> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.pivotal.app/llms.txt.
> For full documentation content, see https://docs.pivotal.app/llms-full.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.pivotal.app/_mcp/server.

# Open the Workbench

The Workbench is the default landing page after sign-in, but you'll spend a lot of the day jumping back to it from a customer or onboarding view. ⌘J is the fastest way in.

## How do I open it?

Three options, in order of how often you'll use them:

* **⌘J** (Ctrl+J on Windows) from anywhere in the app. Same shortcut closes it.
* Click the Pivotal logo in the top-left nav. This always goes home to the Workbench.
* Bookmark `my.pivotal.app/workbench` if you want it as a browser tab.

## What loads first?

Your last layout. If this is your first visit, you get the default: My Tasks (top-left), At-Risk customers (top-right), Recent Activity (bottom-left), Pi's daily summary (bottom-right). Rearrange any of it from [Customize your dashboard](/product/workbench/customize-your-dashboard).

The widgets that show data scoped to *you* (My Tasks, your favorites) use your assignee filter. Workspace-wide widgets (At-Risk, Activity) honor the role-based scoping in [Roles and permissions](/product/setup/roles-and-permissions). A read-only role sees the same widgets but cannot dismiss or reassign anything from them.

## Does each teammate get their own?

Yes. Layout, widget choice, and saved views are per-user. Public views and reports are shared, but your dashboard arrangement is private. If your manager wants to share a layout, screenshot the dashboard and have them rebuild it on their side. There's no "copy layout from teammate" action.

## Can I open it without losing what I was doing?

⌘J toggles. Press it once to open the Workbench, press it again to drop back to the page you came from. Pivotal preserves scroll position and any unsaved comment drafts in the previous view. Tab state in record pages (e.g. Tasks tab vs Activity tab on a customer) is also kept.

## What if ⌘J does nothing?

Two common causes:

1. A modal or command palette has focus. Press Esc first, then ⌘J.
2. A browser extension has hijacked the shortcut. The most frequent offenders are Bear, Things 3 web clipper, and some translation extensions. Disable the extension on `my.pivotal.app` or remap Pivotal's shortcut at **Settings > Keyboard shortcuts**.

## Related

* [Customize your dashboard](/product/workbench/customize-your-dashboard)
* [Search](/product/workbench/search)
* [Roles and permissions](/product/setup/roles-and-permissions)

Email **[help@pivotal.app](mailto:help@pivotal.app)** with a screenshot of where you got stuck and the customer or onboarding id from the URL.