The chat screen
Every control on the chat screen, where it lives, and the page that explains it.
The chat screen is three regions: a top bar, the message stream, and the composer. A side panel slides in beside it. This page maps every control in each region and points at the page that explains it.
The top bar
| Control | What it does | Shown when |
|---|---|---|
| Back | Returns to where you came from. | Always |
| Avatar and name | Opens the character's profile. In a group the header reads Group Chat with the member count, and lists the member names beneath it. | Always |
| Bounty indicator | Marks an in-progress bounty attempt in this chat. | While an attempt is running |
| Group Chat | Opens Select Group Characters to build a multi-character cast. | Only before the first message, and never in a chat started from a scenario or a moment. Group chats |
| Voice Chat | Starts a real-time voice call. | On a new conversation, or while a call is open. Voice calls |
| Share | Creates a shareable view of the conversation. | Once the chat has messages. Sharing a conversation |
| New conversation | Starts a fresh chat with the same character. | Once the chat has messages. Managing conversations |
| Toggle chat sidebar | Opens and closes the side panel. | Always |
The model picker is not in the top bar. It sits in the composer, next to the send row.
The composer
Things stack above the text box in this order:
- Attachment thumbnails — images you've attached to this message.
- The setup row — a My persona chip and the Instant Chat Mode toggle. This row exists only until you send your first message. Personas
- Quote preview — the passage you quoted, with a remove control. Esc clears it.
- Suggestion chips — see Reply suggestions.
- Slash-command chips — the one-turn directives attached to this message, each with a Remove control. Slash commands
The button rows around the text box:
| Control | Side | What it does | Shown when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attach file | Left | Attaches images to your message. | The current model accepts image uploads |
| Guide reply | Left | Switches who you are writing for — Myself, a character, or the Narrator. Guiding a reply | Logged in, and the chat has at least one message |
| Model button | Left | Shows the current model, its credit multiplier and a PRO marker, and opens Choose AI Model. Choosing a model | Logged in |
| Interactive plugins | Right | Runs an interactive plugin installed in this chat. Using plugins | The chat has at least one interactive plugin |
| Voice input | Right | Push-to-talk dictation: hold to record, release to send. | Always |
| Generate First Message | Right | Writes the opening message for you. | New chats only; unavailable when the chat started from a moment |
| Get suggestions | Right | Fetches reply suggestions on demand, and becomes a stop control while they load. | Only when automatic suggestions are turned off, and the chat isn't new |
| Send message / Stop generation | Right | Sends your message, or stops a reply mid-stream. | Always |
On a brand-new chat the character may open with Prepared an opening for you, offering Try another opening or I'll start instead.
Message length caps. 5,000 characters when you're signed in, 1,000 when you're not. Anonymous chats are also limited to 5 messages, or 8 once you pass the verification check. All limits
Message actions
Hover a message on desktop, or tap it on a touch device, to reveal the toolbar pinned to the top-right of the bubble. Everything in it is disabled while a reply is streaming.
| Action | Where | Available on |
|---|---|---|
Variant switcher (‹ n/m ›) | Toolbar row | A reply that has more than one generated version |
| Play | Toolbar row | Character replies. Long-press opens voice settings. Reading messages aloud |
| Copy | Toolbar row | Any message with text |
| Regenerate | Toolbar row | The last message only. Long-press to pick a different model for this one attempt |
| Snapshot | Toolbar row | Character replies. Snapshots |
| More | Toolbar row | Opens the menu below |
| Thumbs up / thumbs down | More menu | Character replies, when signed in |
| Quote | More menu | Any message with text |
| Continue | More menu | The last character reply, when signed in |
| Custom snapshot | More menu | Character replies — opens the scene-image dialog. Image generation |
| Fork from here | More menu | Character replies only. Forking |
| Edit | More menu | Every message, yours and the character's |
| Delete | More menu | Every message except the first |
Regenerating does not throw the old reply away: previous versions stay as siblings you can page through with the variant switcher.
Editing and deleting reach forward. Editing one of your messages deletes every message after it and re-rolls the reply. Delete removes the message and everything that came after it. Neither can be undone. Editing a character's message is safe — the text is replaced in place and nothing regenerates.
The edit dialog has two tabs: Manual Edit for rewriting the text yourself, and AI Rewrite for one-tap changes such as more dialogue or less repetition, plus a free-text instruction box.
The side panel
Seven tabs — Info, Gallery, Scenarios, Similar, Memory, Plugins and Settings. The last one holds five groups of per-chat settings. Side panel and settings
Keyboard and gestures
| Input | Does |
|---|---|
| Enter / Shift+Enter | Send / newline |
| Esc | Clears the quoted message |
| Backspace at the start of an empty draft | Removes the last slash-command chip |
| ↑ ↓, Enter or Tab, Esc | Move, pick and dismiss in the slash and mention menus; ← → cycle a command's values |
| ⌘/Ctrl + Enter | Saves in the edit dialog, generates in AI Rewrite, submits a custom instruction |
| Long-press Regenerate | Opens a model picker for that single retry |
| Long-press a suggestion chip | Puts it in the composer instead of sending it |
| Drag while holding the mic | Left cancels the recording; right or up drops the transcript in the composer instead of sending |
Where to go next
Slash commands
Nine one-turn controls for length, point of view, pacing and who speaks.
Guiding a reply
Write direction for a character or the narrator instead of speaking.
Reply suggestions
The chips above the input: when they appear and what they cost.
First-response enhancement
Tune the opening reply before you commit to it.
Reasoning mode
See a model think, and know which models can.
Comparing two replies
Two models answer your first message; you pick the one you prefer.
Personas
Who you are in the conversation.
Scenarios
Pre-built framings a creator authored for a character.
Memory
What a character keeps, and how long conversations stay coherent.
Forking
Branch from a reply and keep both paths.
Group chats
Up to five characters in one thread, including the host.
Proactive messages
When a character writes to you first.
Managing conversations
Renaming, browsing, exporting and deleting chats.
Sharing a conversation
Publish a conversation for other people to read.
Troubleshooting
What to do when a reply fails, stalls or comes back wrong.