Sessions and chat
On this page
Helm does not run a model. When you send a chat message or start a build, Helm hands it off to Claude Code or Codex. The host runs in a terminal on your computer. This running host is a session.
Select the host
In the chat dock, use Hand off to to select Claude Code or Codex. Helm
keeps your choice. The default comes from defaultHost in
Configuration.
Send a chat message
- Click the chat dock at the bottom of the window, or press
/. - Type your message, or click a suggestion.
- Press Enter, or click Send.
Helm starts the host with your message and opens the session in a new tab. On a project tab, Helm adds the project name and ID to the message.
You can also click + (New chat) in the tab bar. A chat tab opens. Messages in that tab also go to the host.
The chat dock is not shown on chat, terminal, session and record tabs.
If Helm is in offline mode, it cannot start a host. Helm then opens a chat tab and keeps your message. Start the server, and send the message again.
The Sessions panel
The Sessions panel on the right lists your sessions. To show or hide it, click Show sessions or Hide sessions in the tab bar.
| Section | Contents |
|---|---|
| Agent sessions | Sessions that Helm started, with their host and status |
| Open chats | Your open chat tabs |
| Recent | Earlier sessions |
The N live badge counts the sessions that are running or waiting.
The Context window and Tokens today values at the bottom of the panel are examples. They do not show your real usage.
Session status
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| starting | Helm is starting the host |
| running | The host is working |
| waiting | The host did not write output for 6 seconds |
| exited | The host stopped with exit code 0 |
| failed | The host stopped with an error, or it did not start |
"waiting" can mean that the host asks you a question. It can also mean that the host finished its turn. Open the session to see which.
The session view
Click a session to open it. The session view shows the prompt, the host, the project, the task and the exit code.
- Click Open live chat to see the terminal of the session. Answer the questions of the host there. Helm never answers for you.
- When the session ends, its terminal closes. The view stays available.
- A build session also shows the handoff that the build skill writes, in the Handoff panel.
Helm keeps the last 200 ended sessions in ~/.helm/sessions/.
Builds
A build starts the TDT software-production build skill for one task:
/tdt-software-production-build <project> <task> in Claude Code, or
$tdt-software-production-build <project> <task> in Codex.
Builds start from a plugin, for example the Kanban board of
helm-plugin-software-production. See Plugins. Before a plugin starts a
build or a chat, Helm asks you to allow it. Helm does not read task files itself. The
build skill reads the task again and refuses work that is not ready.
Terminals
To open a terminal in the workspace folder, click Terminal in the Tools group of the left rail. A Terminal tab opens.
- The terminal starts in the workspace folder. It is not sandboxed: you can go to other folders, and commands run with your user permissions.
- On Linux and macOS, Helm uses
$SHELL, or/bin/bash. On Windows, Helm uses%COMSPEC%, orpowershell.exe. - Terminals need node-pty. See Troubleshooting.