Chat Sessions

What are chat sessions?

Chat sessions are separate conversation threads within your project. Each session maintains its own message history, credit tracking, and context.

Why use multiple sessions:

• Organize work: Separate frontend from backend discussions

• Focus conversations: Keep each thread about one feature or topic

• Track costs: See credit usage per session

• Clean history: Avoid mixing unrelated conversations

• Team collaboration: Share specific sessions with teammates

Key concept: Sessions work with chat modes. Within each session, you can use any mode (Build, Plan, Debug, Review, Docs) depending on your current task (read more about “Chat Modes”)

Creating sessions

Your first session

When you create a project, App2 automatically creates your initial chat session. This is where your first conversation with the AI begins.

Creating additional sessions

How to create:

1. Click the session dropdown in the chat header

2. Select "New Session"

3. Enter a descriptive name

4. Optionally select a parent session to inherit context

5. Click "Create"

The new session becomes your active (current) session immediately.

Naming your sessions

Good session names help you (and your team) quickly understand what each conversation is about.

Good names:

• "User Authentication"

• "Shopping Cart Feature"

• "Payment Integration"

• "Homepage Design"

• "API Bug Fixes"

Poor names:

• "Session 1"

• "New session"

• "Chat"

• "Testing"

Tip: Name sessions after features, components, or specific tasks.

Context inheritance

When creating a session, you can inherit context from a parent session. This means the AI will have access to the parent's conversation history.

When to inherit context:

• Building related features ("Checkout" inherits from "Shopping Cart")

• Extending existing functionality

• Debugging issues from another session

When to start fresh:

• Completely new features

• Different areas of your app

• Clean slate for experiments

Note: Inheriting context doesn't duplicate messages. The AI references the parent's history when needed.

Managing sessions

Switching sessions

How to switch:

1. Click the session dropdown in the header

2. Select the session you want to work in

3. Session becomes active immediately

Your project shows one "current" session at a time. All messages you send go to the current session.

Viewing session information

Click the info button (ℹ️) in the session header to see:

• Title: Session name

• Summary: AI-generated overview of the conversation

• Credit cost: Total credits consumed in this session

• Created date: When the session was created

Tip: Check session info before sharing with teammates to see what's been discussed and how many credits were used.

Deleting sessions

Remove sessions you no longer need.

How to delete:

1. Click the session dropdown

2. Find the session to delete

3. Click the delete icon

4. Confirm deletion

What gets deleted:

• All messages in the session

• Session credit history

• Session summary and metadata

What stays:

• Your project code (sessions don't affect actual files)

• Other sessions remain intact

• Child sessions (if they exist) are preserved

Warning: Deletion is permanent. Make sure you don't need the conversation history before deleting.

Updating session titles

Rename sessions as your work evolves.

How to rename:

1. Click the session dropdown

2. Find the session to rename

3. Click the edit icon

4. Enter new name

5. Save

Auto-generated titles: Your first session title is generated from your initial prompt. You can always rename it later.

Session features

Automatic title generation

When you create a session with a prompt, App2 automatically generates a descriptive title based on your message.

Example:

• Prompt: "Add user login with email and password"

• Generated title: "User Authentication System"

You can rename the title anytime if the auto-generated one isn't quite right.

Session summaries

App2 automatically generates summaries for sessions with parent-child relationships. Summaries provide a quick overview of what was discussed.

What summaries include:

• Key topics discussed

• Features implemented

• Decisions made

• Current status

View summaries in the session info modal (click the ℹ️ button).

Credit tracking

Each session tracks total credit consumption. This helps you:

• Monitor costs per feature

• Identify expensive operations

• Budget credits for team projects

• Review session efficiency

View credit costs:

• Session info modal shows total credits

• Billing section shows detailed breakdown

• Credit indicator in top bar shows workspace total

Processing status

Sessions show real-time processing status:

Status appears in the session header next to the session name.

Message view modes

Toggle between Technical and Simple views to control message detail level.

Technical view:

• Shows code diffs and file changes

• Displays technical explanations

• Includes error details

• Best for developers

Simple view:

• Hides technical details

• Shows plain language summaries

• Focuses on outcomes

• Best for non-technical team members

Switch modes with the toggle buttons in the session header.

Tip: Use Simple view when showing progress to stakeholders or non-technical team members.

