Basic Usage

Opening the Chat Panel

You can open the Agent Client chat panel in two ways:

• Ribbon Icon: Click the robot icon in the left ribbon

• Command Palette: Open the command palette (Cmd/Ctrl + P) and search for "Open agent chat"

The chat panel opens in the right sidebar.

Sending Messages

1. Type your message in the input field at the bottom
2. Press Enter or click the send button
3. Wait for the agent's response

Sending Images

You can attach images to your messages by pasting or dragging and dropping.

1. Paste: Copy an image to your clipboard and paste (Cmd/Ctrl + V) in the input field
2. Drag and Drop: Drag image files directly onto the input area

Attached images appear as thumbnails below the text area. Click the × on a thumbnail to remove it.

TIP

Image attachments require agent support. If the agent doesn't support images, a notification will appear when you try to attach one.

See Sending Images for more details.

Switching Agents

To switch agents for the current view:

1. Click the ⋮ (ellipsis) menu in the chat header
2. Select "Switch agent"
3. The agent switches immediately

This is a one-time change for that view only.

TIP

To change the default agent for new chat views, go to Settings → Agent Client → Default agent.

Multiple Chat Views

You can open multiple chat views to run independent conversations simultaneously. Each view has its own agent process and session.

See Multi-Session Chat for details on:

• Opening multiple views
• Broadcast commands
• Focus navigation

Floating Chat

A draggable, resizable chat window that floats over your workspace. Enable it in Settings → Agent Client → Floating chat.

See Floating Chat for details.

Changing Models and Modes

Below the input field, you'll find dropdowns to:

• Change Model: Switch between different AI models (e.g., Sonnet, Haiku for Claude)
• Change Mode: Switch agent modes (e.g., Plan Mode)

TIP

Available models and modes depend on the active agent.

Starting a New Chat

Click the New Chat button in the header to start a fresh conversation. The previous chat can optionally be exported (see Settings).

Stopping Generation

If the agent is generating a response and you want to stop it, click the Stop button that appears during generation.