Zide Assist
Zide Assist is an AI agent built into Zide. Zide Assist can read your repository, edit files, and run scripts without leaving Zide.
Ask Zide Assist to show a file in Files to expand its folders and highlight it in the tree. Ask it to open the file to view its contents in a File tab. You can give an absolute path or a path relative to the conversation’s project folder. Keep that project visible when revealing a file in Files. If the file is missing or hidden by the Files filter, Zide Assist reports that it could not reveal it.
Navigate the Zide Assist tab
To open a Zide Assist tab, click Assist > New Session Tab. You can open multiple Zide Assist sessions.
The Zide Assist toolbar includes the title of the Zide Assist session, security settings, and the model picker.
Click the Security Settings icon to view and change the safety settings of the session. Click the Radar icon to view who is viewing the current Zide Assist session. Click the model dropdown to select an AI model to use with Zide.
A session that came from another session, or that other sessions came from, shows a line under the toolbar. It says where the session came from, for example Forked from Database upgrade at message 12, and how many sessions came from it, for example 2 branches. Click the name to open that session at the message it branched at. Click 2 branches to show this session in Session List, in Tree view, where its branches are listed under it. The line appears only when the session has one of these relationships, and only while Save Session History is on.
Click More actions to perform the following actions in the Zide Assist session.
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| New Session | In an active Zide Assist session, open a new session in the same Zide Assist tab. |
| Rename Session | Rename the Zide Assist session. |
| Session stats | View stats for the current Zide Assist session. |
| Session List | Open the project’s Session List in the Activity Bar. |
| Compact session | Summarize and compact a long Zide Assist session. |
| Prompt library | View and use prompts available in the repository. |
| Attach files | Attach files to your message to Zide Assist. |
| Add context | Add files, issues, tabs, pull requests to your message to Zide Assist. |
| MCP Connections | View MCP connections. Click the Manage in Settings icon to add an MCP connection. |
| Background Process | View background processes in Zide. |
| Plan Mode | Turn On or Off the Plan mode for the Zide Assist session. |
| Crosscheck | Turn On or Off automatic second-model review of commits, and choose the reviewer model. |
| Relay | View who is monitoring the session. |
| Zide Assist settings | Open the Zide Assist section in Settings. |
| Minimap | Show or hide the session minimap. See Move through a long session. |
From a detached window, Session List opens for the session’s project in the main window and brings that window forward. Zide Assist settings and other Settings links also open in the main window. Controls that work on the current session stay in the detached window. If Session List or Settings cannot open, Zide shows an error notification.
New Session reuses the tab for an independent session. It does not carry over the previous title or create a relationship to the previous session. With Save Session History on, Zide saves the current conversation first and makes it available in Session List > History before you send another message. If saving fails, the current conversation stays open.
With history off, Zide asks you to confirm Discard and start new. Unsaved messages cannot be recovered; any previously saved copy remains in History.
Model picker
You can quickly select which model to use with Zide Assist with the model picker. Use the Search model field to look for a model by name. Click the Filter model icon to sort models by source and provider. Click Configure current model parameters to view and adjust the parameters of the model in use.
Click All models and connections to view the complete Zide model catalog. Models that are not included with your account remain visible with a lock. Choosing a locked model opens the access-recovery and plan-upgrade flow instead of selecting the model.
Select a model. Click Details to see its limits and cost. Cost shows typical task estimates and base input and output rates. It also shows conditions that change the price, such as peak hours or scheduled rate changes. Click All rates and conditions to see detailed rates in credits. These include cache rates and rates for different prompt sizes, modes, and scheduled periods. The section also shows scheduled changes, Zide adjustments, prompt cache behavior, and the cost of switching models. Zide remembers whether this section is open or closed when you next open the picker.
With Zide Standard or higher, click Add API key in the Select Model dialog to connect a supported cloud model provider with your own key. Click Add local model to connect Ollama, LM Studio, or another OpenAI-compatible endpoint. If the endpoint requires a key, for example a LiteLLM proxy, enter it in API key (optional). Zide keeps the key in your system keychain. These connection actions are locked on Free, Zide Solo, and a perpetual license without an active subscription.
Click Test connection to discover models. The result appears below the model selector and scrolls into view if needed. If the endpoint reports a missing, rejected, or denied API key, correct the key and test again.
