Capture Terminal Output

Capture is the first step in turning terminal output into reusable text. Use the lightest capture path that matches what you need.

Choose a capture path

Use case	Best command	Keeps command metadata?
Inspect one existing command pipeline	command 2>&1 | sivtr	No
Let sivtr run one command	sivtr run command	Partially, for the captured run
Browse the current workspace’s recorded work	sivtr	Yes, after shell integration
Copy one recent command block	sivtr copy out	Yes, after shell integration
Search captured terminal and AI work	sivtr search "query"	Yes, from the unified archive

Pipe mode

Pipe mode archives stdin in the unified archive and opens the result in the external editor.

ls -la | sivtr
cargo build 2>&1 | sivtr
rg "TODO" . | sivtr

Use pipe mode when:

• the command already exists in your shell history;
• you want normal shell behavior for pipelines and redirection;
• you do not need sivtr to know the original command.

For commands that write important output to stderr, redirect stderr to stdout:

cargo test 2>&1 | sivtr

Run mode

Run mode executes the command through sivtr:

sivtr run cargo test
sivtr run git status --short

Use run mode when:

• you want sivtr to execute and capture a single command;
• you want the exit status reported and the output saved before the editor opens;
• you prefer not to manage shell redirection manually.

Run mode captures stdout and stderr together and saves the result to the unified archive. If the command produces no output, sivtr exits after reporting that nothing was captured.

Shell session browsing

Shell integration records structured command entries over time. After installing it, open the workspace browser:

sivtr

This is useful when you have been working normally and later want to browse the accumulated terminal work.

Install shell integration with:

sivtr init powershell
sivtr init bash
sivtr init zsh
sivtr init nushell

Restart the shell after installation.

Search captured output

pipe and run records are terminal sessions in the same archive.db as shell and agent sessions. Search or show them through the normal archive commands:

sivtr search "panic"
sivtr show terminal/<session>/<record>