# Mandarin

Mandarin is a code editor with Agent RX built in. Open a project folder, work directly in file buffers, and use the terminal or agent panel when the task calls for them. These surfaces share a workspace, but they do not have the same effect on your files.

**Mandarin workbench with the file tree, editor, Agent RX panel and terminal**

[Open the interactive Studio scene](/docs/studio-artifacts/docs-scenes/mandarin.html)

## Start without a model request

[Open a folder and find a file](/docs/mandarin/quickstart) to establish the workspace root and inspect one document. This path does not require configuring a model, enabling voice, or submitting a request. Keep the project you intend to edit separate from similarly named copies.

The editor holds working text in buffers. Agent proposals are another input to those buffers, not evidence that the on-disk file has changed. When reviewing agent work, distinguish the answer, the tool trace, the proposed change, your acceptance, and the eventual saved result.

## Choose the right surface

- **Workspace / Files** locates the project and opens files.
- **Find in file / Replace in file** works on the active editor buffer. The sidebar **Search** surface is separate; verify its scope in the installed build before treating its results as a complete workspace search.
- **Agent RX** holds an editable request and the resulting conversation and review material.
- **Terminal** runs direct shell commands; it is not protected by the agent's proposal-review step.

Read [the editor and Agent RX](/docs/mandarin/editor-and-agent) before submitting work. Use the [keyboard reference](/docs/mandarin/keyboard-reference) to reach a surface, then check focus before acting.

## Continue with a focused task

- [Find and replace in the active file](/docs/mandarin/find-and-replace-in-the-active-file).
- [Draft, send, queue and stop a request](/docs/mandarin/draft-send-queue-and-stop-a-request).
- [Choose local or cloud deliberately](/docs/mandarin/local-and-cloud-are-separate-routes).
- [Switch folders without losing needed context](/docs/mandarin/switch-folders-without-discarding-needed-work).

## Syntax diagnostics are not language-server results

The inspected editor uses tree-sitter syntax analysis. A syntax-error gutter marker is not compiler output or proof of a connected language server. These guides do not establish Shadow LSP availability; use the actual diagnostics and controls in your installed build rather than assuming completion, rename or cross-file language intelligence is present.

## Availability and access

These guides begin with Mandarin already installed and open. They are not an installer guide, and the current documentation does not offer a public download. A supplied development build does not establish a notarized customer release or equivalent behavior on every platform.

The [standalone Agent RX application](/docs/products/agent-rx) has its own controls and settings. Opening Mandarin's panel does not configure that application, establish a model connection, or grant microphone permission. Shared [privacy guidance](/docs/shared/privacy) explains why permissions and processing boundaries must be considered per action.