> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.alkera.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Chats > Sessions with the agent inside a workspace: the composer, models, approvals, and working together live. A **chat** is a session with the agent inside a [workspace](/workspaces/overview). The agent can query your data, write and run code, edit files, and build notebooks. It runs on the workspace's [machine](/workspaces/machines), not in your browser, so it keeps working when you close the tab. ## Start a chat * Click **Chat** on a workspace's row in the sidebar, or **New chat** on the workspace page. * Click **New from template** to start from a chat someone saved as a template. The chat is created when you send the first message. ## The composer Type your request in the composer and press **Send**. Below the text box: | Control | What it does | | - | - | | **Attach files** | Adds files or images to your message. You can also paste or drop them in. | | **Model** | The model the agent uses. Alkera offers Anthropic and OpenAI models. You can switch models in an open chat. | | **Effort** | How hard the model reasons, from **Low** up to **Max**, depending on the model. Higher effort is slower and uses more credit. | | **Permission mode** | What the agent may do without asking. Press Shift + Tab to cycle modes. See [permission modes](/foundations/agent-and-tools#permission-modes). | Set your default model and effort for new chats in **Preferences**, from the account menu at the bottom of the sidebar. While the agent is working, **Send** becomes **Stop**. A message you send mid-turn is queued and runs when the current turn ends. Slash commands are not available in the web app. Ask for what you want in plain language instead. ## What the agent shows you The agent streams its answer. Each step it takes appears as a card you can expand: * **Queries** show a result table. * **File edits** show what was added, updated, renamed, or deleted. Click **Show diff** to see the change. * **Shell commands** show their output. * **Notebook steps** show the cells it created, edited, or ran, with **Go to cell** to open the notebook there. Tables, charts, and images from a notebook can appear right in the chat. Large results are stored rather than pasted into the conversation. See [large results](/foundations/agent-and-tools#large-results). ## Approvals and questions When the agent reaches an action your permission mode does not allow on its own, it stops and shows an **approval card** describing what it wants to do and why it needs approval. * **Allow once** (Enter) runs it this time. * **Reject once** (Esc) refuses it this time. The agent adapts and continues. * **Always allow**, from the dropdown, saves a rule so the same action passes next time. Only the chat's owner can choose it. When the agent needs a decision from you, it asks with a **question card**. Pick an answer, or choose **Other…** to type your own. A chat waiting on you shows **Needs your answer** in the sidebar. ## Work together Several people can be in one chat at once. * Avatars at the top show who else is in the chat. * The composer draft is shared. Everyone with edit access can type in it together and see each other's cursors. * People with **Can view** access can read the chat but not send messages. To give someone access, [share the workspace](/workspaces/overview#sharing). ## Manage a chat The chat header has **Rename**, **Share**, **Copy chat**, and **Delete chat**. * **Copy chat** makes your own copy, named "(copy)". * **Delete chat** moves the chat and its files to the [trash](/workspaces/files#trash). * **Save as template…**, from the chat's menu in the sidebar, lets people start new chats from it with **New from template**. ## Related Effects, permission modes, and what the agent can do. Start chats by mentioning the Alkera bot. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.