Every chat in DataMind Oda shows a name in the sidebar. A chat gets a starting name from your first message, Oda then asks the model for a better one in the background, and you can rename a chat whenever you like. The conversation itself is covered in Chat with Oda, and the chat's turns and figures in Chat navigation and stats.
Where the name appears
Each chat's row in the sidebar shows its latest title, and the row updates whenever the title changes. Until a name lands, the row falls back to the chat's folder name, or to a plain identifier when even that is missing.
Oda uses the same name wherever it refers to the chat, such as the chat header and the chat's row menu, which reads Session actions for <name>.
The name is stored with the chat, so it comes back with the chat when you reopen DataMind Oda.
Oda names the chat itself, in two steps, and neither one delays your work:
A starting name from your first message. As soon as the chat accepts your first message with text, Oda saves a short name built from that message's opening words. A first message without text, such as one that is only an image, waits; the name comes from the first message that carries text.
A name from the model. Oda then asks the model for a better name, using your first message. This runs in the background, after the chat's first request to the model has gone through, and the model is asked to name the chat in the language of your messages.
Later messages do not rename the chat. Once the chat has its name, it stays through the conversation.
If the model-made name cannot be written, the chat keeps the starting name and carries on; nothing in the chat changes because of it.
A chat you fork keeps the name it inherited and gets no new model-made name.
Rename a chat
Open the chat's row menu in the sidebar, Session actions for <name>, and choose Rename.
In the Rename session dialog, type the new name into Session name and choose Rename. The row shows the new name straight away.
A name you save is kept. Later messages do not change it, and Oda drops any automatic name it was still preparing for the chat. The name changes again only when you rename the chat.
Renaming changes the label only. The chat's messages, its files and its workspace folder stay as they are.
A name must contain something visible. If a name holds only spaces or invisible characters, Oda refuses it and the dialog shows session title must contain visible characters.
Names are tidied before they are saved or shown. Hidden control characters and direction marks, which could make a name display as something it is not, are dropped, and runs of spaces are tidied into one line. A shown name cannot hide or fake content.
Names are capped. The starting name takes up to 5 words and stays within 40 bytes, and any name can be up to 80 bytes. The model-made name aims for about five words, or ten characters in Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
The caps count bytes, not letters: an ordinary English letter is one byte, so a script whose characters need more bytes each fits fewer characters. An over-long name is cut, and the cut never lands in the middle of a character.
Questions, answered
When does a chat get its name?
Right after your first message with text: Oda saves a short name built from that message's opening words. A first message without text, such as one that is only an image, does not name the chat; the name comes from the first message that carries text. After the chat's first request has gone through, Oda can replace it with a name written by the model.
Will Oda change the name I chose?
No. A name you save is kept, and later messages do not change it. It changes again only when you rename the chat.
Why has my chat kept its old name after new messages?
Later messages do not rename a chat. Oda names it once, from your first message; after that the name stays through the conversation. If you want a different name, rename the chat.
Why didn't my chat get a model-made name?
The model-made name is written in the background, only after the chat's first request has gone through. If that step cannot run, the chat keeps its starting name and carries on; nothing in the chat changes because of it, and you can rename the chat yourself at any time.
Why did Oda refuse my name?
A name must contain something visible. If what you typed holds only spaces or invisible characters, Oda refuses it and shows session title must contain visible characters. Type at least one visible character and confirm again.
How long can a chat's name be?
Short. The starting name takes up to 5 words and stays within 40 bytes, and any name can be up to 80 bytes; an ordinary English letter is one byte. An over-long name is cut at a character boundary, so a name never breaks in the middle of a character.
Can a name use emoji or another script?
Yes. Visible characters are kept as they are, whichever script or symbol they come from. Hidden control characters and direction marks are dropped before a name is shown, and a script whose characters need more bytes each fits fewer characters within the cap.
What language is a chat's name in?
Your own. The starting name is built from the words you wrote, and the model is asked to name the chat in the language of your messages.
Does a chat's name go to the model?
No. A chat's name is kept apart from the conversation: it never enters what the model reads, and it costs no tokens. Renaming a chat does not change its content or what Oda works from.
Does a chat keep its name after a restart?
Yes. The name is stored with the chat, so it comes back with the chat when you reopen DataMind Oda.