# How do I chat with a bot?

Source: https://help.locul.ai/articles/chat-with-a-bot

Click a bot in the list on the left, type your message in the box at the bottom, and press Enter. The bot answers in the chat and asks you before it changes or sends anything.

## Send a message

1. In the bot list on the left, click the bot you want.
2. Click the message box at the bottom. It says "Ask <name> anything, or type @ to bring in another bot".
3. Type your message. Press **Shift+Enter** for a new line.
4. Press **Enter** or click the send arrow.

![The message box with the bot, the AI model, attach, mention and dictate buttons](https://cdn.kamaan.io/kamaan/sites/6ae9f4f30e569a4449787b27/images/locul-details-8b56-a2064868.webp)
Not sure where to start? A new chat shows starter questions such as **What can you do for me?** and **What do you need from me to do a better job?** Click one to send it.

## What the buttons in the message box do

- **+** attaches files, up to 10 at a time. This works in the Locul desktop app.
- **@** brings another bot into the conversation.
- The microphone lets you dictate instead of typing.
- The AI model chip (for example **Claude Sonnet**) shows which AI answers. Click it to pick another.
- **Think** appears for some open models. Turn it on to let the model reason before answering.

## While the bot works

You see "<name> is working on it". Click **Stop** to stop it.

## When the bot asks for permission

Before a bot changes or sends something, it pauses and shows a card: "<bot> wants to ...". Pick one:

- **Allow once**: allow this one action.
- **Always allow**: allow this kind of action from now on.
- **Allow all <App> actions**: shown for connected apps. Allows everything in that app.
- **Not now**: do not do it.

To change these choices later, see [Control what a bot can do without asking](/articles/control-what-a-bot-can-do-without-asking).

## When the bot asks you to choose

Sometimes a bot shows options with **Choose one** or **Choose all that apply**. Pick your answer and click **Go with this**, or click **Something else** to type your own.

## Find an old chat

Click the search button at the top of the bot list, or press **Cmd+K** (Mac) or **Ctrl+K** (Windows). Search looks through bot names and messages.

## Troubleshooting

- **A banner says your bots need Claude Code.** Click **Set up**. See [Choose the AI that runs your bots](/articles/choose-the-ai-that-runs-your-bots).
- **"The server is busy. You're in line..."** Wait, or use the option shown to run the chat on a model on your computer.
- **A message failed.** Click **Try again** on the error card.

## Related articles

- [Create a new bot](/articles/create-a-new-bot)
- [Control what a bot can do without asking](/articles/control-what-a-bot-can-do-without-asking)
- [How Locul memory works](/articles/how-locul-memory-works)
- [Choose the AI that runs your bots](/articles/choose-the-ai-that-runs-your-bots)