Best practices

When to create new sessions

Create a new session when:

• Starting a new feature or major component

• Switching between unrelated tasks

• Beginning a debugging session

• Creating documentation

• Starting a code review

Stay in the same session when:

• Iterating on the same feature

• Making related changes

• Continuing previous work

Organizing sessions

By feature:

• One session per major feature

• Example: "User Authentication", "Product Catalog", "Checkout Flow"

By component:

• One session per significant component

• Example: "Header Component", "User Dashboard", "Settings Panel"

By task type:

• Separate sessions for building vs. debugging

• Example: "Homepage Build", "Homepage Bug Fixes"

By team member:

• Each developer can have their own sessions for different features

• Share sessions when collaboration is needed

Naming conventions

Use clear, descriptive names:

• Include the feature or component name

• Mention the type of work if helpful ("Debug:", "Review:", etc.)

• Keep names under 50 characters for readability

Examples:

• "Product Search Implementation"

• "Debug: Cart Total Calculation"

• "Review: API Security"

• "Docs: Setup Guide"

Context inheritance tips

Inherit context when:

• The new feature builds on previous work

• You need the AI to understand what was built before

• Debugging issues from a parent session

Don't inherit when:

• Starting completely new features

• The parent session has too much unrelated history

• You want a fresh start

Tip: Keep parent sessions focused. If a parent has 50+ messages about different topics, inheritance becomes less useful.

Use cases

Building a complex feature

Scenario: Add user authentication with login, signup, and password reset.

Sessions structure:

1. "Authentication Planning" (Plan mode) - Outline the approach

2. "Login Implementation" (Build mode, inherits from #1)

3. "Signup Implementation" (Build mode, inherits from #1)

4. "Password Reset" (Build mode, inherits from #1)

5. "Auth Code Review" (Review mode, inherits from #2-4)

Debugging an issue

Scenario: Shopping cart shows wrong total.

Sessions structure:

1. Keep working in the original "Shopping Cart" session

2. Switch to Debug mode within that session

3. Fix the issue

4. Switch back to Build mode for additional features

Or create a separate session:

1. "Debug: Cart Total Issue" (Debug mode)

2. Return to "Shopping Cart" session for new features

Team collaboration

Scenario: Team of 3 working on different areas.

Sessions structure:

• Developer A: "User Profile Frontend"

• Developer B: "User Profile Backend" (inherits from A's session)

• Developer C: "Settings Page"

Each developer works in their own session, with inheritance where it makes sense.

Documentation project

Scenario: Document your entire app.

Sessions structure:

1. "API Documentation" (Docs mode)

2. "Setup Guide" (Docs mode)

3. "Component Documentation" (Docs mode)

4. "User Guide" (Docs mode)

Separate sessions keep different doc types organized.

Common workflows

Feature development workflow

1. Create session: "Feature Name Planning"

2. Use Plan mode to outline approach

3. Create child session: "Feature Name Implementation"

4. Use Build mode to implement

5. Use Debug mode to fix issues

6. Use Review mode for quality check

7. Create child session: "Feature Name Docs"

8. Use Docs mode to document

Bug fixing workflow

1. Create session: "Debug: Bug Description"

2. Use Debug mode to identify issue

3. Use Build mode to implement fix

4. Use Review mode to verify fix quality

5. Use Docs mode to document the issue/solution (if needed)

Refactoring workflow

1. Create session: "Refactor: Component Name"

2. Use Review mode to identify improvements

3. Use Plan mode to outline refactoring steps

4. Use Build mode to implement changes

5. Use Review mode again to verify improvements

Troubleshooting

Can't see my session in the dropdown

Possible causes:

• Session was deleted

• Wrong project selected

• Browser cache issue

Solution:

• Refresh the page

• Check you're in the correct project

• Verify the session wasn't deleted

Session stuck in "Generating" status

Issue: Session shows blue pulsing dot but no response appears.

Solution:

1. Wait 2-3 minutes (complex requests take time)

2. Check sandbox status (may need restart)

3. Refresh the page

4. If still stuck, create a new session and report the issue

Lost my session after switching

Issue: Created a new session and can't find the previous one.

Solution: Sessions aren't deleted when you switch. Click the session dropdown and select the session you're looking for. All sessions are preserved.

Session inheriting too much context

Issue: AI is confused by unrelated information from parent session.

Solution:

• Don't inherit context for unrelated features

• Create a fresh session without a parent

• Be explicit in your prompts about what's relevant

Related links

• Chat Modes - Learn about Build, Plan, Debug, Review, and Docs modes

• Getting Started - Platform basics

• Plans and Credits - Understanding credit costs

• FAQ

• Quick Actions Guide (coming soon)

• Collaboration Guide (coming soon)