crew shortcut reference

A shortcut is a VS Code workspace file that opens one folder and runs crew <member> there in an editor tab. crew shortcut add makes one, list shows them, set changes one, remove deletes one and open opens one in VS Code. On Windows each shortcut also gets a Start Menu entry, with an optional hotkey. None of them asks a question, so all run without a terminal.

Shortcut names follow the member name rule: lowercase letters, digits and hyphens, starting with a letter, at most 32 characters. A wrong subcommand prints Usage: crew shortcut add|list|set|remove|open (see crew --help) and exits with 1.

crew shortcut add

crew shortcut add <name> --member <member> [--folder <path>] [--hotkey <keys>]

Flag	Default	What it does
--member <member>	required	The member the shortcut starts
--folder <path>	the current folder	The folder VS Code opens and Claude starts in
--hotkey <keys>	none	Windows only: a hotkey for the Start Menu entry

$ crew shortcut add site --member main --folder E:/demo-crew-inventory/proj/site --hotkey ctrl+alt+c

[OK] Shortcut site opens E:/demo-crew-inventory/proj/site in VS Code and runs crew main there.
[i] Workspace file: E:\demo-crew-inventory\crew-home\shortcuts\site.code-workspace
[i] Start Menu: E:\demo-crew-inventory\appdata\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\site.lnk, hotkey CTRL+ALT+C
[i] Open it with: crew shortcut open site

[exit code 0]

On macOS and Linux the Start Menu line reads [i] The Start Menu entry and the hotkey are Windows-only for now.

What it writes

• <crew home>/shortcuts/<name>.code-workspace: the folder, terminal settings that put the terminal in an editor tab, and one task that runs on folder open. The task runs crew <member> in Git Bash on Windows (or your $SHELL elsewhere), then keeps that shell open in the tab when the session ends.
• On Windows, %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\<name>.lnk, which opens the workspace file with VS Code’s Code.exe, written through PowerShell.
• The shortcut in config.json under shortcuts.

Hotkeys

CTRL, ALT or SHIFT joined by +, then one letter, digit or F1 to F12; upper or lower case. Anything else fails:

$ crew shortcut add api --member main --folder E:/demo-crew-inventory/proj/api --hotkey ctrl+q+z

crewrota: "ctrl+q+z" is not a hotkey. Use CTRL, ALT or SHIFT joined by +, then a letter, digit or F1 to F12, such as CTRL+ALT+C.

[exit code 1]

Finding VS Code and the shell

• On Windows, VS Code must be found, or add, set and open fail with VS Code was not found. Install it from https://code.visualstudio.com, then try again. crewrota looks at CREWROTA_CODE, then %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe, then %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe, then where code.
• Elsewhere it uses CREWROTA_CODE or code on PATH, and only open needs it.
• The Windows shell is Git Bash: CLAUDE_CODE_GIT_BASH_PATH, then the Git install next to git on PATH, then %ProgramFiles%\Git\bin\bash.exe.

Other errors

Shortcut <name> already exists. Change it with: crew shortcut set <name>, The Start Menu already has <file>. Pick another name. (Windows, where these names ignore case), <path> is not a folder, and an unknown member.

crew shortcut list

crew shortcut list

$ crew shortcut list

site  crew main  E:/demo-crew-inventory/proj/site  CTRL+ALT+C

[exit code 0]

With none it prints No shortcuts yet. Add one with: crew shortcut add <name> --member <m> --folder <path>.

crew shortcut set

Change only the parts you name, then write the files again.

crew shortcut set <name> [--member <member>] [--folder <path>] [--hotkey <keys> | --no-hotkey]

Flag	What it does
--member <member>	Run another member
--folder <path>	Open another folder
--hotkey <keys>	A new hotkey (Windows)
--no-hotkey	Drop the hotkey; not with --hotkey

$ crew shortcut set site --member side --no-hotkey

[OK] Shortcut site: crew side in E:/demo-crew-inventory/proj/site.

[exit code 0]

With no flags it writes the files again as they are, which repairs a missing workspace file. An unknown shortcut fails with Shortcut <name> doesn't exist. Add it with: crew shortcut add <name> --member <m> --folder <path>.

crew shortcut remove

crew shortcut remove <name>

$ crew shortcut remove site

[OK] Removed shortcut site and its Start Menu entry.

[exit code 0]

It deletes the workspace file and the Start Menu entry, and nothing else.

crew shortcut open

crew shortcut open <name>

It starts VS Code on the workspace file, detached, and prints [OK] Opening <workspace file> with <VS Code>. VS Code then runs the task, which starts the member in the folder. A missing workspace file fails with <file> is missing. Write it again with: crew shortcut set <name>.

When members change

• crew rename <old> <new> rewrites every shortcut of that member to run crew <new> and lists them.
• crew drop <member> deletes that member’s shortcuts.

Related

• Open a folder as a member from VS Code
• Environment variables