# Side Chat (Dashboard)

The Dashboard Side Chat, an AI Assistant, helps you build apps and manage your Arkain workspace — all from a single chat interface. Describe what you want to create and Arkain Snap will handle the rest, or ask questions about containers, credits, templates, and platform usage to get instant guidance.

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### **Access**

* **Sidebar Toggle:** The Side Chat can be opened or closed at any time via the sidebar on the left.
* **Automatic Activation:** Entering a prompt or requirement in the Dashboard's main input box automatically opens the Side Chat. The assistant then analyzes your request to provide instant guidance or initiate the Arkain Snap building process.
* **Platform-Wide Availability:** The assistant is available and usable across all Dashboard pages, including the Credit usage and Templates pages, providing continuous support as you navigate.

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### **Key Features**

#### 1. Smart Response Detection

* The Side Chat automatically detects the intent of your input and responds accordingly.
* If your request is about building or creating an app, the Side Chat will prepare a project plan and display the **\[Generate with Arkain Snap]** button to proceed.
* For all other requests — such as questions about containers, credits, or platform usage — the Side Chat responds directly with guidance and information.

#### 2. Contextual Inputs for Snap

When building apps through the Dashboard Side Chat, you can provide rich context to improve the results:

* **Image Attachment:** Click the **\[Upload Images]** icon or drag and drop UI mockups, screenshots, or sketches into the chat. The AI analyzes these images to guide the visual design of your Snap project.
* [**External Tools (MCP)**](/user-guide/dashboard/creative-tools/connect-external-tools.md)**:** Connect tools like **Notion** via the connector icon. Once linked, the AI can reference your actual project documentation or PRDs to generate precise containers and apps.

#### 3. Session Controls

* **Reset & Stop:** Use the reset button (top-left) to start a new session. Use the stop button to cancel an in-progress generation.
* **History:** Note that Dashboard chat history is not persisted and will be cleared upon browser refresh or manual reset.

#### 4. Smart Redirects & UI Highlighting

* Responses may guide you to relevant Dashboard pages (e.g., Container Settings).
* Important UI elements are visually highlighted to help you quickly identify key information.

#### 5. Recommended Prompts

* Access a curated list of **Quick Prompts** to see what is possible.
* Selecting a prompt automatically fills the input field for immediate submission or further editing.

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### What You Can Ask Side Chat

{% content-ref url="/pages/sAa9eVEoQXYwWbtfZqvR" %}
[What You Can Ask Side Chat](/user-guide/dashboard/creative-tools/side-chat-dashboard/what-you-can-ask-side-chat.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

### **When to Use Dashboard Side Chat**

* When you are learning how Arkain works
* When you need information about your containers
* When you want to manage or optimize credit usage
* When you need guidance on selecting templates or setting up environments
* When you want to build an app or prototype from a natural language description
* When you want to create a project based on your Notion docs


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.arkain.io/user-guide/dashboard/creative-tools/side-chat-dashboard.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.