Activity bar and side panel

The activity bar is the icon strip on the left of every repository and worktree. It opens list and navigation views in the adjacent side panel, leaving the main panes for the files, commits, issues, pull requests, chats, and terminals you are working on.

Open an activity

Click an activity icon to show its side panel. Click the selected icon again to collapse the panel, or click another icon to switch activities. The activity bar is organized into Project, Git, DevOps, and Assist groups. DevOps activities appear only when the corresponding provider feature is configured for the project.

Select an item in an activity to open it as a content tab in the main area. This keeps navigation lists available while you work with several related items.

Identify activities

Hover an icon to see its name. To show names and group headings all the time, click Show Activity Labels at the bottom of the bar. This preference applies to every open project.

Some activities change their icon color or weight when they need attention. The tooltip explains why. Opening an activity acknowledges one-time attention; ongoing states such as merge conflicts remain visible until they are resolved.

Provider-backed DevOps headers show the source remote beside the activity menu. Click that source badge to see its provider, repository, configured account, and Open in Browser action. This panel is informational; changing the DevOps source does not retarget an already-open tab.

Resize and collapse the side panel

Drag the side panel’s right edge to resize it. Double-click the edge to restore the default width. Zide remembers the selected activity, panel width, and collapsed state for each folder.

Open an activity as a tab

When you need more width or want a list inside your pane layout, open the activity’s More Actions menu and choose Open as Tab. You can also right-click its activity-bar icon and choose Open as Tab. The current filters and configured DevOps source carry into the tab.

When the activity bar has focus, use Up Arrow and Down Arrow to move between activities. Home moves to the first activity and End moves to the last. Press Enter or Space to activate the focused button.

Documentation follow

The Documentation panel can follow the surface you are using. When Follow is enabled, selecting an activity or moving focus into its side panel opens that activity’s guide, just as selecting a content tab does.