Start AI agent workflows from a template — channels in v1.18.0

Every multi-agent run begins the same way. You open a channel, you pick which agents you want, you remember the prompt that worked last time and try to reconstruct it, you @mention three things, you fix a typo, and only then does the actual work start.

The orchestration is repetitive but it isn't reusable — every new task starts from blank, even when the shape of the request is identical to one you ran yesterday. Code Review is always Code Review. Fix Bug is always Fix Bug. The agents change, the files change, the bug changes — but the scaffolding around them is exactly the same paste job you've been doing for weeks.

What changed

In v1.18.0 you no longer rebuild the scaffolding by hand. 1DevTool ships with workflow templates for the things you do most often — Fix Bug, Implement Feature, Code Review, PR Review, Write Tests, Audit, Refactor — so you start from a populated channel, fill in the agent slots and the prompt fields, and run. Direct-mention requests now route through a fast path by default instead of sitting through the heavy planning loop, and the whole channel system has a dedicated floating workspace so it stops competing with your editor for screen real estate.

How it works in practice

Pick the workflow, not the boilerplate

Open the new template gallery and the most common multi-agent shapes are right there: Fix Bug, Implement Feature, Code Review, PR Review, Write Tests, Audit, Refactor. Each template arrives with the agent slots laid out for that workflow and a prompt skeleton wired in. You drop your specific files, your error message, your branch name into the placeholders — and skip the rebuild entirely.

The composer also got smarter while you fill it in. As you type @, the autocomplete now suggests terminals, files, folders, and special mentions, with active-project results surfaced first. So even when you're not starting from a template, the round-trip from "I want to mention this file" to "file is mentioned" is a few keystrokes shorter.

Keep channels in their own floating workspace

Channels open in a dedicated movable window now. You can park it on a second monitor, minimise it to a bubble while you keep coding, and restore it without rearranging the rest of your workspace.

Inside the channel, attachments are first-class. Mention files or directories, paste images, drag screenshots straight into the composer, broadcast with @all, or pull the latest clipboard with @clipboard. Cross-project mentions still work, so a single channel can pull agents from multiple projects when the task crosses repo boundaries.

Fast routing by default, smart orchestration when you want it

The biggest invisible change: a direct @mention request no longer triggers the heavy planning loop by default. Channels route those requests on a fast path so simple asks land on the right agent right away. The Smart Orchestrator mode is still there for open-ended jobs — flip it on per channel, pick the CLI and model, test the setup before you run.

And the chat itself reads cleaner. Repeated startup banners, prompt-frame chrome, and narrow soft-wrapped paragraphs are stripped or reflowed before they hit the bubble, so replies look like messages and not terminal dumps. The channel list also sorts by latest activity now, with compact timestamps and a search box for when you have more channels than the list comfortably shows.

Send a sticky note straight to AI

Every sticky note in 1DevTool can now be sent directly to an AI terminal as a prompt. Quick scratch ideas you jotted down between meetings stop being trapped in note format — one click and the agent is working from your scratch.

Before vs After

Workflow	Before v1.18.0	After v1.18.0
Start a multi-agent code review	Open channel, pick agents, paste your standard review prompt, @mention each file by hand	Pick the Code Review template, drop in the files, run
Reach for the Channels view	Switches your active panel; coding view goes away	Floating workspace; minimise to a bubble while you keep coding
Send a @mention request	Goes through Smart Orchestrator's planning loop	Fast routing by default; orchestration only when you opt in
Read agent replies	Mixed with startup banners and frame chrome	Stripped to the actual reply, formatted as chat
Free tier ceiling	Hard 500-message lifetime cap	No lifetime cap; AI terminals stay usable on Free

Who benefits most

Teams who run code reviews through agents — the Code Review and PR Review templates make the third or fourth review of the day a one-click setup instead of a full-prompt rebuild.

Solo devs juggling several agents at once — the floating channel workspace plus the bubble means Channels can stay live in your peripheral vision without crowding the editor.

Free-tier users coming back after a break — the old 500-message lifetime cap was the main reason Free felt like a trial. Removing it lets you keep working on lighter projects without an upgrade prompt looming over every prompt.

Try it

Update to v1.18.0 (status bar will tell you if you're behind), open Channels, and pick any of the built-in templates from the new gallery. Replace the placeholder agents and prompts with the specifics of what you're working on right now. Then minimise the channel to a bubble and keep coding — the agents will surface back when they have something to say.

The orchestration is finally something you set up once and reuse, not something you rebuild every time you sit down.