2. The terminal and your workspace

Make it yours (VIEW, PL, TH, LANG, FONT, SB, VF, CR)

VIEW builds your own table from any data function, PL manages plugins, and a few short commands change the theme, language, font size and visual effects.

  • 4 min
  • 3 questions
  • Lesson 9 of 9

Why you would care

How do you make the screen show exactly what you want? Every trader's screen ends up different. One wants a table of "stocks trading three times their usual volume". Another wants a light theme on a sunny desk, or the interface in Japanese. None of that needs code. It needs about eight short commands.

The idea from scratch

VIEW: your own table

Many functions are tables: movers (MOST), peers (RV), the screener. A custom view takes the rows of one of those functions and lets you choose:

  • the source (which function's rows),
  • the columns (which fields to show),
  • a filter (which rows to keep),
  • the sort (which column decides the order),
  • a title.

You describe this in a small spec (a short JSON text). You do not have to write it yourself: Ask Gloom can write it from a sentence, or you paste one. The view is as fresh as the function it reads.

  1. Source: MOST, most active stocks
  2. Pick columns: symbol, name, last, change, volume vs average
  3. Filter: optional
  4. Sort: volume vs average, highest first
  5. Your view: 'Unusual volume'

PL: plugins

A plugin is an add-on that brings new functions. Some come with Gloom and can be switched off; others are official add-ons you install (TV, polls, prediction markets, Hacker News, newsletters, broker connections). In PL: i install, e enable or disable, s setup, / search, b shows the built-in modules. You can also just type an official plugin's code, like TV: the command bar offers to install it after a confirmation.

The small switches

CommandWhat it does
TH or TH amberChange the color theme, light or dark, with a live preview
LANG ja (or en, es, zh-CN, zh-TW, ko, auto)Change the interface language
FONT+ / FONT-Bigger or smaller text (desktop)
SBShow or hide the keyboard shortcuts bar at the bottom
VFTurn the flash on price changes on or off
CRIn the terminal, cycle how charts are drawn (Auto, Kitty graphics, Braille)

See it in Gloom

Gloom screenshot: A custom view titled "Unusual volume"
A custom view titled "Unusual volume": the most active US stocks sorted by today's volume divided by their average volume. Captured 2026-10-06 (historical example).

open ittype VIEW and paste a spec, or ask Ask Gloom for "a view of the most active stocks sorted by volume against average".

  1. The title, Unusual volume: the name in the spec.
  2. The columns: SYMBOL, NAME, LAST, CHANGE %, VOL / AVG. Chosen in the spec, from the fields the source offers.
  3. The arrow next to VOL / AVG: the sort column, highest first.
  4. The top row: BEAT traded 810 times its average volume, with a +59.96% move. A tiny stock with unusual news.
  5. Lower rows: AAPL at 0.82 traded a bit less than usual that day.

Enter opens the selected ticker; t publishes the view to your team.

Practice and recap

Try it3 tasks
  1. In the screenshot, how many rows traded more than twice their average volume? (Six: BEAT, TWLO, WBD, FNGR, ITUB, VALE.)
  2. Write, in plain words, a view you would like: source, columns, sort.
  3. In the app, type TH and try two themes. Then SB twice.
Common mistakes4 mistakes
  • Building a view from a source that does not have the column you want. The columns come from the source function.
  • Forgetting that a view inherits its source's freshness: a view of a delayed list is delayed.
  • Installing every plugin. Install what you will use; PL can switch the others off.
  • Changing LANG and losing your way: LANG en brings English back.
Check yourself3 questions
  1. What four choices define a custom view, besides the title?
  2. How do you install the TV plugin without opening PL?
  3. Which command turns the price flash off?
Answers
  1. The source, the columns, the filter and the sort.
  2. Type TV in the command bar and confirm the install.
  3. VF.
Words in this lesson5 words
custom view
Your own table built from another function's rows.
spec
The short text (JSON) that describes a custom view.
plugin
An add-on that brings new functions to Gloom.
theme
The color scheme of the app.
volume vs average
Today's volume divided by the usual volume; above 1 means busier than usual.

Educational material about reading market data, not investment advice.