Manage API keys and local models
To see the connections you added, select Assist > API Keys and Local Models…. You do not need to open a project or a session. The dialog has an API keys section and a Local models section. Each row shows the connection name and its provider or model.
- To add a connection, click Add API Key… or Add Local Model…. These open the same dialogs as the model picker and have the same plan requirements.
- To change a connection, click its row or its Edit connection icon.
- To remove a connection, click its Delete connection icon and confirm. If the connection has a saved API key, Zide also attempts to remove it from your system’s credential store. If that fails, the connection is still removed and Zide logs a warning.
When you add or edit a connection, the default model and the model of each conversation do not change. To use a connection, select it in the model picker.
Which model a conversation uses
A new Zide Assist conversation follows the default model set in Settings > Zide Assist > Conversations. If you change that default, every conversation that has not chosen a model yet moves to the new one, including the tabs you already have open.
Once a conversation has a model of its own, it keeps it. It gets one when you pick a model in the model picker, and when it sends its first message. Changing the default in Settings after that does not move an existing conversation to another model.
To switch an existing conversation, choose a model in its model picker. The next message uses that model. If a request failed, choosing another model and clicking Retry also uses the newly selected model.
Saved session JSON records the catalog model name when Zide prepares the model for use, including any revision text in that name. It keeps that name alongside the model IDs even if the catalog changes later. This is the catalog’s label, not independent confirmation of the provider’s model revision. Older saved sessions may not include it.
Image attachment warnings follow the model selected for your next message. Switching to a model that supports images clears the warning. A response already in progress continues on the model it started with.
Saved conversations are resumed on the model they were saved with. Continue Session and Continue as New Session make the transcript writable again without reapplying the current default. If the saved model is no longer available, Zide Assist asks you to choose another one instead of substituting a different model. Conversations saved by an older version of Zide did not record a model, so those follow the current default on their next message.
Zide Assist conversation
The conversation view displays the conversation topic, your messages, and responses from Zide Assist.
Enter a message into the Zide Assist tab message box and click Send to send a request to Zide. Click Cancel beside Send, or press Escape while the conversation has focus, to stop the current response, including a running tool.
The git_blame tool reads up to 500 lines at a time and stops after 30 seconds. If it times out, Zide can request a narrower line range or continue with other evidence. It requires Git and is unavailable when Tool access is Locked.
The reply shows while Zide writes it. Finished paragraphs and code blocks stay in place, so you can read, select, and copy them before the reply ends. If you switch to another tab or Project Tab, the session keeps working. When you return, the reply shows everything written so far and continues until it finishes.
If a response reaches the model’s output token limit without a tool call, Zide keeps the partial reply and asks the model to resume in smaller chunks. This also applies when the response contains only thinking. Zide makes at most two automatic continuation requests per turn. If the limit is reached again, Zide stops and suggests smaller requests or another model. Stop and your usage limits still apply during continuation.
Activating a writable session tab focuses its message box so you can start typing. Click the background of the conversation, including the animation in a new session, to return to the message box.
Move through a long session
When you scroll up, two round arrows move between your messages. The up arrow goes to the previous message. The down arrow goes to the next one, and after the last message to the latest reply. When a reply finishes while you read earlier messages, the down arrow glows. At the bottom, a one-line copy of your last message shows at the top when that message has scrolled away. Click it to go back to the message.
For long sessions, you can also show a minimap. Click More actions, or right-click the conversation, and choose Blocks under Minimap. The minimap is off until you choose it. Blocks shows a blue mark for each of your messages and a gray mark for each reply, sized to its length. Point to a mark to preview the message or the start of the reply. The mark’s hover outline clears when the preview closes. A separate box follows your scroll position. Click the mark to scroll to it. While the minimap shows, the up arrow is hidden and the down arrow goes to the latest reply. A session needs at least two messages before the minimap appears. Your choice applies to every Zide Assist session and is kept after a restart.
Automatic context
Each turn includes a short description of the project and the Zide surfaces you are currently viewing, such as visible content tabs and the selected Activity item. This description does not include file contents; attach a file or selection when you want its contents included directly. Zide Assist can also read an open tab when it needs to, including the output of a terminal. To stop it from reading terminal output, see Zide Assist and terminal output.
