Cockpit Mode
Cockpit is a specialized mode for software engineers. It's an AI-powered engineering copilot designed for code analysis, legacy modernization, and repository-aware assistance.
Cockpit is currently in preview. Some behaviors may be unexpected. It is not recommended for critical production tasks.
Switching to Cockpit
Click the mode switcher in the chat header and select Cockpit. The interface transitions to a full-width layout with a distinct teal color scheme.
Interface layout
The Cockpit interface has four main areas:
| Area | Description |
|---|---|
| Top tab bar | Tabs for Configuration, Design, and Task List |
| Left sidebar | Quick-access icons (Workspace file tree, etc.) |
| Center panel | Project configuration form and chat |
| Bottom status bar | Git info, scan status, and log access |
Setting up your workspace
The first time you use Cockpit, configure your project directory:
- Click the Workspace icon in the left sidebar (or the configuration area)
- Select your project root folder
- Confirm — Kognar reads your Git metadata automatically
File tree panel
Click the Workspace icon in the left sidebar to open a file tree panel showing your project's structure:
- Browse folders (expand/collapse)
- See file type indicators (TS, JS, JSON, PHP, etc.)
- Git status indicators show modified or untracked files at a glance
- Close the panel by clicking the Workspace icon again or the panel's close button
Project configuration
The Configuration tab shows a form with your project's detected settings:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Project name | Detected from the folder name |
| Language | Primary language identified in the codebase |
| Framework | Framework detected (React, Spring, WordPress, etc.) |
| Type | Architecture type (monolithic, microservices, serverless, etc.) |
| Description | AI-generated summary of what the project does |
All fields are editable. Changes are saved automatically to .cockpit/specs/config.md inside your project folder.
Project health scan
Click Scan in the status bar to run a full analysis of your codebase. The scan runs in the background — you can keep using Kognar while it processes.
What the scan does:
- Traverses all project files and subfolders
- Identifies languages, dependencies, and frameworks
- Measures code quality indicators (complexity, coupling, dead code)
- Calculates an overall health score
When complete:
- A modal opens with the full health report (executive summary, scores by layer and language, technical debt, coupling, test coverage, and prioritized recommendations)
- Results are saved to
.cockpit/reports/health-report.mdin your project
Phase 2 artifacts
After the scan, Kognar generates deeper project understanding artifacts saved to .cockpit/phase2/:
| Artifact | Description |
|---|---|
| Knowledge graph | Modules, functions, rules, and their relationships |
| Business rules catalog | Rules extracted from comments and conditionals |
| Technical glossary | Terms and concepts found in the codebase |
These artifacts stay local — no code is sent to the cloud.
The status bar
At the bottom of Cockpit, the status bar shows live workspace information:
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Project name | Name of the project directory |
| Branch | Current Git branch |
| Modified | Unstaged changed files |
| Staged | Files staged for commit |
| Untracked | New files not yet tracked |
| Ahead / Behind | Commits ahead of or behind the remote |
Click the change counter to open a diff view of all current modifications.
Click Logs to open a real-time log panel showing scan progress. You can copy the log content for diagnostics.
Scan status indicators
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Idle | No scan running |
| Starting | Scan is about to begin |
| Running | Analysis in progress |
| Done | Results ready |
| Error | An error occurred |
| Cancelled | Scan was manually stopped |
Edit acceptance modes
Control how the AI handles proposed code changes:
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Request permission | AI asks before making any changes |
| Accept edits automatically | AI applies changes without confirmation |
| Planning mode | AI creates a plan first, then executes |
| Ignore permissions | No confirmation required (advanced) |
Using the Cockpit chat
Chat with the AI just like in Conversation mode. The AI has access to:
- Your project's file structure and health report
- Git status and diff information
- Web Search for looking up documentation, libraries, or APIs
- File attachment support
Example tasks:
- "Analyze this legacy Java class and suggest a modern refactor"
- "What does this function do and where is it called?"
- "Find all database access points that bypass the repository layer"
- "What are the security vulnerabilities in this authentication module?"
- "Generate a migration plan from Struts to Spring Boot"
Cockpit history
Cockpit conversations are stored separately from Conversation mode. They don't appear in the main sidebar but are preserved between sessions.
Projects without Git
If your project folder doesn't have a .git directory, Cockpit works normally — the status bar branch and change indicators remain empty, and no Git-related errors appear.