# Bots and chats

Each bot is a teammate with one continuous chat, its own instructions and memory, and a computer to
work on.

## Create a bot

Your first bot is created for you when you sign up. To add another, choose **Create** (the **+** at
the top of the sidebar), then **New bot**. Give it a name and choose **Create**.

Then tell it its job in the chat, in plain words. It asks for anything else it needs, such as a
sign-in or an app to connect.

> [!TIP]
> One bot per job works best: an inbox bot, a research bot, a bot for one client. Each keeps its own
> history and memory, so it gets better at that job over time.

## Talk to it

Type in the composer and press Enter. You can keep chatting while a bot works, and **Stop** ends
the current run.

- **Attach file** adds files and images. If the bot's model can't read images, you can still
  send the picture as a file for the bot to work with.
- Type **@** to mention another bot, a group, a routine or a connected app.
- Type **/** at the start of a message to use a [skill](/docs/skills/).
- Hover a message to **React**, **Reply** or **Copy**. Select text in a reply to quote just that
  part.
- Hold the microphone to talk instead of typing. See [Voice and calls](/docs/voice-and-calls/).

Bots reply with formatted text, tables, charts and files. Files they send open in a preview and can
be downloaded. Every file a bot has sent is also listed under **Artifacts** in the account menu.

When a bot needs something from you, it posts a card in the chat: a question, an
[approval](/docs/approvals/), or a request to take over its screen. Cards never block the chat; you
can answer later.

## Bot settings

Click the bot's name at the top of the chat to open its settings.

- **Name** and avatar: pick a shape and color, or upload an image.
- **Notifications**: **When it finishes or needs input**.
- **Open work**: the to-do list the bot keeps for itself. You can add, complete or remove items.
- **Memory**: what the bot has written down. See [Memory](/docs/memory/).

Under **Advanced**:

- **Model** and **Thinking**: override the [model](/docs/models/) for this bot.
- **Computer**: **Team** or **Private**. See [The bot's computer](/docs/computer/).
- **Voice**: **Read replies aloud** and the bot's voice.
- **Permissions**: **Allow cross-space bot communication** and
  [**Manage the bots it creates**](/docs/fleet-management/).
- **Instructions**: the bot's standing instructions. Bots can propose changes, which you approve
  in the chat. **Instruction history** lets you restore an earlier version.
- **How other bots see it**: a short description other bots read when deciding whom to ask.
- **Tools**: **Disable a tool** the bot should never use.
- **Export** downloads the bot's setup as a file. **Clear conversation** empties the chat.

## Organize the sidebar

Right-click a bot in the sidebar to **Pin** it, **Move to** a section, **Mark as Unread**,
**Duplicate**, **Archive** or **Delete** it. Archived bots can be restored later.

## Find things

- **Search** in the sidebar searches bots and conversations. Press Cmd+K (Ctrl+K on Windows and
  Linux) to jump to any bot.
- **Activity** in the sidebar lists every run, with filters for status and date. Use it to find a
  run that failed or is waiting on you.
- **Artifacts** in the account menu lists every file bots have made, with search and a date filter.