Attach items to a message
You can attach an item from another part of Zide in two ways. Both ways add the same attachment.
- Right-click the item and point to Assist with This. For a supported tab, you can also right-click its content header or ordinary background, or click More actions in the header. Click Add to Conversation to add the attachment to the Zide Assist tab that you used last. When no Zide Assist tab is open, Zide opens a new one. Zide does not send the message, so you can add text and examine the attachments first. When you select several items, the menu item is Assist with Selection.
- Drag the item into a Zide Assist tab.
The Send As Prompt item in Files is different: it puts the text of the file in the message box instead of attaching the file. Open Ask Zide in the same menu opens a read-only panel beside the item’s tab with the item’s commands. For more information, see Use commands with an item and Ask Zide beside a tab.
If the item is already attached, Zide does not attach it again. The attachment flashes.
| Item | What Zide Assist gets |
|---|---|
| A row in a list, such as a commit, stash, issue, pull request, release, reflog entry, pipeline run, or change in Staging | The item and the details that the list loaded for it. For more details, such as the comments on an issue, open the item in a tab and attach the tab. |
| A content tab | The tab and its current state. To attach several tabs, select them and drag them together, or right-click one of the selected tabs. |
| A file tab | The text of the file, including changes that you did not save. A file tab that does not show text, such as an image, attaches the file. |
| Selected text in a file | The selected text. When more than one range is selected, each range with its line numbers. |
| A file in Files or in Find References | The file. |
| A command in Commands | The command: its name, description, inputs, and prompt. The command does not run. To run a command, type / and the command name in the message box. |
| A terminal | Up to 8,000 characters of output from the end of the focused pane, and the pane’s last Script Runner run. Zide reads the output when you send the message. To send newer output later, add the terminal again. With text selected, Assist with Selection attaches only the selected text. See Zide Assist and terminal output. |
| The saved output of a closed terminal | Up to 24,000 characters from the end of the saved output, with the terminal’s name, folder, start and end times, and what output is missing. With text selected, Assist with Selection attaches only the selected text. See Ask Zide about saved output. |
You cannot attach a folder. When you drag a folder over a Zide Assist tab, the pointer shows that you cannot drop it there.
Drop files and selected text anywhere in the conversation. Drop tabs and list rows on the message box, because the rest of the tab stays available to move and split tabs. Other text that you drop on the message box goes into your message as text.
You can also send a voice message to Zide. Click the Dictate icon in the message box. Speak and then click the Recording icon to stop recording. Your voice recording transcribes into the message box before you click Send.
To start dictation with the keyboard, quickly press and release Right Ctrl twice (Right Cmd on macOS). A single tap does not start recording.
While Zide opens your microphone, the button shows Starting…. Click the button again or press Esc to cancel the request. If the microphone still has not responded after about 20 seconds, Zide stops waiting and shows checks for system privacy access, input-device availability, and another app holding the microphone.
Your messages
Your messages to Zide Assist appear on the right side of the Zide Assist tab. In your message, click the Message options icon to open the following actions for the message.
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Copy | Copy the message. |
| Edit & Resend | Put the message back in the message box to edit and send again. The message, its response, and everything after it are removed from the conversation first. |
| Save as command | Save the message as a command. |
| Fork from here | Create a new Zide Assist tab that continues a copy of the conversation up to and including the selected message and its complete response. The original conversation is unchanged. |
| Fork to worktree | Create the same copy in a new worktree branched at the last commit Zide Assist made through the selected message. |
| Cut Session Here | Messages before the selected message are saved as a separate session and removed from the current conversation. |
| Rollback to here | Return the conversation to the state immediately before you sent the selected message. The selected message, its response and tool activity, and every later message are removed. |
| Delete Message | Remove the selected message together with its response and tool activity. Later messages are kept. |
Rollback to here and Delete Message change the conversation only. They do not restore files, reset Git, reverse commands, or remove commits. To undo repository work, use Zide’s Git surfaces.
Compact session (or /compact) replaces the older turns with a summary and keeps the most recent turns when they fit. Long tool output in the kept turns can be shortened in what the model receives; the full output stays in the conversation. If the most recent turn is too large to keep beside the summary, Zide summarizes that turn too, and the conversation continues from the summary. Zide makes this choice before it requests a summary. If even a summary of the whole conversation cannot leave room for your next message, Zide does not compact and tells you why. A summary records a completed request as done, so Zide Assist does not start it again.
