# Chatbox User Guide

Chatbox (Community Edition) is a desktop and mobile client for talking to AI
models. It runs on **Windows, macOS, Linux, the web, iOS, and Android**, connects
to virtually any major AI provider (OpenAI, Claude, Google Gemini, Ollama,
DeepSeek, and ~20 others), and keeps your conversations and API keys **stored
locally on your own device**. On top of plain chat it adds image generation,
document knowledge bases, web search, Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools,
reusable assistants ("Copilots"), and team API-key sharing.

This guide shows you how to install Chatbox, connect a model, and use every
feature. It is written for end users — if you want to build from source, deploy
the web version, or understand the internals, see the companion **Admin Guide**.

> [!NOTE]
> This is the **Community Edition**, open-sourced under GPLv3. It is functionally
> the same chat client that ships in the official downloads. "Chatbox AI" — the
> first‑party, paid cloud model and search service — is one of the providers you
> can optionally enable inside the app; you are never required to use it.

---

## 1. Quick Start

The fastest path to your first answer:

1. **Install Chatbox** for your platform (see [Installation](#2-installation)).
2. Launch it. On first run a short **setup guide** appears for new users.
3. Open **Settings** and pick how you want to get a model:
   - **Easiest:** open **Settings → Chatbox AI**, log in (or paste a license
     key), and claim a free plan. No API key of your own needed.
   - **Bring your own key:** open **Settings → Model Provider**, choose a
     provider (e.g. OpenAI), and paste your API key.
   - **Fully local:** install [Ollama](https://ollama.com) or LM Studio, then
     point Chatbox at it — no key, no cloud.
4. Return to the home screen, type a message in the input box, and press
   `Enter`.

```text
What can I help you with today?

> Explain the difference between TCP and UDP in two sentences.
```

> [!TIP]
> Press `Alt`+`` ` `` (backtick) at any time — even when Chatbox is hidden — to
> instantly show or hide the window. This global hotkey makes Chatbox feel like a
> quick-access scratchpad.

---

## 2. Installation

Chatbox ships as a normal installable application. There is **no server to set
up** and no command line required for everyday use.

### 2.1 Desktop

=== "Windows"

    1. Download the `Setup.exe` installer from
       [chatboxai.app](https://chatboxai.app/?c=download-windows) or the
       [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/chatboxai/chatbox/releases) page.
    2. Run the installer. You may choose the installation directory.
    3. Launch **Chatbox** from the Start menu.

    Both 64‑bit (x64) and ARM64 builds are provided.

=== "macOS"

    1. Download the `.dmg` — pick **Intel** or **Apple Silicon** to match your
       Mac:
       [Intel](https://chatboxai.app/?c=download-mac-intel) ·
       [Apple Silicon](https://chatboxai.app/?c=download-mac-aarch).
    2. Open the `.dmg` and drag **Chatbox** into your **Applications** folder.
    3. Launch it from Applications.

=== "Linux"

    1. Download the `.AppImage` (or `.deb`) from
       [chatboxai.app](https://chatboxai.app/?c=download-linux) or GitHub
       Releases. x64 and ARM64 builds are available.
    2. For the AppImage: `chmod +x Chatbox-*.AppImage` then run it.
    3. For the `.deb`: `sudo dpkg -i Chatbox-*.deb`.

> [!NOTE]
> Desktop builds support **automatic updates**. When a new version is downloaded
> in the background, Chatbox notifies you and lets you restart to apply it. You
> can turn this off in **Settings → General**.

### 2.2 Web

Don't want to install anything? Use the browser version at
[web.chatboxai.app](https://web.chatboxai.app). It runs entirely in your browser
and stores data in the browser's local storage.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The web version cannot run some desktop-only features (launch at startup,
> global hotkeys, stdio-based MCP servers, local document parsing). It is best
> for quick access from a shared or locked-down machine.

### 2.3 Mobile (iOS & Android)

- **iOS / iPadOS:** [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/chatbox-ai/id6471368056)
- **Android:** [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=xyz.chatboxapp.chatbox)
  or download the [APK](https://chatboxai.app/zh/install?download=android_apk) directly.

