Context

Growing context (chapters, branches, tasks)

The longer work runs, the longer conversations get and the more topics fork off. WorkPilot keeps things resumable through three moves: break into chapters, branch into child threads, and leave yourself a way back.

Breaking into chapters

Long conversations get slow, and the original premise blurs. That's when you start a chapter.

  1. Choose πŸ“– Continue in a new chapter from the thread menu.

  2. A summary of the story so far is generated and placed at the top of the new chapter.

  3. Recent exchanges and your equipment carry over, so you continue in the same groove.

Nothing is lost β€” earlier chapters remain and can be read back at any time.

When to cut

If you're re-explaining the same thing repeatedly, or replies feel noticeably heavy, it's time. If the topic itself changed, consider branching instead.

Branching into a child thread

Side investigations and alternative approaches belong in a child thread, so the main line stays clean.

  1. Branch from a message
    Hover the message you want to branch from and choose branch. Naming it is optional.

  2. Branch from a draft
    Use Branch from here in the composer's send options β€” your unsent text comes along.

  3. Get back to the parent
    A breadcrumb to the parent sits in the child's header, and the parent is pinned to the top of the child list.

Rather than pushing everything into one long conversation, the work splits into a parent-child graph and only the conclusions flow back β€” that is what we call graph engineering. There is a short definition in the glossary.

A child receives the conversation as it stood at the moment of branching. If the parent moves on afterwards, the child's premise doesn't change. Files and notes are always read live.

Returning results to the parent

When the child reaches a conclusion, choose βœ“ Return results to the parent from the thread menu. The content is summarised and posted back to the parent as a card. If you were working as a team, use πŸŽ– Finish: return results and disband; to close out a branch, use β‘‚ Finish: merge into the parent and close.

Turning things into tasks

Anything you decide to do can become a task. Tasks remember where they came from, so you can walk back to that conversation.

  1. Create one
    Select text in the conversation and add it as a task, or use οΌ‹New in the task list. The first line becomes the title, the rest becomes detail.

  2. Filter
    Switch between Open, All, Done and more.

  3. Jump back
    Following β€œgo to this place” from a task takes you straight to the message it came from.

Where this pays off

Capture what you didn't finish today, and tomorrow you resume by jumping from the list β€” no time spent remembering which thread it was, or roughly where.

You can copy a link that points at a specific message and paste it into a note or a task. Links display with a readable name, and clicking one jumps there β€” the target message is highlighted.

Exporting a conversation

πŸ“€ Export this thread in the thread menu writes the whole conversation out as Markdown. Useful as a first draft of a deliverable, or as an internal record. πŸ“‚ Open the storage folder shows you where it went.

Importing past conversations

Claude Code and ChatGPT conversations already on this Mac can be imported as threads, so earlier work carries over rather than being stranded.

  1. Open the history import screen.

  2. Select the conversations you want (search and select-all are available).

  3. Run the import β€” they appear in your thread list.

Already-imported items are marked so nothing gets pulled in twice.

Where to go next

  • Knowledge β€” turn what you learned into context for next time
  • Skills β€” turn a settled workflow into something reusable
  • AI team β€” split work instead of branching it