A very long conversation is summarized in parts, and then the parts are combined. Each part is a separate request to the compaction model. If you cancel between parts, Zide keeps the finished parts. Compact again with the same guidance before the conversation changes to use them again. With Save Session History on, Zide saves the original messages to session history before it replaces them.
If compaction cannot make a conversation small enough, Archive earlier messages and continue saves the earlier messages to session history and keeps the recent turns. This also works after a restart when the visible conversation includes older messages that are no longer in the model’s context. Zide verifies that the retained prompts match the visible messages before cutting. If session history is off, Zide asks you to confirm a cut without saving.
Attachments appear above the message box. Click an attachment to view its details and available actions, or remove it. After you send a message, Zide clears its file attachments from above the message box. The sent message lists those files.
A message with attached items or tabs shows a Context line. Click an item’s name in that line to open the item. Click the rest of the line to show what was attached.
You can send multiple messages to Zide Assist while Zide is responding to a message. Zide responds to the messages in the order you sent them.
To ask Zide a question without redirecting the current response, use the /sidebar action.
To queue a message while Zide is responding, type the message in the message box, click the More send options icon, and click Queue for next turn. Queue messages appear as a list and can be edited before the message is sent to Zide Assist.
Zide responses
Zide Assist messages appear on the left side of the Zide Assist tab. Click the Message actions icon to copy the Zide Assist response, copy the response as Markdown, or review the turn details.
Each response displays the thought process of Zide Assist and the tools it used during the turn.
When a turn ends with an active task list, a Task list banner is recorded in the scrollback showing each task and the state it had when that turn finished.
Ask Zide beside a tab
Ask Zide answers questions about one item in a panel beside the item’s tab. The item can be a commit, a file, a comparison, a stash, a reflog entry, a command, an issue, a pull request, a workflow run or pipeline, a release, a terminal, or the saved output of a closed terminal. Ask Zide can read the item, the project, and the Zide guides. It cannot edit files, run shell commands, or change Git or provider content.
To ask about an item, right-click the item, its tab label, or its content header. You can also right-click an ordinary background area in its tab, or click More actions in the header. Point to Assist with This, and under Ask Zide, click Open Ask Zide. Zide opens the item’s tab if it is not open and opens the panel. The empty panel lists the item’s commands, such as Summarize Changes or Review Commit. Click one to run it, or type a question. To see the commands after you ask a question, type /. To choose which of your own commands show, click Manage Command List… below the commands or in the panel’s More actions menu. See Use commands with an item.
In a file, Explain Selection and your questions use the text that is selected in the editor when you click the command or send the question. With Split Editor, Ask Zide uses the editor that you used last. To ask about other code, select it and run Explain Selection or ask again. The conversation stays. Explain File, Review File, and your own commands use the whole file. A question that starts the conversation includes the file and the selected text. A later question includes the selected text only if the conversation does not have it yet. Under your message, Context: shows what Zide sent, for example app.js:12–18.
Press Ctrl+Shift+/ to open or focus Ask Zide for the focused tab. When the Docs panel has focus, the same shortcut focuses Ask Zide there. Press Ctrl+Alt+/ from anywhere in the main window to open Docs and focus its Ask Zide message box. On macOS, use Cmd+Shift+/ and Cmd+Option+/. Both shortcuts keep your draft and conversation and do not send a message. If Docs is detached, the direct Docs shortcut returns it to the main window. Expanding Ask Zide in Docs also focuses its message box; opening Docs normally keeps focus on the guide.
The panel opens to the right of the tab when the pane is wide enough. Otherwise, it opens below the tab. To move it, click More actions in the panel, or right-click the panel, and click Move to Bottom or Move to Right. Later panels open on the side that you chose. Drag the edge of the panel to change its size.
Ask Zide keeps the 6 most recent questions and answers. When it is full, a banner shows above the conversation, and the oldest question and answer fade. Zide removes them when the next answer arrives. Ask Zide in the docs panel keeps the same number.
The conversation is not saved. It stays with the tab while the tab shows the same item, also when you go to other tabs. Zide discards it when you close the panel or the tab, use Back or Forward in the tab, or move the tab to another project. When you open another item from a tab with an Ask Zide panel, the item opens in a new tab.
