# First session

Run scoot in a window, open a terminal, and learn the five keys that run everything.

Run scoot for the first time — nested in a window, then full-screen on a
console — and do something useful in ten minutes. You need [a binary](./install.md) and a terminal (the examples use `foot`, scoot's default).

## Start scoot in a window

The safest first run is nested inside the Wayland desktop you already use
(GNOME, KDE Plasma, sway, …):

```sh
scoot --nested -- foot
```

A window opens with a terminal in it. Close the window to quit — nothing on
your real desktop is touched.

> **Symptom:** the nested window opens and instantly closes.
> You quit: closing scoot's window *is* quitting. Re-run the command and use `Super+Shift+e` (below) only when you mean to leave.

## Five keys

`Super` is the Windows/Command key. Directions are vim's `h` `j` `k` `l`.

| Press | You get |
|---|---|
| `Super`+`Return` | A new terminal |
| `Super`+`h` / `Super`+`l` | Focus the column left / right |
| `Super`+`q` | Close the focused window |
| `Super`+`Shift`+`e` | Quit scoot |

Try it: open three terminals, then `Super`+`h` and
`Super`+`l` to walk between them.

> **Symptom:** `Super` does nothing, or your desktop's own shortcuts fire instead.
> Your host desktop owns `Super` first inside a nested window. Either use the keys that get through, or [rebind scoot's keys](./keybindings.md#change-one-binding) to something free.

## How the layout works

Windows sit in **columns**; columns form a **strip** that scrolls sideways.
A new window never covers an old one — the strip grows and the view follows:

```text
┌────────┐  ┌────────┐  ┌────────┐
│ term 1 │  │ term 2 │  │ term 3 │  ◀── you are here
└────────┘  └────────┘  └────────┘
◀────────── the strip scrolls ──────────▶
```

- `Super`+`j` / `Super`+`k` move *within* a column (up/down).
- `Super`+`1`…`9` jump to workspaces; each workspace is its own strip.
- `Super`+`r` cycles the focused column's width.

## Go full-screen (your whole session)

When the window-in-a-window feels right, switch to a text console
(`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`F3`), log in, and run:

```sh
scoot --tty -- foot
```

`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`F1`…`F12` switch back to
your usual desktop at any time — they always win over scoot's own keys, so
you can never strand yourself.

Next: [Keybindings](./keybindings.md) — the full default map, and how to make it yours.