> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kasava.dev/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# AI Chat
> Context-aware coding assistant that understands your codebase
Kasava's AI Chat is a powerful coding assistant that understands your actual codebase. Unlike generic AI tools, it can reference your indexed repositories to provide accurate, relevant answers.
## Overview
AI Chat is powered by Claude, Anthropic's advanced language model. When combined with your indexed code, it can:
* **Answer questions** about how your code works
* **Explain implementations** with code references
* **Suggest improvements** based on your patterns
* **Debug issues** using your actual code context
* **Generate documentation** for your codebase
* **Analyze uploaded documents** and discuss their contents
## Getting Started
[Index a repository](/docs/features/code-intelligence) to give the AI context about your codebase
Access Chat from the sidebar by expanding a Product and clicking on any sub-tab, or use the chat icon in the header to open the slide-out chat panel
Click the "New Conversation" button in the header to start a fresh chat session
Type your question in the input field at the bottom and press Enter or click the send button
## Accessing AI Chat
There are multiple ways to access AI Chat in Kasava:
### Global Chat Panel
Click the chat icon (message bubble) in the top-right header area of any page. This opens a slide-out panel where you can chat with the AI without leaving your current page.
**Keyboard shortcut:** Press `Cmd+J` (Mac) or `Ctrl+J` (Windows) to toggle the chat panel.
### Dedicated Chat Page
Navigate to `/chat` directly for a full-page chat experience with:
* **Conversation sidebar** on the left showing all your chat sessions
* **Main chat area** on the right for the active conversation
* **Resizable panels** - drag the divider to adjust sidebar width
## Managing Conversations
### Conversation Sidebar
The sidebar displays all your conversations organized by date:
* **Today** - Conversations from today
* **Yesterday** - Yesterday's conversations
* **This Week** - Conversations from the past 7 days
* **Older** - Conversations older than a week
### Conversation Actions
Hover over any conversation in the sidebar to reveal options:
* **Rename** - Click the pencil icon or right-click and select "Rename"
* **Delete** - Click the trash icon or right-click and select "Delete"
You can also access these options via the three-dot menu on each conversation.
### Starting Fresh
Click the "New Conversation" button at the top of the page to start a new chat session. The AI will automatically generate a title for the conversation based on your first message.
## Chat Features
### Streaming Responses
Responses stream in real-time, so you see the answer as it's being generated. A loading indicator shows when the AI is processing your request.
### Code References
The AI includes references to specific files and code patterns from your indexed repositories:
```
The authentication is handled in `src/middleware/auth.ts` at line 45...
```
### Multi-Turn Conversations
Continue conversations with follow-up questions. The AI remembers context from earlier in the chat, allowing you to dive deeper into topics without repeating context.
### Personalization
AI Chat learns from your corrections and preferences over time:
* **Terminology** — Uses your preferred terms (e.g., "customer" vs "user")
* **Categorization** — Follows your classification conventions
* **Formatting** — Matches your documentation style preferences
When you make corrections, those preferences are automatically applied to future chat sessions.
### Document Attachments
Upload documents directly into your conversation:
1. **Drag and drop** a file anywhere in the chat window
2. Or click the **attachment button** (+) in the input toolbar
Supported file types include PDFs, text files, and common document formats. The AI will analyze the document and make it available for discussion.
### Suggested Actions
When you start a new conversation, the chat may display helpful suggestions to get you started. Click any suggestion to quickly send that message.
## Asking Questions
### Effective Prompts
The AI works best with clear, specific questions:
| Good Prompt | Why It Works |
| ------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| "How does the authentication middleware validate JWT tokens?" | Specific component and action |
| "Explain the data flow in the user registration process" | Clear scope and request |
| "What error handling patterns are used in the API routes?" | Focused technical question |
| "Where is the database connection configured?" | Specific lookup request |
### Less Effective Prompts
| Prompt | Issue |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| "Explain everything" | Too broad |
| "Is my code good?" | Vague evaluation criteria |
| "Fix all bugs" | No specific problem identified |
## Best Practices
**Start specific, then broaden** - Begin with focused questions, then ask follow-ups for more detail.
**Reference file names** - If you know which file to ask about, mention it for more accurate responses.
**Ask for explanations** - "Explain how X works" often yields better results than "Show me X".
**Use follow-ups** - After getting an answer, ask "Why is it done this way?" or "What are the alternatives?"
**Upload documents** - When discussing requirements, designs, or external documentation, drag and drop the file into the chat for context.
## Example Conversations
### Understanding Code Flow
**You:** How does the checkout process work in this e-commerce app?
**AI:** The checkout process is implemented in `src/services/checkout.ts`. Here's the flow:
1. `initiateCheckout()` validates the cart contents
2. `calculateTotals()` computes prices, taxes, and shipping
3. `processPayment()` handles Stripe integration
4. `createOrder()` persists the order to the database
The entry point is the `POST /api/checkout` route in `src/routes/checkout.ts:42`.
***
### Debugging
**You:** Why might the user session be expiring too quickly?
**AI:** Looking at your session configuration in `src/config/auth.ts`, I see the session maxAge is set to 3600000ms (1 hour). However, in `src/middleware/session.ts:28`, there's a `rolling: false` setting which means the session timer isn't reset on activity.
To fix the quick expiration, you could either:
1. Increase `maxAge` in the config
2. Set `rolling: true` to refresh on each request
***
### Code Review
**You:** Are there any obvious issues with the error handling in the API routes?
**AI:** I noticed a few patterns that could be improved:
1. In `src/routes/users.ts`, errors are caught but not logged before returning a 500 response
2. The `src/routes/orders.ts` file doesn't have try-catch blocks around database operations
3. Some routes return raw error messages which could expose implementation details
Recommendation: Use a centralized error handler like the one partially implemented in `src/middleware/errorHandler.ts`.
## Limitations
Be aware of these limitations:
* **Only indexed code** - The AI can only reference repositories you've indexed
* **Point-in-time** - Answers are based on when the repository was last indexed
* **Not real-time** - The AI doesn't see uncommitted changes in your local environment
* **Token limits** - Very large codebases may have some files truncated in context
## Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
| --------------- | ------------------- |
| `Cmd/Ctrl + J` | Toggle chat panel |
| `Enter` | Send message |
| `Shift + Enter` | New line in message |
## Related
Index repositories and search code semantically
Create and manage product specs