Threads
Threads are individual conversations inside a channel, each with its own context and an auto-generated summary. Start, find, and use threads in Nebula.
A thread is a single conversation inside a channel. Every channel can hold many threads — one per topic, request, or working session — and Nebula writes a short summary at the top of each so you can pick up where you left off.
Why threads
Threads keep work organized and keep agents focused. Each thread has its own context, so agents don't drag yesterday's discussion into today's request — and you can scan a channel and instantly see what's been happening.
One topic per thread
Keeps the conversation tight. New question? New thread.
Auto-summary at the top
Nebula writes a short blurb so anyone joining late knows what's going on.
Separate context per thread
Agents respond based on the current thread, not the whole channel.
Scoped files & permissions
Files dropped into a thread stay there. Agents only see what's in the room.
Starting a thread
Open a channel. The thread list opens on the left.
Click + Start new thread at the top of the list.
Type your first message. Nebula will generate the thread's title and summary from it — refining both as the conversation grows.
Renaming a thread
Nebula titles each thread automatically, but you can set your own. Open Thread details from the icon in the conversation's top-right corner, hover the title and click the pencil, type a new name, and press Enter (or Escape to cancel).
A title you set is pinned — it sticks in thread lists and the sidebar, and Nebula stops auto-renaming the thread. To hand the title back to Nebula, rename the thread and clear the field: it reverts to the latest auto-generated summary title and resumes updating on its own.
DM and job threads take their names from the agent or trigger they belong to, so those aren't renamable.
Managing a thread by asking
You don't have to reach for the menus. Ask Nebula inside a thread and it can tidy the thread up for you.
Rename this to 'Q3 pricing review', tag it #pricing, and pin it
Renamed to Q3 pricing review, tagged #pricing, and pinned to the top of your thread list.
| Ask for | What happens |
|---|---|
| Rename | Sets the title, same as editing it by hand |
| Pin / unpin | Holds the thread at the top of your list |
| Tag / untag | Attaches a #tag, creating it if it's new |
| Share / unshare | Turns public sharing on or off |
| Archive / unarchive | Files it away, reversibly |
| Delete | Removes the thread |
A few limits are worth knowing. Nebula acts on the thread you're in — it won't reach across into another one, so go there and ask again. Sharing is limited to whoever started the thread, and private one-to-one conversations like DMs can't be shared at all. Agent DMs, job runs, and miniapp threads can't be archived, since they belong to the thing that created them. And a thread has to come out of the archive before it can be deleted.
"Context cleared"
When you open a brand-new thread, you'll see a small Context cleared marker. That's Nebula confirming the agent isn't carrying over anything from the previous thread — fresh slate, fresh response.
If you want to clear context inside a long-running thread (say, switch topics mid-conversation), type /clear and Nebula resets just that thread's working memory. Files, summary, and history stay — only the agent's short-term context resets.
Replying & mentioning
Anyone in the channel can reply in a thread. Type @ to mention, or # to point at a channel — Nebula shows matching results with their avatars as you type.
Pull in an agent or teammate who isn't already watching — e.g. @Nebula or @teammate. Mentioning an agent that isn't in the channel brings it in.
Reference one of your jobs by name to point the conversation at it.
Link another channel so people can jump straight to it.
Point an agent at a specific file already in the conversation — see Files.
Stuck? Ask Nebula directly inside the thread — it can do things like rename the thread, invite an agent, or summarize the conversation for you.
Reacting to messages
Hover any message and a small toolbar appears with a few quick emoji plus a + picker for the full set. Click one to react; click it again to take it back. Reactions show up as a pill under the message with a running count — a fast way to ack a result or vote without adding a reply.
A curated emoji set
Nebula ships one shared reaction set across web and mobile, so the picker looks the same everywhere and counts always line up.
React to agents, too
Agent replies are always reactable — thumbs-up the answer you want to keep. You can't react to your own messages.
Who's here
Threads show you who else is in the room in real time, so collaboration feels live instead of after-the-fact.
Live viewers
Avatars show who's participating, with a green dot on anyone viewing the thread right now. Agents appear with their bot avatars; people with their profile pictures.
One working line
While an agent is mid-reply you get a single line at the bottom of the thread — pulsing dots, what it's doing, how long it's been at it, and a Stop button. That's the only activity signal, so there's nothing else to keep an eye on.
Scrolling up while an agent works no longer yanks you back down — the thread only follows the bottom when you're already there.
Sending, queueing & steering
How you send a message depends on whether an agent is already working.
| Agent is idle | Agent is working | |
|---|---|---|
| Press Enter | Sends now — starts the reply | Queues your message to run right after the current reply |
| Press ⌘/Ctrl + Enter | Sends now | Steers — drops your message into the running turn so the agent picks it up mid-task |
| Change your mind? | — | A queued message shows Send now and Cancel buttons until its turn begins |
So you never have to wait for an agent to finish before lining up your next message — type it and hit Enter to queue it, or ⌘/Ctrl + Enter to steer the agent that's running right now. A queued message sits below the input reading "Queued — runs after the current reply" with two buttons: Send now drops it into the running turn immediately instead of waiting, and Cancel pulls it back out of the queue.
Following an agent's work
While an agent works, the thread shows a live Thinking indicator — a status line with a running timer, and, once the model starts reasoning, a short summary of what it's working through plus a token count. The individual tool steps show separately in the activity log below the reply, not on that line.
Open the full activity log
Click View activity on any reply to open the activity log — the prompt that kicked it off, every agent that pitched in, and the full run of tool calls and messages. Past turns show a count like "3 tool calls, 2 messages"; click to expand.
Web-search sources
When an agent searches the web, its answer carries numbered citation chips and a Sources footer. Click any source to open it in a new tab.
The folder a thread works in
When an agent starts working in a particular folder — a repo it's checked out, a project directory on a device — the thread remembers it. A folder chip appears in the thread header showing the tail of the path, and Thread details spells out the full Working directory.
That folder sticks for the whole thread. Every command the agent runs afterwards and every relative file path it mentions resolves from there, so it doesn't have to find its way back each time — and you can see at a glance which project a thread is pointed at before you read a word of it.
The agent sets this itself as the work leads it somewhere; there's no field for you to fill in. Ask it to work somewhere else and it moves the thread with it — you'll see the chip change while you watch.
Jumping around with chapters
Long threads get an automatic outline. As the conversation builds, Nebula groups it into chapters — titled sections you can scan and jump between, like a table of contents for the thread.
Look to the right of the conversation for the chapters rail. It sits collapsed as thin markers and expands on hover into a numbered list of titles.
Click any chapter to jump straight to that point in the thread — the message flashes so you can spot it. A live badge marks a chapter Nebula is still writing.
Hover a chapter and click the link icon to copy a share link that opens the thread at exactly that spot — handy for pointing a teammate at one decision instead of the whole thread.
Pin the panel open with the pin icon if you want it to stay expanded while you read, or hit refresh to re-pull the outline.
Related
Channels
Channels are topic-based rooms where your workspace works with agents. Learn how to create channels, set visibility, and manage members.
Slash commands
Type / in any Nebula message box to run a command — sharpen a prompt, plan before acting, clear context, or turn a request into a goal or a job.