To keep the conversation, or to make changes, click More actions in the panel and click Continue in Zide Assist. Zide opens a Zide Assist tab with the conversation. There, Zide Assist can edit files and run commands, subject to the tab’s tool access and approval settings. When an answer suggests a change, Ask Zide can also show a Continue in Zide Assist button under it. To start again beside the same item, click Clear Conversation.
Ask Zide uses the Ask Zide model in Settings → App Services, the same model as the helper in the docs panel. A link to a guide in an answer opens the guide in the docs panel.
Export a session
Use /export to save the session as Markdown, /export-as to choose where to save it, or /copy to copy it as Markdown. You can also export a saved session from Session List history.
After /export or /export-as, click the file path in the confirmation message to open the saved Markdown in Zide. This also works when dot folders are hidden in Files. Copy path copies its full path, and Open folder shows it in your system file manager.
Exports include questions from Zide Assist, their available choices, and your recorded answers. They also include commit hashes and messages. Older sessions include the metadata saved at the time. A question with no saved answer says No answer recorded; a failed or timed-out question shows its recorded status.
Plan mode
In Plan Mode, Zide Assist can only investigate and propose plans based on your request. Zide Assist cannot edit files or run shell commands while in Plan Mode. To turn on plan mode, click the More actions icon, click Plan mode, and then click On.
Crosscheck
Crosscheck automatically reviews every commit made by Zide Assist using a second model. To turn on Crosscheck, click the More actions icon, click Crosscheck, and then click On. You can select which model to use for the review. If that model is no longer available, Crosscheck does not start a review and does not substitute a different model. Click Choose model to select another one.
When Zide Assist makes a commit, Crosscheck starts a review. To have any other commit reviewed, send the commit to Zide Assist and ask for a review.
Click Cancel to stop a review. The review findings are posted into the conversation and are grouped by severity.
The review header identifies the reviewer and links to the reviewed commits. Open the message actions menu and select Turn details to see usage and credit cost.
Session Markdown exports include completed Crosscheck reviews in conversation order, with their full text, reviewer name and reviewed commit hashes when saved. Any saved route-verification warning stays with the review. Review usage is labeled Crosscheck usage, separate from Zide Assist turn statistics. This applies to /export, /export-as, /copy, and exports from Session List history, including previously saved reviews.
Click Submit on a review to send its findings to Zide Assist as a new request, so it can address the feedback.
MCP Connections
Zide Assist can use tools from Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. To add an MCP connection, open Settings > Zide Assist > MCP Connections and click Add Connection. Zide supports the stdio and Streamable HTTP transports.
When you send the first message in a session, Zide connects to each enabled MCP server and discovers the tools the server provides. A banner for each connected server displays the number of tools the server provides. If a server fails to connect, or connects but provides no tools, a warning banner names the server and the error instead.
If you add, remove, or change a connection after a session has sent its first message, the change applies to the next Zide Assist session.
Zide converts what an MCP tool returns before Zide Assist reads it. Text and text resources are kept. Zide makes a large image smaller, to at most 2000 pixels on each side. Zide Assist cannot receive audio or binary files other than images from a tool, so Zide replaces them with a short note that names what was left out. If the server reports that the call failed, or Zide left out every part of the result, the tool entry shows Fail and Zide Assist continues the turn.
Plan Mode and Tool access: Locked make MCP tools unavailable because an MCP server can run commands, use the network, or cause other side effects. Connected servers remain visible, and their tools become available on the first turn after the restriction is lifted.
Generate a session title
In Rename Session, use Generate in the dialog header to suggest a title from your first few messages. The label stays visible when the title contains text. Review the suggestion before replacing an existing title; applied results offer Undo. Confirm the rename when the title is ready. Send a message first if generation is unavailable.
Close a session
You can close a session with the tab close button, keyboard shortcut, or tab menu. If Zide Assist is working or reconnecting, Zide asks before cancelling it. The same check applies when you close its Project Tab or quit Zide. If the session is in the detached window, closing its Project Tab stops instead and tells you why.
If the session is compacting, Zide asks before cancelling the compaction. If the summary is already being saved and applied, Finish and close waits for that work. Cancel keeps the session open.