Start New Empty Chat

Overview

Flow ID: new-chat-empty
Category: Chat Interactions
Estimated Duration: < 10 seconds
User Role: All Users
Complexity: Simple

Purpose: Initiate a fresh, context-free conversation with the AI. This is the default starting point for most interactions, allowing users to select their preferred “Active Model” and begin querying immediately without previous context or templates.

Trigger

What initiates this flow:

• User manually initiates

Specific trigger: Clicking the ”+” (New Chat) button in the sidebar or main navigation.

Prerequisites

Before starting, users must have:

• At least one Chat Model (LLM) active (see Select LLM)
• Application running and indexed

User Intent Analysis

Primary Intent

Clear the “cognitive slate” of the AI to start a new topic, ensuring no previous conversation history biases the new responses.

Secondary Intents

• Quickly checking a fact
• Testing a different model
• Starting a conversation with a specific Persona (if selected subsequently)

Step-by-Step Flow

Main Path (Happy Path)

Step 1: Initiate New Chat

• User Action: Click the New Chat button (usually a ”+” icon) in the top-left or sidebar.
• System Response:
  • Current conversation (if any) is saved and closed.
  • Main workspace clears.
  • “New Chat” appears in the history list (or temporary placeholder).
  • Cursor focuses in the input box.

Step 2: Verify Active Model (Optional)

• User Action: Check the model selector dropdown in the header.
• System Response: Shows current active model (e.g., “Llama-3-8B”).
• User Action: (Optional) Change model if a different intelligence level is required.

Step 3: Send First Message

• User Action: Type query (e.g., “Explain quantum physics”) and press Enter.
• System Response:
  • User message appears right-aligned.
  • AI “Thinking…” indicator appears.
  • AI generates response left-aligned.
  • Chat title auto-updates (see AI Chat Renaming).

Final Step: Chat Established

• System State: A new persistent session ID is created.
• Next Actions: Continue conversation, pin chat, or rename.

Error States & Recovery

Error 1: No Active Model

Cause: No models uploaded or selected in settings
User Experience: “No Active Model” warning in input box; send button disabled.
Recovery: Go to Settings > Chat Models and load a model.

Error 2: SystemBusy

Cause: Previous generation still running (streaming)
User Experience: “Stop Generating” button vital/visible.
Recovery: Click Stop to interrupt previous stream before starting new chat.

Pain Points & Friction

1. “Which model am I using?”: Users often forget they are on a “dumb” model (e.g., small 1B param) and get bad answers.
   • Mitigation: Prominently display Model Name in the empty state header.

Design Considerations

• Empty State: Show “Starter Prompts” or “Capabilities” hints when the chat is completely empty to reduce “blank canvas paralysis”.
• Focus: Input field should auto-focus on load so user can just start typing.

Related Flows

• New Chat from Template - Structured start
• Delete Chat - Removal
• Multi-turn Conversation - Continuing the chat

Technical References

• src/components/chat/chat-window.js
• src/actions/chat-actions.js (createChat)