QuickHub Mode

QuickHub Mode is Alter’s primary conversation interface. When enabled, every chat opens in QuickHub — a floating panel you can move, attach to app windows, or summon from the screen edge. New installs default to QuickHub Mode on (useQuickHub = true as of 2.0.0-beta100). Turn QuickHub Mode off to return to the notch-centric experience: hover the camera notch to open the compact quick menu instead of QuickHub.

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QuickHub vs the notch

QuickHub is not a separate product from the Hub — it is the lightweight conversation surface. Open any QuickHub chat in the full Hub window with Open in Hub (default ⌘O) when you need tabs, sidebar, and workspace management.

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Enable or disable QuickHub Mode

1. Open Settings (⌘,)
2. Go to General
3. Toggle QuickHub Mode — Use QuickHub for all conversations instead of the notch

When you disable QuickHub Mode, Edge Bar settings gray out and the screen-edge launcher stops appearing.

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Opening QuickHub

From anywhere (global)

• ⌘⇧Space — Open QuickHub (default; configurable in Settings → Shortcuts → Global)
• Open QuickHub and Attach — opens QuickHub and attaches to a chosen side using your configured trigger (see below)
• Edge Bar — move to an enabled screen edge and click Open QuickHub or New Chat — see Edge Bar

From the Hub

• New Hub Chat — ⌥Space (default) starts a fresh Hub conversation; QuickHub conversations share the same shortcut categories under Hub & QuickHub

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Attach, detach, and pin

QuickHub can dock beside the frontmost app window so you chat while working in Mail, Safari, Xcode, or any other app.

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Attach shortcuts

Configure under Settings → Shortcuts → QuickHub: You can also click Attach from the Edge Bar launcher when QuickHub Mode is on.

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Open QuickHub and Attach

Under Settings → Shortcuts → Global, Open QuickHub and Attach combines open + attach in one gesture:

• Attach behavior picker — Attach Left or Attach Right (default Attach Right)
• Shortcut picker — choose the double-tap modifier that triggers attach-on-open:
  • Double tap ⌘ (default)
  • Double tap ⌥
  • Double tap ⌃
  • Double tap ⇧
  • None — disables the double-tap trigger; use the recorded shortcut only

Double-tap the chosen modifier quickly to open QuickHub and attach to the selected side without pressing ⌃⌘← or ⌃⌘→ separately.

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Edge Bar dependency

Edge Bar — the screen-edge launcher for meetings, chats, attach, and Computer Use session cards — requires QuickHub Mode. Edge hotspots summon QuickHub surfaces; they are not wired to the notch layout. If you rely on Edge Bar, keep QuickHub Mode enabled and configure edges under Settings → General → Edge Bar.

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Impact on shortcut labels

Several shortcuts change their display name when QuickHub Mode is toggled:

• Settings → Shortcuts → Global → Open QuickHub vs Open notch — same shortcut slot (⌘⇧Space default), different label and description
• Hub & QuickHub category shortcuts apply to whichever surface is active (Hub tab or QuickHub conversation)

Search shortcuts in Settings → Shortcuts with ⌘F while the Shortcuts tab is focused, or type in the Search shortcuts field at the top of the tab.

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Typical workflows

Quick question while coding Press ⌘⇧Space, ask, press Esc or click away — QuickHub closes without opening the full Hub. Side-by-side with an app Press ⌃⌘→ (Attach Right) or use Attach from Edge Bar. QuickHub docks beside your editor or browser. Long session → full Hub Press ⌘O (Open in Hub) to move the current QuickHub chat into a Hub tab with sidebar and history. Background Computer Use Start a Computer Use goal from QuickHub or the Hub. The agent runs in the background; session status appears in Edge Bar while you keep working. See Background Computer Use.

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Troubleshooting

⌘⇧Space opens the notch instead of QuickHub

• Enable QuickHub Mode under Settings → General
• Confirm Settings → Shortcuts → Global shows Open QuickHub, not Open notch

Attach shortcuts do nothing

• QuickHub must be open or opening; attach targets the frontmost app window
• Some full-screen or elevated-security apps block window docking — try Detach Window (⌃⌘↓) and use floating QuickHub instead

Edge Bar missing

• Edge Bar requires QuickHub Mode and at least one enabled edge — see Edge Bar

Double-tap ⌘ opens QuickHub attached when I only wanted Command

• Change Open QuickHub and Attach → Shortcut to None, or pick a modifier you rarely double-tap
• Or disable Open QuickHub and Attach by clearing its recorded shortcut

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