Ask a side question and keep the useful answer

Use a side conversation to explain an error, examine an alternative, or understand a decision while keeping the main discussion focused. Side questions are available from a project's menu, including Browser projects on Free, subject to usage and project limits.

Side conversations share the project's workspace, and their agents can use tools and edit files. They are temporary discussions. If you only want an explanation, say so in the question and avoid asking two active runs to change the same files.

Open a side question

1. Open the project and its three-dot Session menu.

2. Choose Side question. The side panel opens with its own message field.

3. Type your question and send it. For example:

Explain why this form needs server-side validation. Refer to the current code.
Do not change files or run commands; I only want an explanation.

In the Developer workspace, you can also send /btw followed by a question from the main message field:

/btw Explain this error and the likely cause. Do not change any files.

That opens a new side conversation and sends the question. To refer to a passage in the Developer transcript, select its text and choose Ask in side conversation, then type your question in the panel. The selected passage appears as a reference.

Understand the context and shared files

The new side conversation receives the main conversation's available context when it is created. Selected text adds a reference; it does not rewind the project to the point where that passage was written. Later messages in the main conversation are not automatically added to an existing side question.

Conversation context and project files are different. The side agent works against the same current workspace as the main agent. File changes can therefore affect the main task even though the side discussion is separate. Check the project's changes if a side run used editing tools.

The available tools follow the workspace and agent. Browser side questions do not gain Linux commands or runtime browser checks. Model calls count toward the applicable AI allowance or provider usage.

Bring back a decision

If the answer changes your plan, send the conclusion to the main conversation:

Keep the client-side checks for immediate feedback, and add server-side
validation before saving. Preserve the existing valid-submission behavior.

For a decision you want future agents to see, ask the main agent to record it in the project's README or another appropriate file. That decision can then travel with a source export or repository.

Close or discard a question

Use New side question to open another discussion. The panel's Close side questions button hides the panel. The close control on an individual question tab discards that question.

Side conversations are designed to be discarded when the browser page closes or reloads. Copy useful answers before doing either. Hiding the panel or switching tasks within the app does not turn the question into a permanent saved project.

Browser side-conversation sessions count toward your account's project limit while stored. If opening one reports a limit, discard an unneeded side question or export and remove an unused Browser project. See workspace storage.