The Overskill editor splits into three main parts. Once you know what each one does, you'll move through it without thinking.
The chat panel (left side)
This is where you talk to the AI. Type what you want to build, change, or fix, hit send, and watch it happen.
What you can do here:
- Describe a new feature —
Add a calendar view
- Ask a question —
Why isn't the search working?
- Undo or redo — every change creates a version you can roll back to
- Pick up where you left off — your chat lives with the app, so closing the tab loses nothing
Below the chat input, you'll see suggestion chips — quick prompts the AI thinks you might want next. Tap one to send it as a message.
Starting a new chat on the same app
Most of the time you don't need to. A long chat doesn't hurt you: as it grows, the AI keeps the recent, relevant part in view and summarizes the older part on its own.
When you do want a clean slate on the same app, look at the small row of icons under the message box: the last one is a speech bubble with a plus in it, and hovering it says Start a new chat. On a phone, tap + next to the message box and pick New chat. And if a chat ever gets too large to continue, the notice in the transcript has a Start a new chat button right in it.
This one is still rolling out, so it may not be on your account yet. If you don't see it in any of those three places, it isn't switched on for you — get in touch and we'll help you pick things up.
Here's exactly what that does, and doesn't do:
- Nothing is deleted. Your app, its files, its data and everything already said in the chat all stay put — you can scroll back and read the whole thing.
- The AI stops carrying the old conversation forward. From your next message on, it works from your current files and what you ask, not from everything that came before.
- It is not an undo. It won't roll back a change the AI already made.
Two things that look like this and aren't:
- A recent change broke something — that's version history, not a new chat. Open it with the history icon in the top toolbar, find the last good version, and hit Restore. See Version history and rollbacks.
- You want to build something genuinely different — start a new app. It gets its own chat, its own data, and its own link.
The live preview (right side)
This is your app, running in real time. Every change you make in chat updates this preview within a few seconds.
You can:
- Click around like a real visitor — sign in, add data, test forms
- Switch between pages using the Pages menu at the top of the preview
- Open it in a new tab to see how it'd feel without the editor frame
- Switch between desktop and mobile — see how it looks on a phone without leaving the editor
The top toolbar
Across the top of the editor:
- App name — opens the app menu, with shortcuts into the Dashboard, Deployment, Integrations (connect Slack, Stripe, Gmail, and so on) and Settings. To rename the app, go to Dashboard → Settings → App Name.
- Dashboard / Preview — the two tabs in the middle switch the right side between your app's dashboard and the live preview.
- Pages — switches what the preview is showing
- Theme picker — a visual way to change colors, fonts, and dark/light mode. In limited release: it is not yet available to everyone, so you may not have this icon. If you don't, ask for style changes in chat instead.
- Version history — the history icon; see every saved version and restore one
- Share — get a link to send to teammates or testers
- Publish — make the current version live for real users
The Dashboard
Click the Dashboard tab at the top of the editor. A sidebar on the left lists every part of your app you can manage. Some of the most used:
- Data — view, add, edit, and export the records your app stores. There's no import button here: to bring a spreadsheet in, attach the CSV file in the chat and ask the AI to import it. See Importing data into your app.
- Domains — point your own web address at your app
- Users — see who has signed up and control who can see and edit what
- Settings — your app's name, embedding, and other app-wide options
Keyboard tips
- Hit / anywhere on the help center to focus the search bar
- In the chat box, Enter sends your message and Cmd + Enter (or Ctrl + Enter) starts a new line
Mobile
On a phone, the chat and preview stack vertically. Tap the chat at the bottom to bring it up, type, and the preview updates above. Most builds are easier on a desktop, but small fixes and quick checks work fine on mobile.
What to try next
- How to ask the AI for changes — get better results with clearer prompts
- Where did plan mode go? — the Plan/Build toggle was removed; here's how to plan something out without it