### 2.4 Build from source

If you prefer to build the Community Edition yourself, you need
**Node.js ≥ 20 (< 23)** and **pnpm ≥ 10**:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/chatboxai/chatbox.git
cd chatbox
pnpm install
pnpm dev            # run in development mode
pnpm package        # build an installer for your current platform
```

See the Admin Guide for the full build matrix (web, mobile, all-platform
packaging).

---

## 3. Connecting an AI Model

Chatbox does not include a model of its own — you point it at one. There are
three ways to get a working model, and you can mix them freely.

### 3.1 Option A — Use Chatbox AI (no key of your own)

**Settings → Chatbox AI** offers the first‑party cloud service. You can either:

- **Log in** with a Chatbox account, or
- paste a **license key** (switch to "License Key" view).

Once activated, Chatbox AI models (e.g. `chatboxai-4`) and the built‑in web
search and document parsing become available. New users can often **claim a free
plan** from the welcome card on the home screen.

> [!TIP]
> Chatbox AI is the lowest-friction option: it is the default model for new
> conversations (`chatboxai-4`) and the default for image generation
> (`DALL-E-3`). If you'd rather not use it, just configure another provider and
> set a different default in **Settings → Default Models**.

### 3.2 Option B — Bring your own API key

Open **Settings → Model Provider** and select a built‑in provider. Chatbox ships
with definitions for all of these:

| Provider | Notes |
|----------|-------|
| `OpenAI` | ChatGPT models (also "OpenAI Responses" variant) |
| `Claude` | Anthropic models |
| `Gemini` | Google Generative AI |
| `Azure OpenAI` | Enter your Azure endpoint + deployment |
| `DeepSeek` | |
| `Qwen` / `Qwen Portal` | Alibaba |
| `MiniMax` | |
| `Moonshot` | Kimi |
| `SiliconFlow` | |
| `OpenRouter` | Multi-model gateway |
| `Groq` | |
| `xAI` | Grok |
| `Mistral AI` | |
| `Perplexity` | |
| `Volcengine` | |
| `ChatGLM` | Zhipu |
| `GitHub Copilot` | |
| `Bedrock` | AWS — uses access key / secret key / session token |
| `Ollama` | Local models (see Option C) |
| `LM Studio` | Local models (see Option C) |

For most providers you paste an **API Key**. You can optionally override the
**API Host** and **API Path** (useful for proxies or self-hosted gateways), and
toggle **"Improve Network Compatibility"** (`useProxy`) when a host is hard to
reach.

> [!TIP]
> Click **Fetch Models** on a provider page to pull its current model list.
> Curated "known-good" models are shown by default; newly discovered models
> appear separately. You can hide models you never use.

#### Custom providers

If your provider isn't listed, click **Add Provider** (or import a config) and
choose the API style it speaks: **OpenAI‑compatible**, **Claude‑compatible**,
**Gemini‑compatible**, or **OpenAI Responses**. Most third‑party gateways are
OpenAI‑compatible.

> [!NOTE]
> You can also import a provider configuration from a link of the form
> `chatbox://provider/import?config=...`. Chatbox opens the provider settings
> pre-filled so you only confirm.

### 3.3 Option C — Run models locally (Ollama / LM Studio)

For private, offline inference:

1. Install and start [Ollama](https://ollama.com) (default
   `http://127.0.0.1:11434`) or LM Studio (default
   `http://127.0.0.1:1234/v1`).
2. Pull a model in that tool (e.g. `ollama pull llama3`).
3. In Chatbox, open **Settings → Model Provider → Ollama** (or **LM Studio**)
   and confirm the host. Fetch models and pick one.

No API key is required and nothing leaves your machine.

---

## 4. Everyday Usage

### 4.1 Sending messages

Type in the input box and press `Enter` to send. Use the in-box controls to:

- **Pick a model** for this conversation (the model selector).
- **Attach files** (see [Attachments](#44-attaching-files-and-images)).
- **Toggle web browsing** for this message.
- **Attach a knowledge base**.
- Open **per-conversation settings** (temperature, system prompt, etc.).

| Action | Shortcut (default) |
|--------|--------------------|
| Send message | `Enter` |
| Send **without** generating a reply | `Ctrl`+`Enter` |
| New line | `Shift`+`Enter` |
| Focus the input box | `mod`+`i` |
| Toggle web browsing mode | `mod`+`e` |

> [!NOTE]
> `mod` means **`Cmd` on macOS** and **`Ctrl` on Windows/Linux**.

### 4.2 Conversations and threads

Each conversation appears in the left **sidebar**. Conversations come in two
types: **chat** sessions and **picture** (image-generation) sessions.

| Action | Shortcut |
|--------|----------|
