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153 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
153 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
---
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summary: "Ephemeral side questions with /btw"
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read_when:
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- You want to ask a quick side question about the current session
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- You are implementing or debugging BTW behavior across clients
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title: "BTW side questions"
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---
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`/btw` lets you ask a quick side question about the **current session** without
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turning that question into normal conversation history. `/side` is an alias.
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It is modeled after Claude Code's `/btw` behavior, but adapted to OpenClaw's
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Gateway and multi-channel architecture.
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## What it does
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When you send:
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```text
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/btw what changed?
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```
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OpenClaw:
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1. snapshots the current session context,
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2. runs a separate **tool-less** model call,
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3. answers only the side question,
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4. leaves the main run alone,
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5. does **not** write the BTW question or answer to session history,
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6. emits the answer as a **live side result** rather than a normal assistant message.
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The important mental model is:
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- same session context
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- separate one-shot side query
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- no tool calls
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- no future context pollution
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- no transcript persistence
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## What it does not do
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`/btw` does **not**:
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- create a new durable session,
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- continue the unfinished main task,
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- run tools or agent tool loops,
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- write BTW question/answer data to transcript history,
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- appear in `chat.history`,
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- survive a reload.
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It is intentionally **ephemeral**.
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## How context works
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BTW uses the current session as **background context only**.
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If the main run is currently active, OpenClaw snapshots the current message
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state and includes the in-flight main prompt as background context, while
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explicitly telling the model:
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- answer only the side question,
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- do not resume or complete the unfinished main task,
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- do not emit tool calls or pseudo-tool calls.
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That keeps BTW isolated from the main run while still making it aware of what
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the session is about.
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## Delivery model
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BTW is **not** delivered as a normal assistant transcript message.
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At the Gateway protocol level:
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- normal assistant chat uses the `chat` event
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- BTW uses the `chat.side_result` event
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This separation is intentional. If BTW reused the normal `chat` event path,
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clients would treat it like regular conversation history.
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Because BTW uses a separate live event and is not replayed from
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`chat.history`, it disappears after reload.
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## Surface behavior
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### TUI
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In TUI, BTW is rendered inline in the current session view, but it remains
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ephemeral:
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- visibly distinct from a normal assistant reply
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- dismissible with `Enter` or `Esc`
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- not replayed on reload
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### External channels
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On channels like Telegram, WhatsApp, and Discord, BTW is delivered as a
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clearly labeled one-off reply because those surfaces do not have a local
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ephemeral overlay concept.
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The answer is still treated as a side result, not normal session history.
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### Control UI / web
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The Gateway emits BTW correctly as `chat.side_result`, and BTW is not included
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in `chat.history`, so the persistence contract is already correct for web.
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The current Control UI still needs a dedicated `chat.side_result` consumer to
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render BTW live in the browser. Until that client-side support lands, BTW is a
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Gateway-level feature with full TUI and external-channel behavior, but not yet
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a complete browser UX.
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## When to use BTW
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Use `/btw` when you want:
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- a quick clarification about the current work,
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- a factual side answer while a long run is still in progress,
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- a temporary answer that should not become part of future session context.
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Examples:
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```text
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/btw what file are we editing?
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/side what changed while the main run continued?
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/btw what does this error mean?
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/btw summarize the current task in one sentence
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/btw what is 17 * 19?
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```
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## When not to use BTW
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Do not use `/btw` when you want the answer to become part of the session's
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future working context.
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In that case, ask normally in the main session instead of using BTW.
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## Related
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<CardGroup cols={2}>
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<Card title="Slash commands" href="/tools/slash-commands" icon="terminal">
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Native command catalog and chat directives.
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</Card>
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<Card title="Thinking levels" href="/tools/thinking" icon="brain">
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Reasoning effort levels for the side-question model call.
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</Card>
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<Card title="Session" href="/concepts/session" icon="comments">
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Session keys, history, and persistence semantics.
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</Card>
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<Card title="Steer command" href="/tools/steer" icon="arrow-right">
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Inject a steering message into the active run without ending it.
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</Card>
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</CardGroup>
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