The AI panel

The AI panel is where you chat with Lino AI. It opens from the AI button (the monkey) in the bottom-right corner of the Canvas, and stays alive while you work: a reply keeps running if you close the panel or switch to another Canvas.

Open and close it

Click the AI button in the bottom-right corner (Open AI assistant). Click it again to close.
Press ⌘T for the Start page, which uses the same chat.
When a turn finishes while Lino is in the background, a system notification can bring you back to that chat. Turn it on in Settings → System → Notifications → Lino AI activity.

Write a message

Type in the composer and press ↵ to send. ⇧↵ adds a new line.

You type	What happens
`/`	Opens the list of commands and Skills, e.g. `/plan-my-day`, `/create-canvas`, `/ask-lino`, or `/` plus the name of a Skill you installed.
`@`	Mention an Artifact — a Card, Concept, Link, Image, Sketch, Table, Spark or file — so it goes with your message.
Click on the Canvas	While the panel is open, clicking an object on the Canvas adds it to the message as a chip.

Context chips

The row above the text shows what goes with your message:

The Canvas chip — the Canvas you are on. If it is shown as a placeholder (Click to add current Canvas), click it to include it.
The folder chip — the folder bound to this Canvas, if any (Click to add the Canvas folder). Bind a folder from the Canvas itself; see Modes & permissions.
Selection — objects you selected on the Canvas.
Quote — text you quoted from a reply or a Card.
Attachments and mentions — files, folders and Artifacts you added.

Click × on a chip to leave it out. Anything marked Hide from AI shows struck through in the chip preview and is not sent ("Hidden items can't be sent to AI.").

Attach files and folders

Click + (Add) and choose:

Photos or files — any file. Pictures are sent as pictures; text, code and PDF files can be read. For files whose contents Lino AI cannot read (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, zip, audio, video and similar), the chip warns that the agent gets the file's path only — it can still move or convert the file with a command if you ask.
Folder — gives Lino AI access to a folder for this chat. You are asked to confirm.
Slash commands and Skills — the same lists as typing /. See Skills.

You can also drag files onto the composer or paste a screenshot.

Quote from a reply

Select text in one of Lino AI's replies and a small toolbar appears:

Quote — puts the passage into your next message as a Quote chip.
Extract — makes a new Card from the selection.
For a term that could be a Concept, buttons to preview it or turn it into a new Concept Card.

Pick a mode and a model

Two buttons sit to the left of the send button.

Mode (shows Auto, Manual or Accept edits) — what Lino AI may do without asking you. Hover each row for its one-line description. See Modes & permissions.
Model (Select model & effort) — the model tier, and an Effort slider below it. Further right ("Smarter →") thinks longer before answering: slower, and it uses more credits. Models your plan does not include are greyed out with Upgrade to Pro to use this model (or Max). A flame marks the recommended one.

While it works

A reply shows its work as it goes: what it read, searched and changed, grouped into steps. Proposed changes are marked Applied or Waiting as they land; the full review comes at the end. See Changes, review & undo.

Stop

While a reply is running and the composer is empty, the send button becomes Stop. Press it or Esc. What already landed stays (and can be undone from the review); what was waiting stays waiting.

Steer or queue a message

You don't have to wait for a reply to finish:

Key	What happens
`↵`	Queues your message. It runs as soon as the current reply ends. ("Queued — click ⚡ to steer, or it runs after this reply.")
`⌘↵`	Steers now: the message is put in front of Lino AI at its next step, and it adjusts course mid-reply.

A queued message has buttons to Steer it in now, Send this one first, or Take it back. A steer that has not been read yet is marked unread and can also be taken back. Only one steer can wait at a time.

Example: Lino AI is writing five Cards about European capitals and you realize you wanted Asian ones. Type "Asia, not Europe" and press ⌘↵ — it reads that at its next step instead of finishing the wrong set.

When it asks you something

Sometimes Lino AI needs a decision only you can make. It shows a question card with choices; the one it recommends is marked (Recommended). You can always type your own answer under Other..., choose Chat about this to discuss instead, or Skip (it then picks the most careful option and tells you). The reply waits while the question is open.

Permission requests (a folder, a website, a command outside the sandbox) appear as cards too. See Modes & permissions.

After a reply

Hover a reply for its actions:

Copy — copies the reply.
Fork chat — starts a new chat that is a copy of this one up to here, so you can try a different direction. (⌘⌥↵ sends your message straight into a fork.)
Pin as chapter — marks this point in the chat's table of contents (see below).
Thumbs up / down — send feedback to the Lino team.

On your own messages: Copy, Edit and Retry (available once the reply has finished).

Chapters

Long chats get a table of contents. Lino AI marks a chapter when the work turns a corner (exploring → building, one task → the next), and you can mark one yourself with Pin as chapter. The short dashes at the panel's top-left are the chapters; hover them for the Chapters list and click one to jump there.

History, new chat and background tasks

The buttons at the panel's bottom-left:

Background tasks — what is running or finished in this chat (commands, subagents, picture descriptions). See Background Tasks.
History — every chat. A dot marks unread replies or chats still running. Use a chat's pin button to keep it at the top. Right-click a chat (or use its More button) to Rename, Fork, Mark as read / Mark as unread, or Delete it.
New chat — starts an empty chat. The current one stays in History.

Usage and credits

The small usage ring in the composer's bottom row shows how full the current chat's context is. Click it to see the breakdown — System prompt, Skills, Tools, Canvas and Chat — and your monthly Credits with the reset date and Manage subscription.

When your monthly AI credits are used up, the composer says so (Monthly AI credits used up · resets in N days) and offers Upgrade. You can still type; only sending is blocked until the reset.