App

Overview

Tray Link lives in your system menu bar (macOS) or system tray (Windows/Linux). Clicking the icon opens a popover with your project list and quick actions.

Adding Projects

Click the + button in the project list header to add a new project. A native folder picker dialog will open — select the folder you want to add.

The project name defaults to the folder name, but you can also add projects with custom names using the CLI.

Opening Projects

Each project in the list has quick-action icons:

• Editor icon — opens the project in your default editor
• Terminal icon — opens the project in your default terminal
• Folder icon — opens the project folder in Finder (macOS), Explorer (Windows), or the default file manager (Linux)

Opening with a Specific Tool

Click the ellipsis menu (⋯) on a project to see additional options:

• Open with <editor> — choose from any detected or custom editor
• Open with <terminal> — choose from any detected or custom terminal
• Select defaults — switch the menu into project-default selection mode

When selection mode is active, choosing an editor or terminal saves it as the default for that specific project instead of opening it immediately. The selected project override is marked with * in the menu. If a project has no override, Tray Link falls back to the global defaults from Settings.

If Show real app icons is enabled in Settings, the quick editor and terminal buttons in the project list use the effective tool icon for that project.

Removing Projects

Click the trash icon on a project to remove it. A confirmation dialog will appear with an option to delete files from disk as well.

Reordering Projects

Click the Edit button to enter reorder mode. Use the up/down arrows to change the position of projects in the list. Click Done when finished.

Settings

Click the gear icon in the footer to open the Settings window.

Language

Choose between English, Português (Brazilian Portuguese), and Español (Spanish). The language change applies immediately to the entire app.

Default Editor

Select which editor opens when you click the editor icon on a project. Tray Link auto-detects installed editors on your system.

This is the global fallback used whenever a project does not define its own default editor.

Default Terminal

Select which terminal opens when you click the terminal icon on a project. Tray Link auto-detects installed terminals on your system.

This is the global fallback used whenever a project does not define its own default terminal.

Delete Files from Disk by Default

When enabled, the "Delete files from disk" option is pre-checked in the remove project confirmation dialog.

Custom Editors and Terminals

You can add custom editors and terminals that are not automatically detected:

1. Click Add Custom Editor or Add Custom Terminal
2. Fill in the fields:
   • Name — display name for the tool
   • Binary — the executable binary name (e.g., my-editor)
   • Open Command — the command template used to open a project (e.g., my-editor {{path}})
3. Click Save

CLI Management

In the CLI section of Settings:

• Install CLI — creates a symlink so tlink is available in your terminal
• Uninstall CLI — removes the symlink

The status indicator shows whether the CLI is currently installed.

Advanced

• Reload editors/terminals list — re-scans your system for installed tools
• Migrate legacy data — imports projects and preferences from older versions of the app (vs-tray / Tray Link legacy)

Supported Editors

Tray Link auto-detects the following editors:

Supported Terminals

Tray Link auto-detects the following terminals:

Deep Linking

Tray Link supports the tray-link:// URL scheme, allowing external tools and scripts to interact with the app.

Shared Configuration

The app and the CLI share the same configuration file (config.json). Projects added via the CLI will appear in the app when you next open the popover, and vice-versa.

Configuration file locations: