How chat works
A chat is a conversation with the advisor about one of your projects. It's for a question rather than a change: how to approach a feature, what a part of your project does, or what the smallest first step would be. The advisor reads the project you pick and talks it through with you, turn by turn, until you end the chat.
This page explains the ideas behind chats. For the steps, see Chat with the advisor and Finish a chat. Every part of the form is described in New chat.
Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Chat | A task run by the advisor. You start one with Chat in the ▼ menu beside +, or by typing Chat: in the board's one-line row. |
| Advisor | The persona that runs a chat. Selecting the Chat involvement picks it for you. |
| Web Console | Where the conversation happens. Open it from the chat's ⋯ menu. |
How a chat differs from other tasks
A chat is a task, so it sits on the task board with the rest, belongs to one project, and has a task page. But it works differently:
- It builds nothing on its own. Other personas deliver a change, a document or a mockup. The advisor answers your questions.
- You reply in the Web Console. A chat's page has no Answer tab: you read the advisor's answers and type your replies in the Web Console.
- It doesn't wait on other tasks. Its Advanced settings have no Depends on.
- It can't be an epic. Chat isn't offered when Epic is selected.
- It needs more access. Starting a chat needs permission to create tasks and edit access to the project's worktrees. See How worktrees work.
Its lifecycle
A chat starts like any task: Go saves it and starts it, and it moves through Queued, Starting and Running. Whenever the advisor has answered and is waiting for you, the chat shows a ? in the Stopped section with the state Asking.
A chat never ends on its own. It stays open between your replies, for as long as you need, until you select Complete in its ⋯ menu. Complete acts at once and moves the chat to Done. The chat stays on the board, with its question kept on its Task tab. A chat you leave open stays in Stopped, so finish it when you're done.
From a chat to a task
A chat is often where a piece of work starts. The built-in Chat playbook describes the advisor as one who can file draft tasks for you: a Draft waits on the board until you start it. You can also start the work yourself: write what the chat agreed as a new task, choosing Task for one change or Epic for something larger. See How tasks work and How epics and features work.
How the advisor fits among the other experts is in How personas and playbooks work.