In DataMind Oda, a session is one chat: everything you and Oda do together lives in it, and every chat lives in the sidebar list. This page explains the rules behind that list: when a chat appears, where it sits, how it is named, what archiving does, and the actions every chat view offers. The sidebar's own controls, including pinning, renaming and archiving, are covered in Manage workspaces and chats.
When a chat appears in the list
A fresh chat stays out of the list until its conversation starts.
Your first accepted message starts the chat and brings it into the list.
Until then the chat is blank: blank means the conversation has not started, not that the chat is empty.
One-off actions do not start a chat. Running a command such as /plan or /goal, setting a plan, or changing permissions or the access mode leaves a fresh chat blank and out of the list.
If your first message is refused, the chat stays blank. Nothing has started, so you can send the message again.
Once a chat has started, it stays in the list. A slower refresh never hides it again.
A chat that has no workspace folder yet is not listed. If Oda cannot attach a chat to its workspace folder, the chat still appears and Oda reports the failure.
The list shows a loading state while Oda loads your chats: while it loads, an empty list means nothing has arrived yet; once loading has finished, an empty list means there is genuinely nothing to show.
Where a chat sits in the list
By default, Oda groups chats by workspace and orders each group by the last time you sent a message, so sending moves a chat to the top of its group. Work Oda does on its own does not move it.
A chat that belongs to another chat sits directly under it, indented. If the chat it belongs to is not in the list, it stands on its own.
A chat with several versions keeps one row. The row follows the version you are on and shows a small count of how many there are (Edit, rewind and retry a message).
Opening a chat loads its stored history. While that loads you see a loading state, and a chat that cannot open shows the failure.
Keeping the list up to date
The list is built from each chat's stored record, so your chats survive restarts and new windows.
Oda keeps every open view in step as things change: a chat arrives when it starts, and its state follows the work inside it.
After a reconnect, Oda rebuilds the list from the records rather than trusting what was on screen.
A chat's name
Each row shows the chat's latest name. Until a name lands, the row falls back to the chat's folder name, or to a plain identifier when even that is missing.
Renaming tidies the name: spaces around the edges are dropped, and a run of spaces becomes one. Oda keeps a name you save.
A name made only of invisible characters is refused: session title must contain visible characters.
How Oda proposes a name for a chat is covered in Chat titles.
Archived chats
An archived chat cannot keep working. If something tries to run a step in it, for example a scheduled task waking it up, the step is stopped before it runs.
A copy forked from an archived chat does not inherit the archive; it is independent.
Unarchive a chat to let it run again.
What you can do from a chat
Every chat view offers the same actions, wherever you meet the chat in Oda:
Send a message. Type into the box and send; the chat carries the work on from its own history (Chat with Oda).
Stop the work. Stopping cancels the running turn, and messages you queued while it worked are kept and resume after it stops (Queue, steer and stop).
Read older messages. Step back through the chat, and older messages load in pages as you go (Search your chats).
Open a path in your own apps. Open the chat's workspace folder or a file in it with the default application, with an application you choose, or show it in your file manager (Open files and folders in other apps). Oda opens only a path it can match to the computer it is running on; when it cannot match one, it refuses and nothing opens.
The conversation map card shows each turn of a chat by the message that opened it, in up to three short lines; longer messages are trimmed and marked. See The conversation map.
Questions, answered
Why is my chat list empty?
Two moments look the same. While Oda is still loading the list, an empty list means nothing has arrived yet, so wait for loading to finish. Once it has finished, an empty list means there is genuinely nothing to show; start a chat and send your first message (Chat with Oda).
Why is my new chat missing from the sidebar?
Until you send its first message, a chat is blank and stays out of the list; commands and other one-off actions do not start it. A chat that has no workspace folder yet is also left out. Once Oda accepts your first message, the chat appears and stays.
Can I reuse a chat whose first message was refused?
Yes. A refused message leaves the chat blank, so nothing has started; you can send the message again.
Why does one chat sit indented under another?
That chat belongs to the chat above it, for example a helper chat Oda started for it or a copy you forked from it. Oda keeps it next to the chat it belongs to; if the chat it belongs to is not shown, it stands on its own.
Why can't I message a chat that belongs to another chat?
Some chats are started by another chat to do part of its work, for example a subagent. You cannot send messages to them directly; continue the work in the chat they belong to.
Why did a chat move to the top of the list?
The list is ordered by your latest message to each chat, so sending moves a chat up. Work Oda does on its own does not move it.
Why does my chat show its folder name instead of a name?
Until a name lands for the chat, the row falls back to the chat's folder name, or to a plain identifier when even that is missing. Renaming the chat from its menu sets the name you choose, and a name with no visible characters is refused. See Chat titles.
Can an archived chat keep working?
No. An archived chat cannot run new steps: anything that tries to continue it is stopped before it runs. A copy forked from it is independent, and unarchiving lets the chat run again.
Can I open a chat's folder in my own apps?
Yes. Oda can open the chat's workspace folder, or a file in it, with the computer's default application, with an application you choose, or shown in your file manager. If Oda cannot match the path to the computer it is running on, it refuses instead of opening the wrong thing.
Does the chat list update on its own?
Yes. Oda keeps every open view in step as a chat changes: a chat appears when it starts, and its state follows the work inside it. After a reconnect, the list is rebuilt from the stored records, so it catches up on its own.
What happens if a chat cannot connect to its folder?
When Oda creates a chat, it also connects the chat to its workspace folder. If that fails, the chat is still created and stays in your list, and Oda reports the failure instead of hiding the chat.