Working with agents
Side chats, goals, the Running view, chat details, background work, and the command center.
Side chats (/btw)
Sometimes you have a quick question while an agent is busy, and you don't want it in the main conversation. Type:
/btw what does the retry helper in api/client.ts do?A Side chat panel opens next to the chat. The side chat can read the
project but not change it, and nothing you ask there is added to the main
chat. /side does the same thing.
In the panel:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ask follow-up | Asks another question in the same side chat. |
| Send to main | Sends the side chat's answer to the main agent. |
| Open as chat | Turns the side chat into a full chat of its own. |
| New side chat | Starts over with a fresh side chat. |
| Dismiss | Closes the panel. |
Goals (/goal)
A goal keeps the agent working until something is true, instead of stopping after one turn.
/goal --max 3 all tests in packages/billing passThe agent works, checks whether the goal is met, and keeps going if it isn't.
--max limits how many rounds it gets. A goal chip shows above the message
box while it's active; open it and choose Stop goal to end it, or type
/goal stop.
Goals end if Machine Code restarts.
The Running view
Agents start things that keep going in the background: subagents, background shells, dev servers, goals, pull-request watches. The Running view shows all of them across every project.
Open it from Running in the sidebar, or press Ctrl+Shift+U. The sidebar row shows how many things are running and how many need you.
Items are grouped by workspace. Under each one you see its chats, with the model and how long each has been running, and under a chat whatever it started. A few seconds after something finishes, it folds into a line like 1 finished; click Clear to remove it.
For each item you can:
- Open it to watch it work live: replies, thinking, tool calls, file edits, and shell output as they happen.
- Stop it.
- Copy id, for the command line.
Inside a chat, a card appears where background work started. It shrinks to finished in … when the work is done. A running tray above the message box lists what this chat still has going.
Chat details
Each chat has a details rail on the right. Toggle it with its header button or Ctrl+Alt+B.
| Card | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Environment | Where the chat runs: this checkout, a worktree, or another computer. |
| Context | How much of the model's context window the chat is using. |
| Connectors | The Machine connectors the agent can use. |
| Outputs | Files the chat created or changed. |
| Changes | The diff so far, with Review with Machine and Create PR. |
| Background tasks | What the chat started in the background. Expand one to see its status, live time, and latest step. |
Web search
Every agent can search the web and read pages, whichever model it uses. Searches go through Firecrawl. You get 1,000 free credits a month, with no key needed.
To turn it off or add your own Firecrawl key for more, open Settings › Providers › Web search.
The command center
Press Ctrl+K (⌘K on Mac) anywhere outside the code editor to open the command center: jump to a project, a task, a file, or a setting, or run any command by name. Ctrl+P jumps straight to searching files.
Voice
Press Ctrl+D in the message box to dictate. Press it again to stop.