First session

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 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, …):

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 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:

┌────────┐  ┌────────┐  ┌────────┐
│ 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:

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 — the full default map, and how to make it yours.