Providers & Working Directory
Two settings on an agent's page decide what happens the moment you Start Shell for it: which command-line AI runs inside the new terminal, and which folder it opens in.
Default AI provider
Default AI provider picks which command-line AI runs automatically in new shells you start for this agent — see What is NEXUS? for the kind of CLI agents NEXUS hosts.
| Value | What happens on Start Shell |
|---|---|
| None (bare shell) (default) | Opens a plain shell you type into yourself. |
| A specific provider | Runs that provider automatically inside the new pane. |
The picker only lists a provider if it's built in, or if NEXUS detects its CLI actually installed on your machine — the same detection behind the AI Providers rail mode, which shows in more detail which providers are installed and which are enabled. Two things worth knowing before you rely on this:
- If a provider's CLI is later uninstalled, an agent that already had it set as its default keeps showing that choice — it doesn't silently fall back to None.
- Turning a provider off globally, from the AI Providers rail, means it's never auto-launched — even for an agent whose default still names it.
Working directory
Working directory shows a read-only path, or "Not set." Choose… opens a folder picker — there's no manual text field — and Clear removes the current folder; Clear is disabled when nothing is set. If the folder you'd chosen no longer exists by the time you Start Shell, the shell still opens: NEXUS just doesn't manage to change into that folder, silently, with no error shown.
Setting these up
Both are optional. Leaving Default AI provider on None (bare shell) and Working directory unset gives you a plain shell in no particular folder every time you start one for this agent — useful while you're still deciding how you want to use it. Neither setting affects autonomy mode or anything about the agent's persona; they only affect what Start Shell actually launches.
Where to go next
- Running & monitoring — Start Shell, and the live status the resulting session shows.
- Autonomy modes — the separate setting that governs how independently the agent acts once it's running.
- Creating Agents — the three ways to create an agent before you get to configuring its provider.