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Assistant chat

This is the default assistant mode in ShyEditor, equipped with all tools to efficiently handle a wide range of writing tasks. You can access it at any time in the AI Assistant section.

Working with context​

Context controls which parts of your project the assistant will take into account when answering your query. To add something to the context, type @ in the chat input and pick the item you want to reference. You can mention:

  • Sheets — any sheet in the project
  • Notes — any note
  • Knowledge base entities — characters, locations, organizations, events
  • Library files — documents you've uploaded to the file library
  • Web Search — ask the assistant to look something up on the web

The assistant reads the referenced items and incorporates them into its answer. For example: "Does the timeline in @Chapter 3 contradict @Chapter 7?"

assistant chat context

What the assistant can do​

The assistant doesn't just answer from the context you provide — it can actively work with your project. Depending on your request, it can:

  • Search the project — find relevant passages across all your sheets
  • Read sheets, notes, and knowledge base entities in full
  • Create knowledge base entities — the assistant generates a complete entity card (name, type, summary, aliases, traits) right in the chat. You can review it and accept it with one click
  • Create or update sheets and notes
  • Search the web — the assistant can do this on its own when a question calls for it, or you can request it directly with @Web Search
  • Answer questions about ShyEditor itself

If the knowledge base or notes are turned off in your project settings, the assistant won't use them.

For complex questions, the assistant shows its reasoning in collapsible thinking blocks (e.g. "Thought for 12 seconds"). You can expand them to see how the assistant arrived at its answer.

A message costs 1 AI credit, plus 1 credit for each action the assistant takes along the way — searching the project, reading a sheet, creating an entity, and so on. A simple question costs 1 credit; a complex one that takes several steps will cost a few more.

Assistant output​

Once the assistant is done responding, you can add the AI-generated message into the current sheet, save it as a note, or copy it to the clipboard using the buttons under the message.

You can also ask follow-up questions or make additional requests. If you want to, you can change the context in these follow-ups - for example if your want to compare the answers with and without web search.

If you change your mind while the assistant is responding, or the assistant is being overly eager, you can always cancel the current output with the 'Stop' button and adjust accordingly. The assistant will still remember the conversation.

Chat history​

You can keep multiple chat threads per project. Start a fresh conversation with the "New chat" button, or switch back to a previous thread from the chat history — the full message history of every thread is preserved.