POLYROB 1.7.7: Separate Chats on Every App

2026-11-12

POLYROB 1.7.7 lets you open a separate chat with /new and leave your main chat untouched, on every chat app and in the terminal. The chat you leave stays open and keeps its work, so a second subject no longer interrupts the first.

This post covers what you can do after updating to 1.7.7 (released 2026-11-10), the five commands behind it, and the behavior changes to know before you update. Every statement comes from the project’s release notes and the user guide at the v1.7.7 tag.

What are separate chats in POLYROB 1.7.7?

A direct chat has one main chat. It is continuous, and it is where you are until you choose another. In a direct chat or the terminal, /new opens a separate chat and stops nothing. The chat you leave keeps its work and its history ([email protected], Changed).

Use a separate chat for a subject you want apart from the main one: a long research task, a one-off question, a job you do not want mixed into your usual context.

Which commands manage separate chats?

Five commands work on every seat (docs/guide/[email protected]):

You send	What happens
`/new [name]`	Opens a separate chat and puts you in it. The chat you left stays open and keeps its work.
`/chats`	Lists your chats: the main one first, each with a number and a tap.
`/chat <number or name>`	Puts you in that chat. `/chat main` goes back.
`/rename <name>`	Names the chat you are in.
`/close`	Closes the separate chat you are in and puts you back in the main chat.

The main chat does not close. A group chat has one conversation and no separate chats, and there /new still restarts the one conversation.

How do you know which chat a message comes from?

Your next line always goes to the chat you are in. A line that arrives from a chat you are not in starts with that chat’s name in brackets, for example [main]. If you work in two chats at once, you can tell which one is answering.

/chats also lists the chats you have in the other places you talk to the agent, so a chat you started in the terminal shows up next to one from a chat app.

How do separate chats work in the terminal?

The terminal has the same chats and the same commands, with one difference: a terminal run stays in the chat it started in. /new, /chat and /close end the run and start the terminal again in the chat you chose. With piped input, the switch applies to your next start (docs/guide/[email protected]).

Two flags choose the chat at launch (cli/[email protected]):

polyrob --new           # start in a new separate chat
polyrob --chat 2        # start in one of your chats (a number or a name from /chats)

polyrob with no flag starts in the chat you used last, and the main chat by default. /sessions is now an old name of /chats, and /clear empties a terminal run’s context while keeping the chat.

What changed in the console?

The console gets the same model (docs/guide/[email protected], [email protected]):

At 1024 px and wider, a column beside the chat lists your chats, main first.
Chat opens your main chat. The Chats page has a New chat link for a separate one, marks the main chat, and shows the name of a named chat.
Chats has Rename and Close buttons.
The chat box runs the same verbs. /chats lists your chats with the page of each, and /new [name] names the next chat you start.
The answer to a command typed in a chat stays after a reload, with its buttons, and Load older messages brings back earlier messages.

What else is in POLYROB 1.7.7?

The release is large. These are the parts an owner notices first ([email protected]):

One /config grammar on every seat: list, get, explain, search, set, unset, check. Chat apps gain search and check, and the terminal gains /config unset.
Pairing requests in /inbox: a stranger’s request appears there and you get one message when a new person asks. Neither shows the code.
Slack and Discord feedback: an eyes reaction while the agent works, removed after, and a cross-mark reaction when the turn failed. It applies to a DM or a room line that names the bot.
Slack owner commands: they reach the agent through the app’s one slash command. A command in the app’s DM is a private line, and one in a channel is a room line that names the bot.
Browser upload: the agent can upload a file from the workspace with browser_upload_file, and gains type, hover, drag, checkbox and wait actions.
Scheduled scripts: cronjob_schedule can run the agent’s own .py or .sh workspace file on a schedule in the code sandbox, with no model turn. A bad exit code or a timeout is a failed run and alerts.

For the Slack side, see the Slack AI agent guide.

What should you check before you update?

Four changes alter behavior you may rely on ([email protected]):

/new no longer restarts a direct chat. If you used it to reset, use /clear in the terminal, or open a new chat and close the old one.
/task <goal> is deprecated. It still works for one release: it opens a separate chat that starts with the goal and says so.
Some commands have one name. /recap, /halt and /jobs are old names of /journey, /pause and /job. They still work and leave /help and the menus.
With pairing off, a paired sender has no access on any chat app. Slack, Discord, Signal and WhatsApp kept access before; Telegram did not. The paired list is kept for when pairing is on again.

How do you update to POLYROB 1.7.7?

The update flow is the one in the upgrading guide (docs/guide/[email protected]):

polyrob update --check            # exit 0 up to date, 10 newer, 1 unknown/error
polyrob update --dry-run          # print the plan, change nothing
polyrob update --apply            # snapshot, install, migrate, verify, auto-rollback

--apply is available for a git checkout or an editable install. Other install methods get manual instructions for that method. New to POLYROB? Start at the install page, then read the self-hosted AI agent guide for the limits you should set first.

Later releases are listed on What’s new, and the full list of changes for this one is in the 1.7.7 changelog.

FAQ

Does /new in 1.7.7 delete my main chat?

No. In a direct chat or the terminal, /new opens a separate chat and stops nothing. The main chat keeps its work and history, and /chat main takes you back.

Do separate chats work in group chats?

No. A group chat has one conversation and no separate chats. In a group, /new still restarts the one conversation.

How do I list and close my chats?

Send /chats to list them, each with a number. Send /close inside a separate chat to close it and return to the main chat. The main chat cannot be closed.

Is the old /sessions command gone?

No. /sessions still works as an old name of /chats (docs/guide/[email protected]).

POLYROB is an open-source AI agent you run and own. Install it or read the docs.