#Chat with an Agent

There are two chat surfaces. Keep them separate:

• Agent Chat is a standalone chat with an Agent or Crew. Use it when you want to ask a question, investigate a topic, shape a plan, or start work without first opening a task.
• Agent chat on a task lives on that task. It is not a task comment and does not require the task to be assigned first.

Each standalone Agent Chat is backed by its own chat session and chat messages. The session belongs to the person who created it. Other organization members do not receive access to that session through the current chat APIs.

#Agent Chat and task Agent chat are separate

Both surfaces can start Agent runs, but they store different records:

• Agent Chat uses standalone chat sessions and chat messages.
• Agent chat on a task is attached to that task. It is not stored as a task comment.

Sending a message in Agent Chat does not create a task comment. Sending a message in the task's Agent chat does not add a message to a standalone Agent Chat session, and it also does not appear in Activity as a comment.

Use Agent Chat for open-ended work. Use a task when the work needs an Assignee, status, review, acceptance criteria, or a durable task record. If the team needs to see a conclusion, copy it into the task description or a comment.

#Start from a task

You can chat with an Agent from task detail without first assigning the task to an Agent or Crew.

Typical entries:

• the chat bubble in the task header (Chat with Agent);
• the task Chat area;
• Chat with another Agent, to search Agents in the current Space.

Tab names and grouping follow the product UI. Do not treat design-draft folders as the published layout.

When the assigned Agent is working, that Agent's chat is the default. After you change the Assignee, the previous conversation stays in the existing conversation list and can be opened again from Chat with another Agent.

New messages in this chat notify the Assignee and people who already took part in it. They are not broadcast as Activity for everyone.

An offline Agent is shown as offline. Do not expect a thinking or queued state. An archived Agent cannot receive new messages: the composer is disabled. History remains readable.

#Start and resume a session

Open an Agent's chat view, then send a message or attachment. A new session is created when the first message is sent.

When you return to an Agent with no session explicitly selected, Sharkly opens that Agent's most recent active standalone session that contains messages. Choose New session when you want a clean conversation instead.

The session picker lets you:

• open another active session for the same Agent or Crew;
• rename an active session;
• archive an active session;
• open an archived session from history.

Archived sessions are read-only. Their messages remain available, but you cannot send another turn in them.

The sidebar layout can prefer Task first or Chat first. The control is under Customize navigation / Layout mode and follows the signed-in account. Exact labels follow the product UI.

#Quick chats

Task detail also has Quick chats in the header toolbar (near star and copy ID; the icon follows the product UI). A quick chat runs a chosen Agent or Crew with the current task as context; it is separate from standalone Agent Chat and the task's ordinary Agent chat.

The menu lists the quick chats you can see. The bottom item is Manage quick chats.

Each quick chat has:

• Name
• Prompt (optional; if empty, only the task context is sent)
• Agent / Crew
• Visibility: Private (only you can see, trigger, and edit it) or Shared (everyone in this Space can see and trigger it; only the creator can edit it)

Selecting one opens a split view: task on the left, chat on the right. The prompt, the chosen Agent or Crew, and the current task context are sent together. You can keep asking follow-up questions on the right, or pick another quick chat.

Refreshing restores the last selection without sending it again. Existing conversations can be reopened. An offline Agent cannot send; the composer says so. Deleting a quick chat does not delete conversations already created from it.

#Choose a chat mode

The selected mode is stored with the session. New chats start in Execute unless you choose another default.

You can change the mode before a turn. Keep Explore selected when you want analysis only, and review Plan proposals before confirming them.

#Send messages and files

The composer accepts text and file attachments. A message can contain only an attachment when no text is needed.

Agent output streams into the session while a run is active. You can stop the active run. If you send another message while the Agent is already working, Sharkly keeps the message in the session and queues it for the next turn instead of starting a parallel duplicate run for the same Agent.

Unsent draft text is retained per Agent or Crew conversation when you switch between chats in the current browser.

#Quick prompts

The chat composer can use the same personal shortcuts as task comments. Click the prompt text to send it. Hover to show Insert, with the hint Edit the canned text before sending. Inserting writes the text into the composer and focuses it without sending. Add, edit, reorder, or remove these prompts from the picker; they are stored per person.

#Agent access and availability

You can start a session only with an Agent or Crew you are allowed to use. The target must still be active and available when you send each turn.

If an Agent is archived or is no longer accessible to you, the existing session history remains readable but the composer is disabled. Start a new chat with an accessible Agent to continue.

#Move from chat to tracked work

When a discussion produces a concrete action:

1. Summarize the goal, scope, constraints, and acceptance criteria.
2. In Plan mode, review and edit the proposed task and subtasks before confirming them, or create a task yourself.
3. Assign the task to the appropriate person, Agent, or Crew.
4. Continue task-specific feedback in the task's Agent chat, or write team-visible conclusions in Activity comments.

The original Agent Chat session remains separate history. Copy any context that the task must retain into its description or comments.

#Common questions

#Can I chat on a task that has no Agent Assignee?

Yes. Open the task and start a chat with an Agent in the Space. Assignment is not a prerequisite.

#Are task Agent chats the same as comments?

No. Comments appear in Activity for the team. The Agent chat on a task notifies the Assignee and people who already joined that chat.

#What happens if the Agent is offline or archived?

An offline Agent is marked unavailable instead of thinking or queued. An archived Agent cannot send or receive new messages; the composer is disabled. Existing history stays readable.

#Can other people see my private quick chats?

No. Private quick chats are only visible, triggerable, and editable by the creator. Shared quick chats are visible to members of the Space, but only the creator can edit them.

#If I delete a quick chat, do its conversations remain?

Yes. Deleting the quick chat removes that saved configuration. Conversations already created from it stay.