Queue, steer and stop

In DataMind Oda, work happens in a chat. You can send a message at any time, even while Oda is busy with a task: it either waits in the queue, or steers the work that is already running. This page covers both, what a prompt must contain, and how to stop a running turn. The message box itself is on The message box.

What a prompt must contain

A prompt is the message that opens a turn, and Oda checks its content before the message goes anywhere.

• A prompt needs text that is not only spaces or line breaks, or a file or image attached to it. A message with neither is refused: prompt content must include non-whitespace text or an attachment. Nothing is added to the chat.
• Every message carries the time zone your computer reports, read from the app or browser you are using; you never type it. The value is UTC or a standard zone name such as Europe/Berlin, and a common alias, for example US/Pacific, is rewritten to its official name before the message is sent. A value that is neither is refused with clientTimeZone must be UTC or a valid IANA Area/Location name, and a message with no readable zone goes without one.
• If sending fails with browser time zone is unavailable, the app you are sending from reported no zone at all; try again, and if it returns, note the message for your DataMind OS administrator.

Send while Oda is busy

A message you send during a run takes one of two paths:

• A queued message waits, and becomes Oda's next piece of work when the current turn ends. Queued messages run one at a time, each as a turn of its own, in the order you sent them; nothing is merged into another message's turn.
• A steering message joins the work that is already running, and Oda takes it at its next step. A steer never cuts a step short: the step in flight finishes first. A steer continues the running turn; it never opens one of its own.

The chat shows which path your message took: queued while it waits, steering once it has joined the running work.

Which path it takes depends on a setting. Open Settings > General and find Send behavior while busy. The row reads What Enter and the Send button do while the agent is running; Cmd/Ctrl+Enter uses the other behavior, and offers Queue and Steer.

By default, Enter steers while Oda is busy and Cmd/Ctrl+Enter queues. Choose Queue and the two swap: Enter queues, and Cmd/Ctrl+Enter steers. The two keys always do opposite things, a change takes effect at once, and the send button follows the same choice: while Oda works it reads Queue message or Steer message.

When Oda is not working, Enter sends as usual.

Messages that are waiting

A message that waits appears in the queue under the message box.

• A single waiting message shows directly; when several wait, they start folded under a heading that counts them, for example 2 queued messages. While the queue is empty, nothing shows there.
• A waiting message keeps whatever came with it: an image shows a thumbnail, and a file shows its own entry. When its turn comes, they arrive with it intact. How files and images are added is on Attach files and images to a message.
• A message that has not been accepted yet shows Sending…, with its actions disabled. The status stays visible even when the list is folded. When the chat accepts it, the temporary copy is replaced by the accepted message, so it never appears twice.
• Waiting messages run in the order you sent them, oldest first.

Edit, remove or steer a waiting message

Each waiting row offers Edit queued message, Remove queued message and Steer queued message.

• Edit queued message opens the message. Enter or Save queued message keeps the change, and Escape or Cancel editing leaves the message as it was. An edit rewrites the message where it stands: it keeps its place in line, and the new text is what runs when its turn comes.
• Editing keeps to text: a message that carries an image or a file cannot be edited, and the action's tooltip reads Contains non-text content; editing is not supported yet. A save that holds only spaces or line breaks is refused, and the message keeps the text it had.
• Remove queued message takes the message out of the queue; it is not sent.
• Steer queued message moves the message into the running work, where it shows as pending until Oda takes it at its next step. It is available only while Oda is running; otherwise its tooltip reads Steering is available only while the agent is running.

When an action on a waiting message fails

• A message that has already started sending has left the queue, so it can no longer be edited or removed. The message stays where it is, and a notice reads Edit failed: this message may have already started sending. or Removal failed: this message may have already started sending.
• A steer needs running work that can still take new input. A failed steer leaves the message in the queue, where it runs in its own turn, and shows the notice Steering failed. Try again.

Steer a message into the running work

There are three ways to steer:

• On a row in the queue, choose Steer queued message: that message moves into the running work and shows as pending until Oda takes it.
• With a draft in the box, press Cmd/Ctrl+Enter (with Queue chosen): the message steers directly and never joins the queue.
• To steer everything that is waiting, leave the box empty and press Cmd/Ctrl+Enter: every waiting message moves into the running turn, oldest first. The empty box hints Cmd/Ctrl+Enter steers all queued messages. With a draft in the box, the key delivers that message instead of the queue.

A steered message appears once, at the end of the running turn, as a normal message.

Stop a running turn

Press Stop generating in the message box to stop the turn that is running.

