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Source-grounded rewrite of 529 published docs pages with per-unit information-loss verification: 1,713 factual corrections cited to src/**, generated surfaces regenerated, frontmatter titles preserved for i18n, release notes pages untouched. All docs gates green. Closes #100141
96 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
96 lines
4.2 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` (alias `/side`) asks a quick side question about the **current
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session** without adding it to conversation history. It is modeled after
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Claude Code's `/btw`, adapted to OpenClaw's Gateway and multi-channel
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architecture.
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```text
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/btw what changed?
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/side what does this error mean?
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```
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## What it does
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1. Snapshots the current session as background context (including any
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in-flight main-run prompt).
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2. Runs a separate, one-shot side query telling the model to answer only the
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side question and not resume or steer the main task.
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3. Delivers the answer as a live side result, not a normal assistant message.
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4. Never writes the question or answer to session history or `chat.history`.
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The main run, if one is active, is left untouched.
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For Codex harness sessions, BTW forks the active Codex app-server thread into
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an ephemeral child thread instead of running a separate provider call. This
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keeps Codex OAuth and native tool/thread behavior intact, and the forked
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thread keeps the parent thread's current approval policy, sandbox, and native
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tool surface. The forked thread gets a boundary prompt telling the model that
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everything before it is inherited reference context, not active instructions,
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and that only messages after the boundary are live. `/btw` requires an
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existing Codex thread; send a normal message first.
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For CLI runtime aliases, BTW invokes the owning CLI backend in one-shot
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side-question mode: it seeds sanitized conversation context into a fresh CLI
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invocation with tool bundling and reusable session state disabled, and adds
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any no-resume/no-tools flags the backend supports. Direct (non-CLI) runtimes
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use a direct one-shot provider call instead.
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## What it does not do
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`/btw` does not create a durable session, continue the unfinished main task,
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persist question/answer data to transcript history, or survive a reload.
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## Delivery model
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Normal assistant chat uses the Gateway `chat` event. BTW uses a separate
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`chat.side_result` event so clients cannot mistake it for regular
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conversation history. Because it is not replayed from `chat.history`, it
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disappears after reload.
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## Surface behavior
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| Surface | Behavior |
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| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| TUI | Rendered inline in the chat log, visibly distinct from a normal reply, dismissible with `Enter` or `Esc`. |
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| External channels | Delivered as a clearly labeled one-off reply (Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord have no local ephemeral overlay). |
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| Control UI / web | Gateway emits `chat.side_result` correctly and it is excluded from `chat.history`, but Control UI has no consumer yet to render it live in the browser. |
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## When to use it
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Use `/btw` for a quick clarification, a factual side answer while a long run
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is still in progress, or a temporary answer that should not enter future
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session context.
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```text
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/btw what file are we editing?
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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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For anything you want to become part of the session's future working
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context, ask normally in the main session instead.
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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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