Conversation Context

Conversations can carry durable context through file references, attached docs, and binary uploads. The agent sees this context alongside the conversation history.

File References

Type @ in the composer to fuzzy-search workspace files. Matching files appear in a dropdown. Select one to insert a reference.

The referenced file content is injected into the prompt when the message is sent. The agent sees the full file contents, not just the path.

User: @src/auth.ts Can you review this file?
      @src/auth.test.ts And its tests?

Agent sees: contents of auth.ts + auth.test.ts + the prompt

Attached Context Docs

Drag a markdown file into the composer or use the attach button to pin it as conversation-scoped durable context.

Attached docs:

• Persist across all turns in the conversation
• Appear in the Knowledge rail when workbench mode is active
• Are loaded by the agent on every turn
• Do not modify the vault — they are scoped to the conversation

Multiple docs can be attached to a single conversation. Remove an attached doc from the Knowledge rail.

Binary Attachments

Images, PDFs, and other binary files can be attached to individual messages:

Images are sent to image-capable models as image content. The composer downscales large images before upload, and text-only image probing caps each prompt at 8 images / 8 MiB per image. For text-only models, Neon Pilot saves the images locally, assigns stable img_<hash> IDs, and injects the probe_image tool only when a preferred vision model is configured in Settings. The agent calls probe_image with one or more image IDs and a focused question; multi-image calls handle comparisons. Other binary formats are stored as conversation attachments but may not be visible to all models.

Context Loading Order

When the agent builds context for a turn, it merges inputs in this order:

1. Instruction files — standing behavior and policy from vault or config 2. Attached context docs — durable docs pinned to this conversation 3. Inline @ file references — files referenced in the current message 4. Binary attachments — images and files attached to the current message 5. Conversation history — previous turns in this thread

Later entries have higher priority for conflicting instructions.

Use Cases

• Project setup — attach a CONTEXT.md doc that describes the project
• Code review — @ reference specific files for the agent to analyze
• Design feedback — paste a screenshot and ask for visual feedback
• Multi-file changes — reference several files and ask for coordinated edits

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