| New chat | `mod`+`n` |
| New image conversation | `mod`+`Shift`+`n` |
| Next / previous conversation | `mod`+`Tab` / `mod`+`Shift`+`Tab` |
| Search conversations | `mod`+`k` |
| Refresh / reset context | `mod`+`r` |

Chatbox auto-names conversations using an AI model (configurable — see
[Default Models](#53-default-models)). You can rename, delete, and reorder
conversations from the sidebar.

> [!TIP]
> Long conversations are automatically **compacted**: when the context window
> fills past a threshold, older messages are summarized to save tokens while
> keeping key information. Tune this under **Settings → Chat → Context
> Management** (see [§5.6](#56-conversation-context-management)).

### 4.3 Copilots (reusable assistants)

A **Copilot** is a saved assistant defined by a name, an avatar, and a **system
prompt** — for example "Translator", "Code Reviewer", or "Marketing Writer".

- Browse and create them on the **Copilots** page, or pick one from the
  carousel on the home screen before starting a chat.
- "My Copilots" are yours; a **gallery** of community Copilots is also shown and
  can be copied into your own list.
- Selecting a Copilot starts a new conversation seeded with its system prompt.

### 4.4 Attaching files and images

Drag a file onto the input box or use the attach button. Chatbox extracts text
locally (or via the cloud parser) so the model can read it.

**Supported document types:**

| Category | Extensions |
|----------|-----------|
| Office | `.pdf` `.docx` `.pptx` `.xlsx` `.odt` `.odp` `.ods` `.numbers` |
| eBooks | `.epub` |
| Text & code | `.txt` `.md` `.csv` `.json` `.yaml` `.html` `.xml` plus ~100 source-code extensions (`.py`, `.js`, `.ts`, `.go`, `.rs`, `.java`, `.cpp`, …) |
| Images | `.jpg` `.jpeg` `.png` (sent to vision-capable models) |

> [!WARNING]
> Audio, video, archives (`.zip`, `.rar`), executables, and design files
> (`.psd`, `.fig`, `.heic`, camera RAW) are **not** supported as attachments.
> Chatbox will tell you the file type is unsupported rather than fail silently.

> [!TIP]
> Turn on **"Paste long text as a file"** (Settings → Chat) so that pasting a
> large block of text inserts it as an attachment instead of cluttering the
> message — this keeps chats clean and improves prompt caching.

**OCR for non-vision models:** if you send an image to a model that can't see
images, Chatbox can OCR it first using a vision model you choose in
**Settings → Default Models → OCR Model**, then send the extracted text.

### 4.5 Image generation

Start a **picture conversation** (`mod`+`Shift`+`n`) or use the **Image Creator**
page. By default it uses Chatbox AI's `DALL-E-3` with the "vivid" style and
generates one image per prompt. Generated images are stored locally and can be
previewed, zoomed, and saved.

### 4.6 Web search

Let the model look things up online. Toggle **web browsing** for a message
(`mod`+`e`), then configure the provider under **Settings → Web Search**:

| Provider | Cost | API key | Extra tools |
|----------|------|---------|-------------|
| `Chatbox AI` (built‑in) | Paid (advanced) | Uses your Chatbox AI plan | Web Search + Read Webpage |
| `Bing Search` | Free | None | Web Search |
| `Tavily` | Your key | [tavily.com](https://app.tavily.com) | Web Search (+ Read Webpage) |
| `BoCha` | Your key | [bochaai.com](https://open.bochaai.com) | Web Search |
| `Querit` | Your key | [querit.ai](https://www.querit.ai) | Web Search; supports Max Results & Time Range |

Each key field has a **Check** button to verify the key works before you rely on
it.

> [!TIP]
> Some providers also support **Read Webpage** (fetching and reading a specific
> URL), shown as a checkmark under "Provided tools". If a provider only supports
> search, that tool is greyed out.

### 4.7 Knowledge bases (chat with your documents)

A **Knowledge Base** lets the model answer from your own files using retrieval
(RAG). Create one under **Settings → Knowledge Base**:

1. **Create a knowledge base**, choosing an **embedding model** (required) and
   optionally a **rerank model** and a **vision model** (for images in
   documents).
2. **Upload files** (up to **100 MB** each). Chatbox parses, splits, and indexes
   them in the background.
3. Watch each file's status: `pending → processing → done` (or `failed`). You
   can **pause**, **resume**, **retry**, or **delete** individual files.
4. In a conversation, **attach the knowledge base** from the input box. The
   model will retrieve relevant passages when answering.

> [!NOTE]
> Documents are parsed **locally** by default on desktop. If a file fails local