• The turn ends as stopped: whatever reply had already appeared stays in the chat, marked as stopped, and Oda does not continue it. The message box returns to its usual state.
• Work that had not started does not run. A tool call that had not begun is recorded with the result Error: tool call aborted before dispatch; a call that had already started is stopped as well, and its result reads Error: tool call aborted. Oda records a result either way, so nothing is left hanging.
• If more than one stop reaches the same turn, the first one decides; anything later changes nothing.
• A stop does not undo work that is already done, such as a file Oda saved or a command that finished. To restore file changes, use Rewind to here; see Edit, rewind and retry a message.
• A stop acts only on the chat you press it in; work running in other chats continues.
• The messages that were waiting stay in the queue, in the order you sent them. Nothing starts them on their own: the next message you send sets the queue moving again. A message you send while the stop is still going through waits its turn and is not lost.
• To stop the background work listed in the Activity tab, use Stop all there. It does not stop the turn in the conversation.
• In a subagent's chat, Stop generating works even when sending is unavailable, for example while the chat that started it is offline, and any messages waiting there stay usable. See Continuable subagents: follow-ups and control.

What a stop leaves in the chat after a crash is covered in Recovering sessions after a crash.

Archive a chat while Oda works

If you archive a chat while it is still working, the running work is stopped, the same way Stop generating stops a turn. Messages that were still waiting in that chat are dropped: an archived chat does not start new work, so they do not run later. Unarchive the chat to work in it again.

Messages to a subagent's chat

Oda can hand part of a task to a subagent, which works in a chat of its own. That chat takes new work only from the chat that started it.

• A message you send directly into a subagent's chat is rejected, and nothing is added to it. Oda continues a subagent from the chat that started it; see Continuable subagents: follow-ups and control.
• A message that continues a subagent's work does not accept files: it is refused with subagent continuation does not accept files. Give Oda the file in your own chat instead.

When a send is refused

• If the chat does not accept your message, a notice reads Queue submission failed. Nothing is added to the chat, and your text returns to the message box so you can send it again.
• If another running copy of Oda is using the same chat, the send is refused: This session is already in use, possibly by another running DataMind instance (such as the web app or the desktop app). Quit the other running instances and try again.

Questions, answered

How do I choose whether my message waits or steers?

In Settings > General, the Send behavior while busy row offers Queue and Steer. By default, Enter steers while Oda is busy; choose Queue if you would rather have Enter queue. Either way, Cmd/Ctrl+Enter does the other one, and the change takes effect at once.

Which key queues and which key steers?

It depends on the chosen behaviour. With Steer (the default), Enter steers and Cmd/Ctrl+Enter queues; with Queue, Enter queues and Cmd/Ctrl+Enter steers. The two keys always do opposite things, and when Oda is not running both simply send.

If I send two messages while Oda is working, do they run as one turn or two?

Each queued message gets a turn of its own, in the order you sent them; nothing is merged into another message's turn. A steering message is the difference: it joins the turn already running and never opens one of its own.

When does Oda pick up a message I steer?

Between steps. A steer never cuts a step short: the step in flight finishes first, and Oda takes the message at the next step, inside the same turn. Once taken, it appears at the end of the running turn as a normal message.

How do I steer everything I queued at once?

Leave the message box empty and press Cmd/Ctrl+Enter while Oda is running. Every waiting message moves into the running turn, oldest first. The empty box hints Cmd/Ctrl+Enter steers all queued messages.

Why can't I edit a message that carries an image or a file?

Editing keeps to text, so such a message cannot be edited; its edit action is disabled, with the tooltip Contains non-text content; editing is not supported yet. Remove it, or steer it into the run, instead.

Why did editing or removing a waiting message fail?

The message had already started sending, so it can no longer be changed or removed. The notice reads Edit failed: this message may have already started sending. or Removal failed: this message may have already started sending.

Why did my send fail and put my text back in the box?

The chat did not accept the message, and a notice reads Queue submission failed. Nothing was added to the chat, and your text is back in the message box. If another running copy of Oda was using the chat, the message says so; quit the other copy and send again.

What does Stop generating do?

It stops the turn that is running: the turn ends as stopped, the reply keeps what had already appeared, and the message box returns to its usual state. Waiting messages stay in the queue and move on with your next send.

Does Stop undo the work Oda has already finished?

No. Stop cancels what is still running or waiting; it does not roll back work that is already done, such as a file Oda saved or a command that finished. To restore file changes, use Rewind to here; see Edit, rewind and retry a message.

If I archive a chat while Oda is working, what happens?

The running work is stopped, the same way Stop generating stops a turn. Messages that were still waiting in that chat do not run later, because an archived chat does not start new work. Unarchive the chat to work in it again.

Can I send a message into a subagent's chat?

No. A subagent's chat takes new work only from the chat that started it, and a message you send there is rejected; nothing is added. Oda continues the subagent from the chat that started it.