# Threads > Start a Thread, steer it with teammates, fork, archive or delete it, and use its Digest, Files, Notes and Portals panels. Source: https://docs.whorl.work/threads A Thread is one lasting conversation with an agent, and it is the unit of work in Whorl. Each Thread has its own history, its own folder in [Files](/files) and its own Environment where the agent runs code. Everyone who can see a Thread can work in it, so a teammate can tell the agent what to change instead of receiving a copy of the result. A Thread keeps going after you close the tab. Come back later and the work has continued. ## Start a Thread 1. Choose **New thread** in the sidebar, or press ⌘N (Alt+N on Windows and Linux). 2. Type your request in the message box, which starts with "Ask anything, or @ to mention". 3. Add context if you need it: - Attach files with the attach button. **Upload from computer** adds a local file. **Choose from Files** adds a file from the Space. - Type `@` to mention a person, a Captain or another Thread, to tell the agent to use a Skill, or to give it a Plugin's tools. - Use the folder picker to choose a folder of the Space for the Thread to work in. Without one, the Thread works in the whole Space. 4. Send the message. A Thread belongs to the Space you start it in and never moves to another Space. Its folder is set when it starts. ## Steer a Thread together Everyone in the Space can open a Thread and send it messages. Everyone sees the same messages, the agent's replies and tool activity live, also after a reconnect. - **Presence.** Avatars show who else has the Thread open. Captains and Threads that are working in it appear as well. - **Whose access the agent uses.** The agent acts for whoever sent each message. A teammate's message runs with their access, never yours. - **Messages while the agent works.** The send button reads **Queue message**. A queued message appears in the **Message queue** above the composer and sends when the current run finishes. Open its menu to **Edit queued message** or **Remove queued message**. With an empty composer, the button becomes **Stop**, which stops the run. - **Notes to teammates.** If your message mentions a person, a Captain or a Thread and does not address the agent, Whorl posts it as a note for them and does not start the agent. Attach a file, or mention the agent by name, to make the message go to the agent. A Thread's status line says what the agent is doing. Items that need you, such as a question, show in the **Needs you** section of the Digest and in [Activity](/activity). ## Panels Beside the conversation, a Thread shows four panels. | Panel | What it holds | | ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Digest** | Where the work stands: a short overview, what needs you, tasks, what the Thread made, and what it cost. See below. | | **Files** | The Thread's files. Open a file in a tab to preview it beside the conversation. | | **Notes** | The Space's [Notes](/notes), in tabs next to the conversation. | | **Portals** | Live views of apps the agent is running. See [Portals](/portals). | ### Digest The Digest is the page you read to catch up. It lists: - **Needs you:** questions and decisions waiting on you. - **Tasks:** the work the agent tracks, with each task's status (To do, In progress, Done, Cancelled or Failed), plus any subagents and child Threads. - **Made:** the files, Notes and other items the Thread created. - **Usage:** what the Thread spent, with the time it estimates it saved. The Digest says how long the work took once the Thread finishes. See [Usage and insights](/usage-and-insights). ### Environment The agent runs in the Thread's Environment, a computer that Whorl replaces when needed without losing the Thread or its files. An Environment goes to sleep when it has been idle for a while. If a Thread shows a **Wake** button, choose it to start the Environment again. See [Environments](/agents/environments). ## Child Threads and subagents An agent can start helpers for focused or long work: - A **subagent** shares the Thread's Environment and returns one answer. Open it from the Digest to read what it did. - A **child Thread** is a full Thread with its own Environment. It acts as the same person with only their access, and the parent Thread is woken when it finishes. Both show under **Tasks** in the Digest. A child Thread belongs to the same owner as its parent. ## Fork a Thread Open the Thread's menu and choose **Fork** to start a new Thread from the current conversation. The new Thread shows **Forked from** and a link to the original. Fork when you want to try a different direction without changing the first Thread. ## Rename, archive and delete Open the Thread's menu, or right-click its row in the sidebar. | Action | Who can do it | | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Rename** | Anyone who can open the Thread. | | **Pin**, **Copy link**, **Mark as read** | Anyone who can open the Thread. | | **Archive** and **Unarchive** | Only the Thread's owner. | | **Delete** | Only the Thread's owner. Whorl asks you to confirm because it cannot be undone. | The owner is the person who started the Thread. For a child Thread it is the owner of its parent. For a Thread an Automation starts, it is the person the Automation runs as. For a Crew Thread it is the person who created the Captain. Space owners and Organization owners and admins cannot archive, restore or delete someone else's Thread. ## Related - [Captains](/captains) run Crew Threads for longer work. - [Automations](/automations) start or wake a Thread on a schedule or an event. - [Who can see what](/access) explains why everyone in a Space sees a Thread.