> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.coral.inc/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Chat

> Send messages, attach images, and interact with your AI assistant

The chat page is the primary way to interact with your AI assistant. Open it from the **Chat** tab in the Coral dashboard.

<Frame caption="Chat page">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/coral-4bdba8dc/fCPdlpPS3qJ229YW/assets/screenshots/chat-empty.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=fCPdlpPS3qJ229YW&q=85&s=bd780a97ec672c707c9785c151bcd6c2" alt="Coral chat page" width="1280" height="800" data-path="assets/screenshots/chat-empty.png" />
</Frame>

## Sending messages

Type your message in the text box at the bottom and press **Enter** to send. Use **Shift+Enter** to insert a newline without sending.

Your assistant's response streams in real-time — you'll see text appear as it's generated.

## Attaching images

You can send images alongside your message for the assistant to analyze. Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, and SVG.

Three ways to attach:

1. **Paperclip icon** — Click the attachment button in the input area to open the file picker.
2. **Drag and drop** — Drag image files onto the input area. A "Drop files here" overlay appears.
3. **Clipboard paste** — Copy an image and press **Cmd+V** (Mac) or **Ctrl+V** (Windows/Linux).

Attached images appear as thumbnail chips above the input. Click the **X** on any chip to remove it before sending.

## Thinking indicator

When you send a message, a pulsing **brain icon** with "Thinking..." appears while your assistant processes your request. This indicator disappears automatically once the response starts streaming.

## Tool calls

Your assistant can invoke tools during a conversation — web search, code execution, file operations, and more. When it does, you'll see inline tool call cards in the response:

* **Spinner icon** — Tool call in progress
* **Checkmark icon** — Tool call completed

Click any tool call card to open a detail modal showing the full input and output. The modal includes a **Source / Rendered** toggle to switch between the raw JSON and a formatted view.

## Quick start prompts

When the chat is empty, four suggested prompt buttons appear below the greeting. These correspond to the pre-built [Use Cases](/features/use-cases) and give you a one-click way to start a guided workflow. Clicking one pre-fills the input — press Enter to send.

## Credit usage

Each message shows an estimated credit cost, calculated from the tokens used. This helps you monitor usage as you chat. Your overall credit balance is visible in the **Settings** page under **Usage & Billing**.

<Tip>
  A yellow warning bar appears when you've used 80% of your plan's credits for the period. If credits are fully exhausted, a red bar appears and new messages are blocked until credits reset or you [buy more](/getting-started/billing#buying-more-credits).
</Tip>

## Computer Panel

The chat page includes a collapsible **Computer Panel** on the right side that gives you live access to your sandbox environment without leaving the conversation. The panel has multiple tabs:

* **Desktop** — Live VNC view of your sandbox's graphical desktop
* **Files** — Browse files in your sandbox
* **Terminal** — Command-line access
* **Control** — Quick access to the OpenClaw Control Panel

Drag the divider between chat and the Computer Panel to resize. On smaller screens, the panel overlays the chat.

<Note>
  The Desktop tab requires VNC to be running in your sandbox. See [Remote Desktop](/features/remote-desktop) for details.
</Note>

## New session

Click the **New Session** button (or the icon in the header) to start a fresh conversation. A confirmation dialog appears since this clears your current chat history from the view. Your full message history is preserved in your sandbox and accessible via the [Control UI](/features/control-ui).

## Stopping generation

While the assistant is streaming a response, a **"Stop generating"** button appears above the input. Click it to abort the current response.

## Message history

Your conversation history loads automatically when you open the chat page. Messages persist across sessions in your sandbox — close the tab and come back later, and your history is still there.

## Offline states

If your sandbox isn't running, the chat page shows a status message instead of the input:

* **No instance set up** — Links to the onboarding page to create your sandbox.
* **Instance paused** — Links to the Integrations page to resume.
* **Setting up / Resuming** — Shows a loading animation while your sandbox starts.
