Mention files, folders and chats

Type @ in the message box to point Oda at something outside your message: a file or folder of the workspace, a helper this chat has started, or an earlier chat. Your pick becomes a reference chip in the message, and Oda opens it with its own tools while it works. This page covers the @ menu; Slash commands and references covers the / side of the same menu.

Open the menu and pick an entry

1. Type @, or @ followed by a few letters. The menu opens above the message box.
2. Keep typing to narrow the list; rows you have already seen stay while it refreshes.
3. Pick an entry with Enter, or by clicking it. The pick is added to the message you are writing; nothing is sent yet.
4. Leave the menu with Escape or Shift+Tab without picking anything.

• The menu holds three groups, in this order: Files & folders, then Subagents (the helpers this chat has started; see Subagents), then Sessions (your earlier chats).
• @ starts a mention at the start of the message, after a space, or after punctuation. Inside an address such as user@host, or straight after a word or number, it stays ordinary text.
• A row carries an icon and a name; a file row can also show the folder it sits in.
• Browsing changes nothing in your chat: looking through the menu, narrowing it and drilling into folders have no effect. Only a pick adds to your message.

Browse a folder before you pick

Folder rows end with a slash (/) and offer two actions:

1. Enter, or a click on the row, picks the folder itself.
2. Tab on the highlighted row, or a click on the row's chevron, looks inside instead: the menu stays open and lists the folder's contents.

• While a folder row holds the highlight, it shows a Browse folder caption and its Tab keycap.
• A drilled listing publishes a breadcrumb above the list, starting at Workspace. Click an earlier step to go back up; the folder you are in is not clickable, and the breadcrumb disappears when the menu closes.
• Drilling leaves the path as plain text in the message box, so you can keep editing it, press Tab again to go deeper, or pick the folder or a file when you are ready.

What a pick leaves in your message

• A folder becomes a reference with a trailing slash, such as @src/.
• A file becomes a reference to that file; a path that contains spaces is written in quotes, such as @"docs/design notes.md".
• A chat becomes a chip that shows the chat's title, with a small chat-bubble glyph.
• A helper from Subagents becomes a reference to that helper.
• A reference is one piece of the message: the arrow keys step over it in one move, and Backspace removes it whole. The message box covers removing one.
• Click a file reference to open its preview in the side panel: Preview files in Oda.

When an entry is missing

• Entries Oda cannot reference are left out of the list rather than shown broken.
• If one part of the menu cannot answer, it shows no rows for that part and no error, while the other parts keep listing.
• Entries change as you type: when your text moves on, results for the earlier text are dropped, so the list always belongs to what you last typed.

What happens when you send

• A reference tells Oda what to look at; Oda opens the file, folder or chat with its own tools when the task needs it, and the read shows in the chat as a step (Reading files and images).
• If Oda cannot open a referenced chat while working on your message, that turn stops with the reason.

Questions, answered

What can I point Oda at with the @ menu?

Files and folders of the workspace, the helpers this chat has started, and your earlier chats. The groups appear in this order: Files & folders, Subagents, Sessions.

Why did the @ menu not open when I typed it?

The menu needs @ at the start of the message, after a space, or after punctuation. Inside an address such as user@host, or straight after a word or number, the @ stays ordinary text, and no menu opens.

What does a mention look like once it is in my message?

A folder is written with a trailing slash, such as @src/; a file becomes a reference to that file, in quotes when its path contains spaces, such as @"docs/design notes.md". A chat becomes a chip with the chat's title, and a helper from Subagents becomes a reference to that helper. A chip is one piece: the arrow keys step over it in one move, and Backspace removes it whole. Clicking a file reference opens its preview; see Preview files in Oda.

How do I mention a path with spaces?

Type the path in quotes, for example @"src/my folder". With quotes, the menu searches files and folders only, and never your chats.

How do I browse a folder before picking a file from it?

Press Tab on the highlighted folder row, or click the row's chevron. The menu stays open and lists the folder's contents, with a breadcrumb starting at Workspace; clicking an earlier step takes you back up. The folder you are in is not clickable. Pick a file with Enter, or drill deeper with Tab again.

What do the folder and time next to a chat mean?

A chat that sits in another folder is listed with that folder and a short age, such as 2h or 3d. A chat in the folder you are working in shows only the age, and when Oda cannot tell the folder the row reads (no cwd).

How does the menu find my chats?

It matches your text against chat titles and folders as you type. It does not search inside the messages of those chats; to look through what was said, use search in your chats in the sidebar.

Why is a file I expected not in the list?

Entries Oda cannot reference are left out of the list instead of shown broken. If one part of the menu cannot answer, that part shows no rows and no error while the rest keeps listing.

Why did my run stop when I mentioned an earlier chat?

A chat reference is prepared once your message is sent. If Oda cannot open that chat, the turn stops with the reason.

Does browsing the menu change anything in my chat?

No. Narrowing the list, stepping through rows and drilling into folders change nothing in the chat; a pick only adds to the message you are writing, and nothing is sent until you send it.