> parsing (or you're on mobile/web), you can **Retry with server parsing**,
> which uses the Chatbox AI cloud parser (requires a license; large files have a
> 50 MB server limit). A third option, **MinerU**, is available for advanced
> document parsing.

> [!TIP]
> If processing was interrupted (e.g. you closed the app), files are set to
> **paused** on next launch — just click **Resume**. Indexing resumes from where
> it stopped, so you don't reprocess everything.

### 4.8 MCP tools

Chatbox is an **MCP (Model Context Protocol) host**, so models can use external
tools. Configure servers under **Settings → MCP**:

- **Built‑in servers** — toggle the ones Chatbox provides.
- **Custom servers** — add your own. Desktop supports **stdio** servers (a local
  command Chatbox launches) as well as **remote** servers over HTTP/SSE.

> [!NOTE]
> You can install an MCP server from a link of the form
> `chatbox://mcp/install?server=...`. Chatbox opens the MCP settings with the
> server config pre-filled for you to confirm.

> [!WARNING]
> A local (stdio) MCP server is a program that runs on your computer with your
> permissions. Only add servers you trust.

### 4.9 Rendering: Markdown, LaTeX, code, and diagrams

By default Chatbox renders assistant replies richly. Under **Settings → Chat →
Function** you can toggle:

- **Markdown Rendering** (on by default)
- **LaTeX Rendering** for math (requires Markdown)
- **Mermaid Diagrams & Charts**
- **Auto-collapse code blocks**
- **Auto-preview artifacts** — automatically render generated HTML/CSS/JS
  (off by default)

---

## 5. Settings Reference

Open settings from the sidebar (desktop opens it as a dialog; mobile navigates
to a full page). The panels are:

### 5.1 General

| Setting | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| Language | UI language (14 supported, see [§7](#7-languages)) |
| Theme | Follow System / Light / Dark |
| Font Size | 10–22 px message text |
| Startup Page | **Home Page** or **Last Session** |
| Network Proxy | e.g. `socks5://127.0.0.1:6153` — routes all app traffic |
| Data Recovery | Scan storage and recover conversations missing from the list |
| Data Backup / Restore | Export & import your data (see [§6](#6-backing-up-and-moving-your-data)) |
| Diagnostic Logs | Export application logs for support |
| Error Reporting | Opt in/out of anonymous crash & event reporting |
| Launch at system startup | Desktop only |
| Automatic updates / Beta updates | Desktop only |

### 5.2 Chat

Avatars (user + default assistant), the **default system prompt**, default
**temperature** and **Top P**, default **max context message count**, background
image, **stream output**, plus display toggles (show avatar, word count, token
usage, model name, timestamp, first‑token latency) and the rendering toggles
from [§4.9](#49-rendering-markdown-latex-code-and-diagrams).

### 5.3 Default Models

Pick which model is used for each automatic job:

| Job | Default behavior |
|-----|------------------|
| **Default Chat Model** | Model for new chats |
| **Thread Naming Model** | Auto-renames conversations (defaults to chat model) |
| **Search Term Construction Model** | Builds web-search queries |
| **OCR Model** | Reads images for non-vision models (must be a vision model) |

### 5.4 Web Search

See [§4.6](#46-web-search).

### 5.5 Keyboard Shortcuts

Customize every hotkey listed in this guide (desktop only). See [§8](#8-keyboard-shortcuts).

### 5.6 Conversation context management

Under **Settings → Chat → Context Management**:

- **Auto Compaction** (on by default) — summarize old messages when context
  fills up.
- **Compaction Threshold** (40–90%, default 60%) — lower = cheaper (compacts
  earlier, may lose context); higher = preserves more context but uses more
  tokens.

---

## 6. Backing Up and Moving Your Data

All your data lives **on your device**. To move it to another machine or keep a
backup:

**Export** (Settings → General → Data Backup):

- [x] Settings
- [x] Chat History
- [x] My Copilots
- [ ] API Key & License *(only included if you tick it)*

Click **Export Selected Data** to save a `chatbox-exported-data-<date>.json`
file.

> [!CAUTION]
> If you do **not** tick **"API KEY & License"**, the export strips your API
> keys, license key, and cloud credentials. This is the safe default for sharing
> a backup — but remember those keys won't be present when you restore.

**Restore** (Settings → General → Data Restore): click **Import and Restore** and
choose the JSON file.

> [!WARNING]
