Cloud Mode Upcoming
Upcoming feature
Cloud Mode is part of the next-generation Niuton shell and is in active development. It is not yet available in the current release — this page documents it ahead of general availability.
Cloud is Niuton's second, co-equal shell mode — a calm, sidebar-driven "life dashboard" that runs over the same accounts, data, apps and settings as the Desktop. Where the Desktop is a spatial, multi-window environment, Cloud is a focused, one-thing-at-a-time view with Aurora as its spine.
Two modes, one system
Cloud and Desktop are two modes over one system — the same login, apps, files, command palette and top bar. Switching between them never loses your data or your open work.
Switching between Desktop and Cloud
- Segmented control — Use the Desktop ⇄ Cloud toggle in the top bar to switch at any time, from either mode.
- Command palette — Open the palette (
Ctrl+Shift+P) and run "Cloud-Ansicht öffnen" or "Desktop-Ansicht öffnen". - Remembered — Your choice is saved per user, so Niuton reopens in the mode you left it in.
- Touch-first — On touch devices and narrow screens, Cloud is the default the first time you sign in; on desktops the default is the classic Desktop.
The switch is an instant cross-fade (respecting your reduced-motion preference).
The three panes
Cloud is a three-pane layout: a navigation sidebar, a main pane, and a docked Aurora rail.
Sidebar
The left sidebar is the single source of navigation. It lists Übersicht (the dashboard) at the top, followed by your apps grouped into four sections:
| Group | Apps |
|---|---|
| Planen | Kalender, Aufgaben, Routinen |
| Wissen | Notizen, Dokumente, Lesezeichen |
| Leben | Finanzen, Kontakte, Wetter, Karten |
| Dateien | Dateien, Passwörter |
- Active state — The current view is highlighted with an accent bar.
- Collapse — Collapse the sidebar to a slim icon rail (and back) via the toggle at the bottom.
- Storage bar — A slim quota bar at the foot shows how much of your storage is used, tinted accent → warning → danger as it fills; click it to jump into Dateien.
Games and tools that don't fit the dashboard model (e.g. Schach, Terminal, Rechner) are Desktop-only and are intentionally not listed here.
Main pane — the Übersicht dashboard
By default the main pane shows a bento dashboard of six read-through cards, each of which opens the full app when clicked:
- Nächste Termine — your next calendar events → Kalender
- Offene Aufgaben — open to-dos → Aufgaben
- Vermögen — a net-worth overview → Finanzen
- Zuletzt geöffnet — recent files → Dateien
- Letzte Notiz — your most recent note → Notizen
- Wetter — current conditions → Wetter
The cards reflow to the available width (one, two or three columns) and degrade gracefully with calm loading and empty states.
Main pane — a focused app
Selecting an app from the sidebar (or opening one from a dashboard card) replaces the dashboard with that single app, shown full-height with a ‹ Übersicht breadcrumb to return. Only one app is focused at a time — the "one thing at a time" principle. The focused app runs in the same sandboxed frame the Desktop uses, so it behaves identically.
Aurora rail
The right pane is a docked Aurora — the assistant is always present as the spine of the Cloud view rather than a modal overlay. Collapse it to reclaim the space, and expand it again from the top-bar orb. Asking Aurora anything (including from the omnibox) opens the rail and sends your prompt straight to it.
Shared with the Desktop
Because Cloud and Desktop are modes over one system, the top bar and everything reachable from it are shared:
- the command palette (
Ctrl+Shift+P) and omnibox (Ctrl+Space), - Notifications (see Notifications),
- and the shell surfaces — Settings, Team-Chat, App-Builder, Bildschirmfoto and Sprachmemos — all open the same way in Cloud as on the Desktop.
So anything you can do from the top bar or palette on the Desktop, you can also do in Cloud.
Accessibility & calm
Cloud is built to the same accessibility bar as the rest of the shell: keyboard-navigable, aria-current on the active nav item, visible focus rings, WCAG-AA text contrast, and full respect for reduced-motion and reduced-transparency preferences.