{"schemaVersion":"1","contentVersion":"2026-10-18.1","slug":"controls-chat-decisions","title":"Chat approvals, questions, goals, and recovery","summary":"Respond to the assistant’s requests for decisions, connect an agent account, manage goals, and recover interrupted work.","category":"Control reference","minutes":6,"prerequisites":["Open the named screen in Rumata. Available controls may depend on your account, permissions, and resource state."],"sections":[{"id":"approval","title":"Permission and plan decisions","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Read the requested operation and any listed paths or patterns before choosing a permission response."},{"type":"table","headers":["Control","What it does"],"rows":[["Allow Once","Approve this permission request for the current action."],["Allow Always","Approve the runtime’s remembered permission rule for the displayed request pattern."],["Deny","Reject the requested operation. The assistant may need another approach."],["Looks good, continue","Approve the displayed plan and start the next stage of work."],["I’d like changes","Request a revision. Tell the assistant what should change before implementation proceeds."]]}]},{"id":"questions","title":"Answer a question","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"The assistant can present choices, text fields, or a dedicated credential field. Selecting or typing an answer does not send it until you submit."},{"type":"table","headers":["Control","What it does"],"rows":[["Choice buttons","Pick one option, or several when the question permits multiple choices."],["Custom answer / labeled fields","Provide your own answer or complete the requested fields."],["Masked secret field","Enter a credential only in the designated secret control. Submission stores it as a project secret and supplies a reference to the assistant."],["Send Answer","Submit answers for the displayed questions and let the assistant continue. Each question needs an answer."],["Reject","Reject the pending question without submitting the drafted answer."]]}]},{"id":"authentication","title":"Recover interrupted work","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Resume an interrupted response after the development machine reconnects."},{"type":"table","headers":["Control","What it does"],"rows":[["Continue from the last step","Send a continuation request after an interrupted response, once the [development machine](/guides/development#machine) reconnects. The button changes to [Continuation sent](/guides/controls-chat-decisions#authentication) after success."],["Technical details","Expand the recovery error to diagnose the interruption."]]}]},{"id":"goals","title":"Goal controls","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"When the runtime provides a goal, the goal panel tracks its objective and any usage budget as work continues."},{"type":"table","headers":["Control","What it does"],"rows":[["Expand / Collapse goal details","Read the full objective, tokens used, elapsed time, and budget progress when a budget exists."],["Pause goal","Change an active goal to paused."],["Block goal","Mark an active goal blocked because it cannot currently progress."],["Resume goal","Reactivate a paused or blocked goal."],["Clear goal","Remove the tracked goal. This is a direct action without a second confirmation in the panel."],["Usage limited / Budget reached / Complete","Read why the goal is no longer active. These states do not show the same Resume button as a paused or blocked goal."]]}]},{"id":"context","title":"Context and compaction","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Context is the information the model is currently using. Tokens are the units used to measure that information."},{"type":"table","headers":["Control","What it does"],"rows":[["Context usage percentage","Open session details including model, context limit, token breakdown, message counts, and the stored transcript."],["Expand / Collapse compaction details","Read why Rumata suggests shortening the active context in a long conversation."],["Compact now","Send the runtime’s compact command to summarize the working context."],["Dismiss compaction suggestion","Hide the suggestion for that session while the current view remains open."]]}]}],"technical":[],"related":["controls-chat","troubleshooting","system-explorer-secrets"],"sources":["components/chat/components/ChatApprovalPanel.tsx","components/chat/components/ChatQuestionToolView.tsx","components/chat/components/AgentAuthenticationCard.tsx","components/chat/components/AgentRecoveryCard.tsx","components/chat/components/AgentGoalPanel.tsx","components/chat/components/ContextCompactionSuggestion.tsx","components/chat/components/ChatContextDetails.tsx"],"updated":"2026-09-06","audience":"general","media":[],"video":null,"url":"https://docs.rumata.dev/guides/controls-chat-decisions"}