In-Chat Directives

Panel chat mode (council chat <panel>) supports in-line directives for targeted questions and inline debates.

Directives Overview

Directive	Syntax	Description
Mention	@<slug> <message>	Address specific experts.
Convene	@convene <topic>	Run a structured 4-phase debate inline.
Exit	exit, /quit, quit, /exit	End the chat session.

@<slug> — Mention Expert

Address one or more experts by their slug. Only the mentioned experts respond.

Syntax

@<slug> [additional @<slug>...] <message>

• Slugs must appear contiguously at the start of the message.
• Multiple mentions allowed: @cto @cfo <message>
• Unknown slugs raise an error listing available experts.
• Display-name mentions (@"Sasha Lin") are not supported — use slugs only.

Examples

# Single mention
@cto What's the ROI on this refactor?

# Multiple mentions
@security @perf Review this authentication flow for vulnerabilities and latency.

# Invalid (mention not at start)
Ask @cto about the timeline.
# → Treated as plain text, all experts respond

Behavior

• Only the mentioned experts respond.
• Repeated mentions are deduplicated, preserving first-occurrence order.
• Case-sensitive match: @CTO ≠ @cto.

Available Experts

Check which experts are in your panel:

council chat tech-review
# → Startup message lists available experts and their slugs

Or list panel composition:

council panel show tech-review

@convene <topic> — Inline Debate

Trigger a structured 4-phase debate within a chat session. Useful for diving deep on a specific topic without leaving chat mode.

Syntax

@convene <topic>

• Reserved keyword: @convene always triggers a debate, even if an expert has slug convene.
• Requires a topic: @convene alone raises an error.

Examples

@convene Should we migrate to microservices or stick with the monolith?

@convene What's the best authentication strategy for our new API?

Behavior

1. Council spawns a structured debate (same as council convene <panel>)
2. Runs 4 phases: Hypothesis Formation → Deliberation → Convergence → Synthesis
3. Returns control to chat after synthesis
4. Synthesis result is added to chat history (experts remember it)

Use Cases

• Exploratory chat then focused debate on a specific sub-question
• Switching between free-form brainstorming and rigorous analysis
• Nesting debates within a longer advisory session

Exit Tokens

End the chat session with any of:

• exit
• quit
• /exit
• /quit

Case-insensitive. Pressing Ctrl+C also exits cleanly.

Chat Startup Help

When you start a panel chat, Council displays:

• Available expert slugs (for @mention)
• Reminder: @convene <topic> for inline debates
• Exit instructions

Example:

$ council chat tech-review

Available experts: cto, cfo, security
Use @<slug> to address a specific expert, or @convene <topic> to run a structured debate inline.
Type 'exit' or press Ctrl+C to end the session.

> _

General Messages (No Directive)

Messages without a directive are broadcast to all experts — every expert in the panel responds.

> What are the trade-offs of adopting TypeScript?
# → All experts respond

Errors

Unknown Expert Slug

> @unknown-expert What's your take?
Error: Expert "unknown-expert" is not in this panel. Available experts: cto, cfo, security

Display-Name Mention (Not Supported)

> @"Chief Technology Officer" What's the timeline?
Error: Display-name mentions like @"..." are not supported — address an expert by slug instead. Available experts: cto, cfo, security

Convene Without Topic

> @convene
Error: @convene requires a topic. Usage: @convene <topic>

Related

• Commands Reference — council chat
• Panel YAML Format — Expert slug definitions