Switchboard's Grid View Gives You Bird's-Eye Control of Claude Code Sessions
What Changed — Grid View for Session Management
Switchboard, the CLI manager for Claude Code, just released version 0.0.16 with a major new feature: Session Grid Overview. This isn't just another terminal multiplexer tweak—it's a complete rethinking of how you monitor and control multiple Claude Code sessions.
The grid view gives you a bird's-eye perspective of all open sessions, grouped by project. Each session card shows:
- Live terminal previews (what's actually happening right now)
- Status indicator dots (running/stopped/busy)
- Last-activity timestamps
- Project grouping for logical organization
Click any card to focus that session. Double-click to expand it back to single-terminal view. Your grid preference persists across restarts, so once you set it up, it stays that way.
Why This Matters — Context Switching Without the Pain
If you're like most Claude Code power users, you're probably juggling multiple projects simultaneously. Maybe you have:
- A long-running autonomous session building a new feature
- An interactive debugging session for a production issue
- A quick prototype session for testing an idea
Previously, switching between these meant either multiple terminal windows or complex tmux/screen setups. Now you get visual context at a glance. The status indicators alone are worth the upgrade—you can immediately see which sessions are actively working versus idle.
The project grouping is particularly smart. Claude Code sessions are inherently project-based (they operate within specific directories), and Switchboard now reflects this reality in its interface.
Under the Hood — Cleaner Terminal Lifecycle
The release also includes significant refactoring of terminal lifecycle management. The developers consolidated duplicated terminal creation logic into shared helpers:
createTerminalEntrydestroySessionshowSessionfitAndScroll
This means more consistent behavior across session launch, resume, and the new grid view. Fewer bugs, smoother transitions, and cleaner code that's easier to maintain.
Try It Now — Installation and Usage
Switchboard is available via npm:
npm install -g @doctly/switchboard
# or
npx @doctly/switchboard
Once installed, launch Switchboard in your terminal. The grid view toggle is in the sidebar—look for the grid icon or use the keyboard shortcut (check the docs for your platform).
If you're already using Switchboard, update to the latest version:
npm update -g @doctly/switchboard
Pro Tip: Combine with the CC Toolkit
While you're optimizing your Claude Code workflow, check out the complementary CC Toolkit mentioned in the additional context. These 35+ CLI tools give you analytics about your Claude Code usage:
# See your usage patterns
npx cc-session-stats
# Check tool usage patterns
npx cc-agent-load
# Monitor context window usage
npx cc-context-check
Every tool works via npx with zero installation, reads only from your local ~/.claude folder, and never uploads your data. Combine Switchboard's session management with the CC Toolkit's analytics, and you've got a complete Claude Code optimization suite.
When Grid View Shines
Use the grid view when:
- Managing autonomous sessions - Quickly check which ones are still running versus completed
- Debugging multiple issues - See all your debugging sessions at once
- Teaching/mentoring - Show multiple Claude Code sessions side-by-side
- Project handoffs - Review all active sessions before passing work to a colleague
The live terminal previews mean you don't need to interrupt Claude's work to check progress—just glance at the grid.
What's Next
Given the refactoring work on terminal lifecycle, expect more session management features in future releases. The clean architecture now in place makes it easier to add things like session templates, bulk operations, or even AI-powered session recommendations.
For now, the grid view solves the immediate problem of "what's Claude doing across all my projects?"—and does it with elegant, persistent visual organization.
