Working with an agent

Sending messages

Type in the message box at the bottom of a thread and press Enter to send. Shift+Enter starts a new line. ⌘L puts the cursor in the message box from anywhere.

• ↑ in an empty message box brings back the messages you sent earlier, newest first. ↓ goes forward again.
• What you type is kept per thread. Switching threads doesn't lose a draft.
• While the agent is working, the send button turns into Queue. Your message waits and is sent when the turn ends. Queued messages are shown above the message box. You can remove them, or press Send now to deliver one into the running turn (Claude Code, Codex, Elyra and Pi).
• Stop (or ⌃C in the message box) interrupts the agent.

If Elyra quit while a turn was running, the thread shows The last turn was interrupted when the app quit with Resume and Dismiss.

Attachments

• Images: paste them (⌘V), drop them on the window, or use the paperclip button. They are sent to the agent with your message. Supported: PNG, JPEG, GIF and WebP.
• Other files dropped or picked are added as @path mentions, so the agent reads them itself.
• Long pasted text (over 4,000 characters or 60 lines) becomes a Pasted text chip instead of filling the message box. It is sent with the message.

Remove an attachment with the × on its chip.

@ mentions

Type @ to get a list of the files and folders in the project. Choose one with ↑/↓ and Enter or Tab, and the path is inserted. The list respects .gitignore and matches loosely: @thrview finds src/thread_view.rs.

With Claude Code, the list also shows its subagents as @agent-<name>, for example @agent-Explore, to ask for a specific subagent.

/ commands

Type / at the start of the message to see the commands:

The agent's own commands are listed after these. For Claude Code that includes your custom commands and skills. Choosing one inserts it, and you can add arguments before sending.

Agent, model, effort and permissions

The row below the message box controls the thread:

• Agent: Claude Code, Codex, Elyra, Pi, Gemini CLI, Cursor Agent, OpenCode or your custom agent. You can change it only before the first message. To switch later, use Continue with (Projects and threads). Agents you switched off in Settings are not listed.
• Model: the models the agent offers. Elyra learns the list from the agent after its first start and remembers it. At the bottom of the menu, Star this model saves the agent and model as a preset. Starred presets are listed at the top of the menu for every thread. Before the first message, picking one also switches the agent.
• Account: only shown when you set up accounts for the agent in Settings. Like the agent, it can be chosen only before the first message.
• Effort: how hard the model thinks (Claude Code: low to max; Codex: minimal to extra high; Elyra and Pi: off to extra high). Not every agent supports it.
• Permission mode:

Elyra and Pi don't ask for approvals; they run tools directly.

• Local / New worktree: where the thread works (see Git).
• Debug (bug icon): reproduce-first mode. The agent is told to write a failing test or a minimal reproduction first, explain the root cause, make the smallest fix and show the reproduction passing. The button turns yellow while it's on. The change applies from the next message.
• Context meter: how full the model's context window is, with the cost so far when the agent reports it. When it's nearly full, use /compact.

New threads start with the agent, model, effort and permission mode you used last.

What the agent shows

• Text streams in as Markdown. Its reasoning is shown in collapsible blocks when the agent shares it.
• Tool calls appear as rows: a command, a file read, a search, and so on. Click one to see its input and output. Edits show a diff of the change, and new files show their content. Running commands show their output live.
• Task lists the agent keeps appear as a card with progress. The latest one is shown in full.
• Subagents: work the agent hands to a subagent is grouped under one card with its own tool calls.
• After every turn, a line shows how long it took and what it cost.

Approvals and questions

When the agent needs permission, an approval card shows what it wants to do:

• Allow: this time
• Allow for session: this kind of action for the rest of the session
• Deny

The thread is marked needs approval in the sidebar, and you get a notification if you're elsewhere.

When the agent asks a question, it appears as a form. Pick an option, or several if the question allows it, or type your own answer under Other. Then press Submit, or Dismiss to not answer. Yes/no questions get Yes and No buttons.

Plans

In Plan only mode, Claude Code presents its plan as a card:

• Approve, accept edits: carry out the plan; edits don't need approval
• Approve, ask for edits: carry out the plan, asking before each edit
• Keep planning: stay in plan mode and keep refining

Message actions

Hover over a message to see its actions:

• Copy the text.
• Edit and resend (your messages): puts the text back in the message box.
• Restore files to before this message (your messages): puts every file in the thread's folder back to how it was before that message was sent. Edits made since are undone, and files created since are deleted. The conversation and Git commits are not changed. Elyra asks you to confirm first.
• Pin: keeps the message in the Context tab (Context).

Long messages are folded. Click Show more to expand them.

Find in thread

⌘F in the message box opens a search bar for the conversation. It shows the number of matches and jumps between them: Enter for the next match, Shift+Enter for the previous one. Escape closes the bar.

Checkpoints

Before every turn, Elyra saves a snapshot of the thread's folder, as long as it is a Git repository. The snapshot is stored as a hidden Git reference and does not touch your branch, index or stash. Snapshots make Restore files possible and let the Changes tab show what one turn changed (Git). Deleting a thread deletes its snapshots.