> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.convai.com/api-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.convai.com/api-docs/no-code-experiences/chat-experiences/running-the-room.md). # Running the room Understand what a chat experience room is made of, what the side panel, thread, and message box each do, and where the room's controls live. A [chat experience](/api-docs/no-code-experiences/chat-experiences.md) room has three working parts: a side panel down the left, the thread in the middle, and the message box at the bottom. Each answers a different question—who is in the room, what has been said, and what happens to the next message you send. These pages cover how a turn runs, how to choose who replies and in which mode, how to change the roster mid-conversation, and what every control in the room does. ### What the room is made of The room fills the page. The side panel runs the full height down the left, and a thin top bar sits above the thread and the message box: | Part | What it is for | | --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | The top bar | Names the experience and carries the room's controls: the room type, the room ID, the **Text only** chip, [**Previous sessions**](/api-docs/no-code-experiences/chat-experiences/sessions-and-transcripts.md), and the three-dots menu at the end of the bar, which opens the room's actions | | The side panel | Who is in the room, who you are in it, the room brief, and the files shared so far | | The thread | The conversation, and what the room reports about each turn | | The message box | Where you write, and where you set who answers | The room opens the moment you select a chat experience on **My Experiences**. It opens empty, with nobody in it and nothing said. ### The side panel The side panel is the roster. Its header reads **In this room**, with the number of characters after it once any are seated. An empty room replaces the roster and your own row with an **Add the participants** card. Every character in the room takes a row of its own, carrying its name, its role, and the workspace it came from. Your own row sits under the roster once anyone is in it. In a room of two or more characters it is labeled **Moderator** and described as "You ask, they answer"; in a one-character room it is labeled **You** and described as "Talking with ⟨name⟩". Your workspace follows the description when there is one to show. Two sections close the panel. **Room brief** holds the room type and the purpose for the whole conversation, beside a **Fixed at creation** label. [**Shared in room**](/api-docs/no-code-experiences/chat-experiences/share-files-with-the-room.md) lists the files attached during the conversation, and reads "Files you attach show up here for every character." until one is. Every control in the top bar and the panel, and what each one does, is listed in [Room controls reference](/api-docs/no-code-experiences/chat-experiences/running-the-room/room-controls-reference.md). ### The thread The thread is the conversation, and it is also where the room reports what happened to each message. It opens with the time the room was opened. While nobody is in the room, a pinned **Room brief** card holds the purpose and the room type's rules, above the heading **Nobody is in the room yet**. Characters joining produce a divider naming who joined and saying they were briefed, followed by a box holding the briefing itself—titled **What each character was told on joining** in a room of two or more, and **What ⟨name⟩ was told on joining** when a single character is in the room. A one-character room is not briefed by its room type. The rules listed in that box always read **One other person**, **Stay in character**, and **Respond when addressed**, and the wording around your purpose is written for one character rather than taken from the type—unless you reworded the briefing yourself in the create dialog, in which case your wording stands. After that the thread carries the conversation. Your own messages sit to the right, each with a caption under it reporting what the turn asked for and what came back. Replies sit to the left under the character's name and role. Between them the room adds short notes: who stayed quiet, who did not answer, and who left the room. ### The message box The message box is where you write, and where you decide who answers. The prompt in the box invites you to write to the room, or to type @ to call on someone. Below the text is a row that starts with the paperclip for attaching files and then the respond chip, which shows what the next message will ask for—the respond mode, or the names when you have tagged someone—and opens the respond menu. A one-character room shows a sentence in place of the chip, because there is nobody to route between. The box locks whenever the room cannot take a message—before any character is in the room, while the characters are joining, while a turn is running, and after the room fails to connect—and it always says why. See [You cannot send a message](/api-docs/no-code-experiences/chat-experiences/troubleshooting/composer-is-locked.md). ### Which page answers which question
How a turn works
Why the room answers one message at a time, what the turn caption counts, and why a character may say nothing.		How a turn works
Choose who replies
Set who answers the next message, and tag individual characters when you want only them.		Choose who replies
Respond modes reference
All five respond modes, what each asks of the characters, and what the thread shows afterwards.		Respond modes reference
Add or remove characters mid-conversation
Seat a character in a running room, remove one, and work with the controls that freeze during a turn.		Add or remove characters mid-conversation
Room controls reference
Every control in the top bar and the side panel, and what each one does.		Room controls reference
The brief the room runs on is written before any of this, in the create dialog. {% content-ref url="/pages/JB0vrBj0eVm7tphTX3QY" %} [The room brief](/api-docs/no-code-experiences/chat-experiences/the-room-brief.md) {% endcontent-ref %} --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters: ``` GET https://docs.convai.com/api-docs/no-code-experiences/chat-experiences/running-the-room.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.