Side chats

A side chat lets you ask a quick question about a thread without adding noise to it. It is a hidden copy of the thread that opens in a panel next to the main chat.

When to use it

• You want to ask about one reply, like "Why did you pick this approach?"
• You want to explore an idea without derailing the main agent.
• The main agent is busy, and you have a side question.

Start a side chat

• Reply in side chat: pick it from the actions on any message. Select part of the message first to ask about only that text.
• Start side chat: open a new tab in the side panel and pick it. The side chat starts from the thread as it is now.

What it knows

A side chat copies the main conversation up to the message you picked. It knows everything the main agent knew at that point. If you replied to a message, the agent also gets the quoted text.

sequenceDiagram
  participant Main as Main thread
  participant Side as Side chat
  Main->>Side: Reply in side chat: copy history up to that message
  Note over Side: You ask side questions
  Note over Main: Keeps working, never sees the side chat
  Side-->>Main: Send to main thread: reply joins the queue

How it connects to the main thread

They share a starting point, then go their own ways.

• Shared: the history up to that message, the same project folder or Cloud sandbox, and the same harness and model. A side chat can also read and message the main thread's subagents.
• Separate: new messages stay in the chat where you sent them. The main agent never sees your side chat.
• Send back: click Send to main thread on a side-chat reply. It joins the main thread's queue as a new message.

Where it works

• Local threads: Claude Code, Codex, and Pi Agent.
• Cloud threads: Claude Code and Codex. Pi Agent comes later.

Cleanup

Side chats stay out of your sidebar. Once an hour, Cloudroom archives side chats older than 24 hours that you never sent a message in. Side chats you used are kept.