> Importing **overwrites existing data** and Chatbox restarts immediately to
> apply it. Export your current data first if you might want it back.

> [!TIP]
> On desktop, Chatbox also keeps **automatic rolling backups** of its config
> file every 10 minutes and self-heals from the latest valid backup if the
> config ever becomes corrupted — so a crash won't normally lose your settings.

---

## 7. Languages

The interface is available in 14 languages: English, 简体中文 (Simplified
Chinese), 繁體中文 (Traditional Chinese), 日本語, 한국어, Русский, Deutsch,
Français, Português, Español, العربية (with right‑to‑left layout), Italiano,
Svenska, and Norsk Bokmål. Change it under **Settings → General → Language**;
Chatbox also picks a sensible default from your system language on first run.

---

## 8. Keyboard Shortcuts

Defaults (all customizable under **Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts**; `mod` =
`Cmd`/`Ctrl`):

| Action | Default |
|--------|---------|
| Show / hide the window (global) | `Alt`+`` ` `` |
| Focus input box | `mod`+`i` |
| Toggle web browsing mode | `mod`+`e` |
| New chat | `mod`+`n` |
| New image conversation | `mod`+`Shift`+`n` |
| Next conversation | `mod`+`Tab` |
| Previous conversation | `mod`+`Shift`+`Tab` |
| Refresh / reset context | `mod`+`r` |
| Open search | `mod`+`k` |
| Send message | `Enter` |
| Send without generating a reply | `Ctrl`+`Enter` |

> [!NOTE]
> On Windows and Linux the **`Alt`-based** global toggle can occasionally clash
> with other apps' `Alt` shortcuts. If that happens, change the **quick toggle**
> hotkey in Settings.

---

## 9. Team API-Key Sharing

Chatbox includes a small self-hostable proxy ("team-sharing") so a team can
share one OpenAI-style API key without distributing the secret to everyone.
Setting it up is an **administrator task** — see the Admin Guide and the
project's [`team-sharing` README](https://github.com/chatboxai/chatbox/tree/main/team-sharing).
Once it's running, each member points their provider's **API Host** at the proxy
URL and uses a shared access key.

---

## 10. Troubleshooting

Format: the exact symptom, the cause, and the fix.

### The input box won't accept typing / is slow to respond

**Cause:** a transient renderer/IME issue, most often reported on some Windows
setups and with certain input methods (community issues #3733, #3658).
**Solution:** click directly inside the input box; if it persists, restart
Chatbox. If right-click paste doesn't work in the box, use `mod`+`V`.
**Prevention:** keep Chatbox updated.

### Right-click menu in the message box closes instantly (macOS)

**Cause:** a known macOS context-menu timing issue (#3658).
**Solution:** use keyboard shortcuts for copy/cut/paste (`Cmd`+`C` / `X` / `V`)
instead of the right-click menu.

### "Network Error" with a custom Claude/Anthropic host (mobile)

**Cause:** the **"Improve Network Compatibility" (useProxy)** toggle is not
honored for custom Anthropic hosts on iOS/Android in some builds (#3739).
**Solution:** verify the API Host is exact and reachable; try a different
network. On desktop, set a **Network Proxy** in General settings if needed.

### A model replies with an error about a missing `reasoning_content` field

**Cause:** certain DeepSeek/GLM reasoning models require a `reasoning_content`
field, especially during tool-calling/web-search or multi-turn chats (#2762,
#3676).
**Solution:** update Chatbox, or switch to a non-reasoning variant of the model
for that conversation.

### A custom MCP tool call fails, or a remote HTTPS MCP server "cannot be used"

**Cause:** MCP server misconfiguration or an unsupported transport for that
build (#3728, #3725).
**Solution:** re-check the server command/URL under **Settings → MCP**. For
remote servers confirm the transport (HTTP/SSE) and that the URL is reachable.
On desktop, prefer a local **stdio** server if a remote one won't connect.

### Knowledge-base file shows "failed"

**Cause:** the file couldn't be parsed locally, produced no extractable text, or
timed out (processing has a 5‑minute per-file timeout).
**Solution:** click **Retry** on the file; if it still fails, click **Retry with
server parsing** (requires a Chatbox AI license; ≤ 50 MB). Confirm the file is a
supported type and under 100 MB.

### "No content extracted from file"

**Cause:** the document had no readable text (e.g. a scanned PDF with no text
layer, or an empty EPUB).
**Solution:** use server parsing (which can OCR), or supply a text-based version
of the document.

