The message box

The message box is the card at the bottom of every chat: you type what Oda should do, point it at files and earlier chats, and send. This page covers the box itself and what happens to your text; Chat with Oda covers everything else a chat can do.

The box and its controls

• One text surface holds your message. It grows as you type, up to about 14 lines; longer messages scroll inside the box, keeping your caret in view.
• The control row holds the chat's settings: the model picker (see Chat with Oda), the plan chip while plan mode is on, the access-mode chip (see Workspaces and permissions), and the context ring, which shows how full the model's context is once there is usage to show.
• The + control, with the name Add files or run commands, opens the menu for adding files and for running commands.
• The primary button sends, queues, steers, or stops; the next sections explain it.
• When the window narrows, the chips shorten one by one, and the model name stays visible longest; when the controls cannot share a line, they wrap to another one.

Type your message

• The empty box suggests what you can type: Message or run a task, / commands, @ files or sessions. Before the first message of a chat, the wording is Describe what you want to build, / commands, @ files or sessions.
• Enter sends the message. Shift+Enter starts a new line. A held Enter sends once, and Enter on an empty box does nothing.
• If you use an input method, the Enter that picks a candidate belongs to the input method: then nothing is sent and no line is started.
• Ctrl/Cmd+Enter also sends. While Oda is working it delivers the message the other way round from your busy-send setting, which Sending while Oda works explains.

Files, references and commands

• Type @ to point Oda at a file, a folder of the workspace, or an earlier chat. Your pick becomes a reference chip in the message. See Mentions.
• Type / at the start of a message to run a command or a skill. See Commands and skills.
• Use the + control, or drag files onto the box, to add files and images. They wait in a row above the box until you send. See Files and images in a message.
• A reference is one piece, not loose letters: the arrow keys step over a whole chip in one move, and Backspace removes it in a single keystroke.
• Point at a chip and a small remove control appears; it takes the reference out and leaves your caret where it was. Clicking a chip opens what it points at, without changing your message.
• If a reference can no longer be resolved, the chip shows as invalid; remove it and pick again.

Send or stop

The primary button tells you what a click will do:

• Which of the two busy labels you see follows your busy-send setting; Ctrl/Cmd+Enter uses the other one. Sending while Oda works explains both paths. The label is also the button's accessible name, so a screen reader and the hover tooltip use the same words.
• Stop stays available while a run is going, even when the box has nothing sendable.

Drafts that wait for you

• Every chat keeps its own draft. Leave the chat and come back, or close the app and reopen it, and your unsent text is still in the box.
• Sending clears the draft, and undo cannot bring a sent message back into the box.
• Text you type in the moment after sending is kept as the start of your next draft, not discarded.

When a send fails

• Your draft comes back. Anything you typed after the failure is kept as you typed it, and files or images that did not go through return to the row above the box.
• The failure shows as a banner. A failure with its own wording explains itself; anything else shows the message Oda received together with its code, in the form {message} ({code}).
• With no connection, the banner reads Message send failed (offline) and offers no Retry; the message stays in the box for you to send again.
• If another running copy of DataMind Oda is holding the same chat, the box says so and asks you to quit the other running instances.

When the box is locked

A chat that cannot take messages at all locks the box, and the box says why, in place of the placeholder:

• Choose a workspace to start: the chat has no folder yet. Pick one and the box becomes active again; see Workspaces and permissions.
• Session unavailable: the chat no longer takes messages.
• Parent session offline; sending is unavailable but you can still stop the run: this is a subagent's chat, and the chat that started it is closed. Stop generating still works here.
• A block with its own reason, for example select a model first.

While Oda is working, the box is not locked: you can type the next message whenever you like. A subagent's chat keeps its own rules: one that accepts follow-ups keeps Send message and Stop generating side by side, and a one-off task's chat takes no further messages.

Questions, answered

What do the Send button labels mean?

• Send message: the chat is idle and your message is ready to go.
• Queue message: Oda is working, and this message will wait for its turn.
• Steer message: Oda is working, and this message joins the run now.
• Stop generating: a run is going and a click stops it.

Which busy label you see follows your busy-send setting; Ctrl/Cmd+Enter uses the other one. See Sending while Oda works.

Why is the Send button disabled?

Send turns on when there is something to send and nothing is in the way:

• An empty message does not count: text must be more than spaces or line breaks, unless a file or image comes with it.
• A file that is still uploading holds Send back, with the note Files are still uploading; send after they finish.
• A block on the chat holds it back too; the box shows the reason, for example select a model first.

When the draft has something to send and no block remains, the button turns on again.

Can I press Enter to send?

Yes. Enter sends the message, and Shift+Enter starts a new line instead. A held Enter sends once, and Enter on an empty box does nothing. Ctrl/Cmd+Enter also sends; while Oda is working, it uses the other busy behaviour from your busy-send setting. If you use an input method, the Enter that picks a candidate is used by the input method and neither sends nor starts a line.

Why is the message box locked, or showing a message instead of the usual placeholder?

The box says why it cannot take messages:

• Choose a workspace to start: the chat has no folder yet; pick one to make the box active.
• Session unavailable: the chat no longer takes messages.
• Parent session offline; sending is unavailable but you can still stop the run: this is a subagent's chat, and the chat that started it is closed. Stop stays available.
• A block with its own reason, for example select a model first.

While Oda is working the box is not locked: you can always type the next message.

Why did my message clear before Oda answered?

The box empties as soon as a message is on its way, so you can start the next one; the message itself appears in the chat right away. A sent draft cannot be brought back with undo. If the send fails, your draft returns instead.

What happens to my message if sending fails?

It comes back. Oda restores your draft, keeps anything you typed after the failure, and returns files or images that did not go through to the row above the box. The failure shows as a banner: a known failure explains itself, and anything else shows the message with its code in the form {message} ({code}). With no connection, the banner reads Message send failed (offline) and offers no Retry; send again once the connection is back.

Why does Oda say the chat is already in use?

That banner means another running copy of DataMind Oda is using the same chat, for example the web app and the desktop app open side by side. It reads: 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. Your draft is kept, so send it again after you have quit the other instances.

Can I keep a draft and come back to it later?

Yes. Every chat keeps its own draft, so leaving a chat, switching to another, or closing and reopening the app does not lose your unsent text. Only sending clears it.

How do I remove a reference from a message before sending?

Point at the chip and use the small remove control that appears, or put the caret after it and press Backspace once: a chip is removed whole, not letter by letter. Files and images are removed from the row above the box instead; see Files and images in a message.

Why did a reference come back after I sent my message?

That reference could not be accepted, so the message was not sent, and the chip came back into your draft so you can check it and try again. Fix or remove it, then send the message again.

How long can a message be before the box scrolls?

The box grows with your text, up to about 14 lines. Longer messages scroll inside the box, and your caret stays in view while you type or paste. The whole message is sent either way.