Chat Interface
Osaurus includes a beautiful glass-styled chat overlay that you can access from anywhere on your Mac. No browser tabs, no context switching—just press a hotkey and start talking to AI.
Opening Chat
Press ⌘; (Command + Semicolon) anywhere on your Mac to open the chat overlay. The overlay appears above your current work, so you can ask questions without losing your place.
Press ⌘; again to close it, or click outside the overlay.
You can customize the global hotkey in Settings if ⌘; conflicts with another app.
Having a Conversation
Once the chat is open:
- Type your message in the input field at the bottom
- Press Enter to send
- Watch the response stream in real-time
- Continue the conversation as long as you like
The AI remembers your conversation history within the session, so you can ask follow-up questions naturally.
Session History
Osaurus automatically saves your chat sessions, so you never lose a conversation.
Viewing History
Click the history icon in the chat header to view your past conversations. Sessions are organized by date and display a preview of the conversation topic.
Session Features
- Persistent storage — Conversations are saved automatically and persist across app restarts
- Context tracking — The AI maintains context within each session for natural follow-up questions
- Quick resume — Click any session to continue where you left off
- Open in new window — Right-click a session to open it in a separate window
Managing Sessions
- Search — Filter sessions by keyword or date
- Delete — Remove individual sessions you no longer need
- Clear all — Start fresh by clearing your entire history
Chat Features
Markdown Rendering
Responses are rendered with full Markdown support:
- Code blocks with syntax highlighting
- Headers, lists, and tables
- Bold, italic, and inline code
- Links (clickable)
Copying Messages
Hover over any message to reveal the copy button. Click it to copy the message content to your clipboard—useful for grabbing code snippets or saving responses.
Stop Generation
If a response is taking too long or going in the wrong direction, click the Stop button to interrupt generation. You can then refine your question and try again.
Model Selection
Use the model dropdown at the top of the chat to switch between:
- Local models you've downloaded
- Cloud providers you've configured (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.)
- Apple Foundation Model on macOS 26+
The selected model persists across sessions.
Settings
Click the gear icon in the chat header to access settings:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| System Prompt | Default instructions sent with every conversation |
| Temperature | Controls response creativity (0 = focused, 1 = creative) |
| Max Tokens | Maximum length of responses |
| Stream Responses | Show responses word-by-word (on by default) |
Quick Actions
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open/close chat | ⌘; |
| Send message | Enter |
| New line in message | Shift + Enter |
| Clear conversation | ⌘K |
| New window | ⌘N |
| View session history | Click history icon |
| Open settings | Click gear icon |
Menu Bar
When Osaurus is running, you'll see its icon in your menu bar. Click it to access the menu bar popover with quick controls:
- Start/stop the server
- Open Model Manager (⌘⇧M)
- Access Settings
- View status and logs
Status Indicators
The menu bar icon shows the current state:
- Normal icon — Server is running and ready
- Blue pulsing dot — VAD (voice activity detection) is actively listening
- Toggle button in popover — Quickly enable/disable VAD mode
Multiple Windows
Want more than one conversation at a time? Osaurus supports multiple independent chat windows:
- Press ⌘N to open a new window
- Each window can have its own persona
- Windows are completely independent
Learn more about multi-window →
Agent Mode
Switch to Agent Mode for autonomous multi-step task execution. Click the Agent Mode tab at the top of the chat window to enter this mode. In Agent Mode, the AI can:
- Break down complex tasks into trackable issues
- Generate step-by-step execution plans
- Perform file operations (read, write, edit, search, organize)
- Use tools to browse the web, search online, and automate your Mac
- Leverage skills for specialized methodologies
- Run tasks in the background while you work on other things
Agent Mode is ideal for organizing files, conducting deep research, automating workflows, compiling documents, and for developers—building features, refactoring code, and debugging issues that span multiple files.
Personas
The chat interface works seamlessly with Personas. When you switch personas:
- The system prompt changes to match the persona
- Available tools update based on persona configuration
- The visual theme changes (if the persona has a custom theme)
Voice Input
Click the microphone icon in the input area to use voice input. Speak naturally and your words appear as text. All transcription happens locally on your Mac.
Learn more about voice input →
Tips
- Be specific — Detailed questions get better answers
- Use personas — Create specialized assistants for different tasks
- Try different models — Smaller models are faster; larger models are smarter
- Enable streaming — See responses as they're generated for a more interactive feel
Ready to customize your experience? Learn about Personas.