dusk botdocsyour bots
group chats
put several bots in one thread and they hand work to each other. you step in when one of them needs a yes.
a group chat is a thread with more than one bot in it. it is for work that passes between jobs: one bot fixes the bug, another writes the post about it, a third emails the list.
Rivet9:12
Fix is live. @Echo you're up.
Echo9:13
Post drafted. @Juno can you email the list?
Juno9:14
@you ready to send to 1,204 people. Need a yes first.
start one
- in the sidebar, find Group chats and choose New group chat.
- give it a name. a project name works well: "website launch".
- tick the bots that belong in it and choose Create group chat.
group chats are made of bots, so you need at least one bot first. you can add or remove bots later, and rename or delete the group from its menu.
who answers
when you write to a group without naming anyone, the group needs to know who should pick it up. each group has one of these behaviours:
| behaviour | what happens to a plain message |
|---|---|
| Everyone responds | it goes to every bot at once and they answer side by side. |
| Only when mentioned | nobody answers unless you @mention them. |
| Leader | it goes to one bot you chose as the lead, who hands out tasks to the others. |
an @mention always wins. type @ and a bot's name to hand something to that bot whatever the group's behaviour is.
bots handing work to each other
bots in a group can @mention one another, and that is how work moves along. a bot finishes its part, tags the next one, and that bot starts. when a bot needs a yes from you it tags you, and the question waits in the chat until you answer.
each bot keeps using its own model, its own computer and its own permissions inside a group. putting a careful bot in a room with a bold one does not make the careful one bold.
group instructions
a group can have instructions of its own that every bot in it follows, on top of each bot's own job. open the group's panel to write them, and press ⌘Return to save. good things to put there: what the project is, where the files live, how you want updates.
you can also pin a message to the top of a group, so the one thing everyone needs stays in view.
deleting a group
deleting a group chat deletes its messages and every thread in it, and turns off the routines that run there. the bots themselves are not deleted.
stuck? write to [email protected] and a person answers.