File changes in chat

When DataMind Oda changes a file while it works, the change appears in your chat as a step of its own: an Edit or a Write, named with the file's path. This page explains what the comparison holds, how it behaves while the step runs, and how to open the changed file. The step rows themselves are described in Oda's steps and tool results.

The change on the step

• The step's row names the file by its path and carries the size of the change beside it, for example +1 -0: one line added, none removed.
• Opening the step shows the change itself: the lines it removed and the lines it added. When there is no earlier text, for example when Oda creates a file or rewrites it whole, nothing is shown as removed.
• A long change folds its middle: the beginning and the end stay in view, and a control on the card tells you how many lines are hidden. Step cards in chat covers the folding and the Copy control.
• The card's footer repeats the totals and counts the files the comparison covers, for example └ +1 -0 · 1 file.

While the change runs, and once it settles

• While the step runs, you can open it to read the change Oda set out to make, taken from its recorded request. An empty earlier text means the whole file is the change.
• When the step settles, the comparison is replaced by the change that was actually applied.
• A Write that settles without an applied change in its result falls back to the change it intended: a file Oda created or rewrote whole still shows its comparison.
• An Edit whose applied change cannot be read from the result keeps its plain step: no comparison is drawn, because Oda does not guess.

When a change fails or is stopped

• A failed change replaces the row's path with the first line of the failure, so the cause reads without opening the step. For example, when the text Oda was replacing is no longer in the file, the line reads old_string was not found in "<path>".
• A failed change keeps no comparison and no totals, and its path stops being a link.
• When a failure carries no message of its own, the line falls back to the error's name and code, for example ToolError: sandbox_denied.
• A stopped change keeps the file's path as plain text and is marked as stopped for screen readers; it keeps no comparison either.
• A change refused because its text no longer matches changes nothing: the file stays as it was. File safety and error messages explains each message and what to do about it.

Open the changed file

• The path on the step names the file inside the folder the chat works in; Workspaces and permissions covers that folder.
• Click the path to open the file in the side panel preview beside the chat. A change step attaches its comparison as it opens, so the preview shows what changed; when the step recorded no change to show, the file simply opens.
• Clicking the path does not expand the step. Opening files from chat covers handing a file to your computer's apps, and Preview files in Oda covers the preview itself.

Questions, answered

What does +1 -0 on a change mean?

One line was added and none was removed. The number after the + counts the lines the change added, and the number after the - counts the lines it removed. The same totals repeat in the card's footer.

Why do I see a comparison before the step finishes?

While the step runs, the comparison shows the change Oda set out to make, read from its recorded request; an empty earlier text means the whole file is the change. When the step settles, this is replaced by the change that was actually applied, so the comparison you check at the end is the applied one.

Why did my failed change lose its comparison and totals?

A failed change keeps no comparison: the first line of the failure takes the summary's place, and the totals go with it, so you see the cause without opening the step. Tool calls in the chat covers how failures fit into a task.

What does the footer under a change show?

It repeats the change's totals and counts the files the comparison covers, for example └ +1 -0 · 1 file. The row above already carries the same totals, so the size of the change reads without opening it.

Can I open the file when a change fails or is stopped?

The path stops being a link in both cases: a failed change shows its failure line instead of the path, and a stopped change keeps the path as plain text. To reach the file, ask Oda to read it, or open it from your computer's file manager.

Does the comparison update when the file changes later?

No. The comparison shows the change as the step recorded it, and later changes do not alter it. To read the file's current content, open its preview; Preview files in Oda covers how the preview follows the file.

What does ⋯ between comparison lines mean?

Two parts of the change sit far apart in the file. The comparison jumps between them, and ⋯ marks the jump over the lines in between.

The result gave no change details. What is shown then?

A Write falls back to the change it intended, so a file Oda created or rewrote whole still shows its comparison. An Edit whose applied change cannot be read opens as a plain block instead: no comparison is drawn, because Oda does not guess.

Where is the list of all the files a task changed?

At the end of the answer, on the changed-files card: it lists every file the turn changed with its added and removed totals. This page covers each change as its own step. Changed files and comparisons covers the card.