, and that is expected, not a fault.

## How to open it

1. In the title bar, click the **⚙** settings control (its label is "Settings").
2. Find the row headed **Default startup view**.
3. It offers a set of buttons: **Default**, **email**, **coding**, **planner** and **plans**. Click **planner**.
4. This setting takes effect at launch, so restart codus. It opens straight onto the planner.

To go back to the normal workspace afterwards, open the same setting and click **coding**. That is the everyday view with your project terminals. While you are on the planner you can also click **← grid** in the top-left to return to your terminals for that session.

## What the planner is

The planner opens full-window and is titled **Central Planner**. It is a terminal, like the ones in your projects, but pointed at planning rather than one project's code. Along the top are buttons that hand it a ready-made request:

- **overview**: summarise where each of your projects stands.
- **plan Q1**, **plan Q2** and so on: plan follow-up work for one project.
- **plan all**: plan across every project you have open.

There is also a **▶ start** button and a small **claude / codex** switch to choose which agent does the planning. A hint under the buttons reads "plan buttons auto-start claude if needed", meaning you do not have to start the agent yourself first.

## How it differs from the plans tab

They sound alike but do different jobs:

- **plans** (the visible tab) is a canvas of shapes and connections for one project. See [What is the plans tab?](what-is-the-plans-tab.md).
- **planner** (the hidden view) is a planning terminal that looks across all your projects and can propose batches of tasks for them.

## How do I know it worked?

After you set **Default startup view** to **planner** and restart, codus opens on a full-window view headed **Central Planner** with a terminal and the **overview** / **plan** buttons across the top.

## Common problems

**"I set it to planner but codus still opens on my terminals."** The setting only applies at launch. Fully quit and reopen codus for it to take effect.

**"I want my terminals back at startup."** Open the **⚙** settings, find **Default startup view**, and click **coding**. That is the normal project workspace.