Large tool results

When a command's output or another tool result is too large to keep in the chat, DataMind Oda writes the full text to a private file on your computer and leaves a short preview and a notice in the chat. This page explains the notice, the file behind it and how long the file stays. The limits that shorten results, and how each tool keeps its output, are covered on Result limits and spill files.

What the notice means

• The chat shows a short preview in place of the full result: the beginning and the end of the text.
• Below the preview, the notice reads: (Omitted N bytes. Full formatted result stored at: <locator>. Use read with offset/limit, or grep this path to search within it.)
• N stands for the bytes left out of the chat, and the locator names the file that holds the full result. The notice is the chat's only pointer to that file, and the full text stays out of the chat.
• Only plain-text results are stored this way. A result that also carries something else, such as an image, is left as it is.

Where the stored file lives

• A stored file is written on your computer, and it can be read only by your user account.
• By default, stored files go in a private folder under your computer's temporary files area, created the first time it is needed. Your installation can use a different folder.
• Inside it, each chat gets a folder of its own, so the results a chat stored sit together.
• Results are stored only when they are larger than the size set for your installation; with no size set, results are never replaced by a stored copy.

How long stored files stay

• Files older than 30 days are removed when Oda starts. Your installation can choose a different period or turn the clearing off.
• The clearing happens at start-up only: if Oda stays open for a long time, old files are cleared at its next start.
• Files are kept on purpose: a chat you resume or fork can still read a result it stored earlier, until that file ages out.

If the file cannot be saved

If Oda cannot write the file, the result stays in the chat as it is; a failed save never turns a good result into a lost one or fails the step that produced it.

Limits

• Stored files live on this computer.
• There is no search or replacement of stored files; the locator in the notice is the only pointer to a stored file.
• If no notice small enough can be made, the result stays as it was; a stored copy can then be left without a pointer to it.

Questions, answered

Why does a result say "Full formatted result stored at"?

The result was too large for the chat, so Oda wrote the full text to a private file and left a short preview and a notice in its place. The full text was kept, not dropped; the notice names the file that holds it.

Where does Oda keep the stored file?

In a private folder on your computer. By default the folder sits under your computer's temporary files area and is created the first time it is needed; your installation can use a different folder. Inside it, each chat has a folder of its own, and the files can be read only by your user account.

How do I read the full result?

Ask Oda to read the file named in the notice, or to search inside it. If the file is long, Oda reads it in parts; Read, write and edit files covers how reads work.

How long does Oda keep a stored file?

Files older than 30 days are removed when Oda starts; your installation can choose a different period or turn the clearing off. The clearing happens at start-up only, and nothing in Oda deletes a file on request.

What happens if Oda cannot save the file?

The result stays in the chat as it is. Storing is best effort: a failed save never turns a good result into a lost one.

Is the stored file shared or sent anywhere?

No. The file is written on your computer and can be read only by your user account; the full text stays out of the chat.

Can I turn stored results off, or choose where they go?

Not from a chat. The folder and the size at which results are stored are set for your installation; with no size set, Oda never replaces a result with a stored copy. Ask your DataMind OS administrator to change these.

Which results are stored this way?

Plain-text results larger than the size set for your installation. A result that also carries something else, such as an image, is left as it is. Reading a file is handled differently: a long read comes back in parts, not as a stored copy.