Commands and skills in the / menu

The / menu in the message box runs a built-in command or one of your skills without leaving the chat. This page covers the menu itself; what each command does is listed in Chat with Oda, and Slash commands and references covers how a command is written, plus the @ menu.

Open the menu

• Type / in the message box: the menu opens above it.
• The menu opens when the slash is at the start of your message or follows a space or punctuation. Inside a web address, inside a Windows-style path such as C:/, or after another slash, the slash stays ordinary text.
• The + control, Add files or run commands, opens the same menu.
• Rows are grouped: the built-in entries under Add (File, Goal, Plan, Feedback) and Commands (Compact, Permission, Model, Export), your skills under Skills, and any subagents of this chat under Subagents.
• Each row carries an icon, its name, and a short description of what it does, for example Enter or leave plan mode for Plan and Download this Session log as a ZIP archive for Export.
• While the rows load, placeholder rows stand in; rows you have already seen stay while the list refines.
• A group that cannot be prepared drops out quietly; if nothing remains, the menu closes itself.
• The menu sits above the message box and never hides the text you are typing.

Find and run an entry

1. Keep typing after / to narrow the list; the filter matches names.
2. Move the highlight with Up and Down; it wraps at both ends.
3. Press Enter, or click a row, to run the highlighted entry. Tab settles the highlighted row where a row offers that.
4. Press Escape or Shift+Tab to leave the menu without running anything.

• The highlight follows the keyboard and the pointer, whichever you used last.
• A click outside closes the menu; a click inside the message box does not, and a closed menu stays closed for the same text.
• A key pressed while the list is still loading does not run a row from the old list, and an input method's Enter that picks a candidate never runs anything.
• Running a skill works the same way: pick it under Skills.
• A name Oda does not offer is not a command: the line goes to Oda as an ordinary message.

While a command holds your message

• When your message starts with a command, the command token is highlighted while it holds, and you can keep typing freely around it.
• Deleting the token is the only way to release it: put the caret after it and press Backspace. Escape closes the menu but not the command, and deleting only the text after the name keeps it too.
• Renaming the command turns it back into ordinary text.
• Press Enter to send: the command runs with the rest of the message as its input.
• Your files and images go to a command only when it accepts them: otherwise nothing runs and it answers /{command} does not accept attachments; remove them first, with your message and the files kept in place.
• While the command holds, a quiet hint says what to type: describe your task to generate plan for Plan and describe the objective for a long-running task for Goal. When a goal is already active, the hint offers to edit, pause, resume or clear it.
• See Plan review and questions for plan mode, and Chat with Oda for goals.

Options and confirmations

• Some entries open a short list of choices. While it loads it reads Loading options…; with nothing to offer it reads No options; while your choice is being applied it reads Applying….
• The search field takes focus when the list opens, so you can type to filter the choices.
• If the list cannot be loaded it stays open with the reason and a retry control.
• A choice that carries a warning opens a card first: acknowledge the warning, then confirm. Escape cancels without applying anything.
• When Permission asks which access mode to use, Workspaces and permissions explains the choices.

What a command leaves in the chat

• Every command answers in the chat with its own row: it shows Running… while it works, then Completed or Command failed.
• A running row carries a Running badge and a failed row a Failed badge.
• If a command cannot go through, one error notice appears and your text stays in the box so you can correct it.
• The row expands when the answer runs over one line.

Questions, answered

Can I open the menu without typing /?

Yes. The + control, Add files or run commands, opens the same menu, and you pick a row the same way as when you type /.

Why did no menu appear when I typed /?

The slash opens the menu only when it is at the start of the message or follows a space or punctuation. Inside a web address, a Windows-style path such as C:/, after another slash, or straight after a word, it stays ordinary text.

Why does the menu show placeholder rows?

The rows are fetched as you type: while a list loads, placeholder rows stand in under a loading state. Rows you have already seen stay in place, so the menu does not blink empty while you refine it. If nothing remains once the lists settle, the menu closes itself.

Why did a group of entries vanish from the menu?

A group that cannot be prepared drops out quietly, without an error, and the rest of the menu stays usable. Type on, and the menu refreshes with the text you enter.

Which keys work in the menu?

• Up and Down move the highlight and wrap at both ends.
• Enter runs the highlighted entry; clicking a row does the same.
• Tab settles the highlighted row where a row offers that.
• Escape and Shift+Tab leave the menu without running anything.
• A key pressed while the list is still loading runs nothing from the old list, and an input method's Enter that picks a candidate belongs to the input method.

What happens when a command asks for a choice?

The choices open in a list in the same spot: Loading options… while they load, No options when there is nothing to choose, and Applying… while your choice is applied. If the list fails to load, it stays open with the reason and a retry control. A choice that carries a warning opens a confirmation card first: acknowledge it and confirm, or press Escape to cancel.

What happens after I pick an entry?

The command runs and answers in the chat with its own row: Running… while it works, then Completed, or Command failed. A running row carries a Running badge and a failed row a Failed badge.

Why is my message still in the box after a command?

Nothing is lost: when a command cannot go through, one error notice appears and your text and the command stay put, so you can correct them and send again. A command that does not take attachments refuses with /{command} does not accept attachments; remove them first, keeping your message and files in place.

How do I cancel a command I started typing?

Delete the command token: put the caret after it and press Backspace. Escape closes the menu but does not release the command, and deleting only the text after the name keeps it. Renaming the command turns it back into ordinary text.

What does the quiet hint over the message box mean?

While a command that takes instructions holds the start of your message, a hint says what to type: describe your task to generate plan for Plan and describe the objective for a long-running task for Goal. When a goal is already active, the hint offers to edit, pause, resume or clear it.

Where do my skills appear?

Under Skills in the / menu, listed by name. Running one works like running a command. You create and edit skills in Settings > Skills: see Memory, skills and connectors and Using skills.