### Conversations are missing from the sidebar

**Cause:** the conversation list index lost track of stored sessions.
**Solution:** **Settings → General → Data Recovery → Recover Conversation List**
scans storage and rebuilds the list.

### Chatbox AI says my license is invalid or expired

**Cause:** the license key is wrong, expired, or its device activation was
revoked (error codes 20002/20004).
**Solution:** re-enter the key under **Settings → Chatbox AI**, or log in again.
Chatbox re-validates your license on every launch.

### "Rate limit exceeded" from Chatbox AI

**Cause:** you've hit the Chatbox AI service rate limit (error 20005) or daily
free quota.
**Solution:** wait and retry, or upgrade your plan. Free web-search/AI quota
refreshes daily.

### Updates won't install (Linux AppImage / store builds)

**Cause:** AppImages and app-store builds rely on external update mechanisms.
**Solution:** download the latest build manually from
[GitHub Releases](https://github.com/chatboxai/chatbox/releases). On Windows/macOS
desktop, ensure **Automatic updates** is enabled in General settings.

### Launching the AppImage breaks `Alt` shortcuts in other apps (Linux)

**Cause:** the global `Alt`+`` ` `` quick-toggle hotkey is captured globally
(#3719).
**Solution:** change the quick-toggle shortcut under **Settings → Keyboard
Shortcuts**.

---

## 11. FAQ

**Q: Where is my data stored? Does Chatbox upload my chats?**
Your conversations, settings, API keys, and knowledge bases are stored **locally
on your device**. Chats are sent only to the AI provider you chose. Optional,
anonymous crash/event reporting can be turned off in **Settings → General →
Error Reporting**.

**Q: Do I have to pay or use Chatbox AI?**
No. Chatbox AI is one optional provider. You can use your own API keys, or run
models entirely locally with Ollama/LM Studio at no cost.

**Q: Which AI providers are supported?**
20+ built-in providers (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Azure, DeepSeek, Qwen, MiniMax,
Moonshot, SiliconFlow, OpenRouter, Groq, xAI, Mistral, Perplexity, Volcengine,
ChatGLM, GitHub Copilot, Bedrock, Ollama, LM Studio) plus any custom
OpenAI/Claude/Gemini‑compatible endpoint.

**Q: Can I use Chatbox completely offline?**
Yes for inference — run a local model via Ollama or LM Studio. Note that web
search, the Chatbox AI service, and downloading new models still need a network.

**Q: How do I move everything to a new computer?**
Export your data (tick **API Key & License** if you want keys included) and
import it on the new machine — see [§6](#6-backing-up-and-moving-your-data).

**Q: Can the AI read my PDFs and Office files?**
Yes — attach them to a message, or build a Knowledge Base for larger document
sets. Supported types are listed in [§4.4](#44-attaching-files-and-images).

**Q: What's the difference between a chat session and a picture session?**
A chat session talks to a text/vision model; a picture session generates images
(default `DALL-E-3`). Start a picture session with `mod`+`Shift`+`n`.

**Q: What is a Copilot?**
A reusable assistant defined by a system prompt (e.g. "Translator"). Selecting
one starts a chat pre-loaded with its instructions. See [§4.3](#43-copilots-reusable-assistants).

**Q: How do I make long conversations cheaper?**
Leave **Auto Compaction** on and lower the **Compaction Threshold**; consider a
smaller **Max Context Message Count** in Chat settings.

**Q: Can I run models without exposing my main API key to my team?**
Yes — deploy the team-sharing proxy (admin task) and have everyone point their
**API Host** at it. See [§9](#9-team-api-key-sharing).

**Q: Is there a web version?**
Yes, at [web.chatboxai.app](https://web.chatboxai.app), plus native iOS and
Android apps.

**Q: How do I report a bug or request a feature?**
Use **Help → Search Issues** (desktop menu) or open an issue on
[GitHub](https://github.com/chatboxai/chatbox/issues). Attach exported
**Diagnostic Logs** if support asks.

**Q: How do I check for updates manually?**
**Settings → Chatbox AI/About → Check Update**, or download the latest build
from [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/chatboxai/chatbox/releases).

**Q: The app is using an old model after the provider released a new one.**
Open the provider page and click **Fetch Models** to refresh the list, then
select the new model.

---

_Generated June 2026 from chatboxai/chatbox at 9c1db31. AI-generated documentation. The library is checked by sampling (three repositories so far); this guide was not individually reviewed. Verify against the project before relying on it. Unofficial; not affiliated with or reviewed by the project._