Terms used in Char

Char uses these names to distinguish your writing, conversations, and work. The guides explain which controls are available in your version; a definition here does not mean every interaction is available yet.

The app

Term	What it means
Char	The product: the AI notepad that gets things done.
Char desktop	Char for macOS (short: desktop). Like all of Char, it is local-first: your edits save on the device instantly, keep working offline, and sync in the background when they change.
Char mobile	Char for your phone (short: mobile). In the private beta it is a text editor with sync: Pages and daily notes, editable offline and synced with Char desktop.
Charlie	Char’s AI assistant, which uses permitted context and available tools to answer questions and take action. Charlie is cloud-first: it runs in the cloud, so on Pro and Max it keeps working with your devices closed.
Home	Char’s main surface, where you keep loose thoughts and what needs your attention.
Upcoming	The Briefing shown on Home: today’s and tomorrow’s events, due todos, and context to prepare for them.

Writing and conversations

Term	What it means
Page	A document for writing, thinking, gathering information, or organizing a project. Create one with New page; browse them in All pages. A chat is a separate item.
Daily note	The Page for one date.
Chat	A conversation with Charlie. Follow up in the same chat to refine the same work.
Deck	The row of chats and other focused items you have open.
Card	A view of a chat, action, or source on Home or another Page. Open a chat Card to continue its conversation, review Prompts, and respond in the composer.
Chip	A small inline link to an item inside a Page or composer. It references the same item rather than making a copy.
Context	Material Charlie can use for a request, including selections, attachments, accessible Pages, and relevant memory.
Scratchpad	A reviewable draft, such as a proposed Page edit or email reply. Page edits offer Apply, Discard, or saving as a new Page; saving an email draft does not send it.

For example, a project plan is a Page. A chat about the plan can appear as a Card in that Page and in the Deck. Both refer to the same chat; the plan and the chat remain separate items. See Write and find pages and Work with Charlie. A Prompt is a question or decision inside the work you are reviewing. A Clarification asks for information; a Confirmation asks for approval. A suggested next step also waits for your choice, even in Keep going mode. Removing a Card or Chip removes its presentation, not the item it references. Closing a chat in the Deck does not mean its work has stopped.

Work and timing

Term	What it means
Todo	Your own action item, recorded as a checkbox in a Page. Checking it records completion; it does not ask Charlie to do it.
Schedule	A prompt Charlie runs for you: once, on a recurring cadence, or when something happens in a connected app. Manage them in Settings → Schedules. A Schedule can use a Skill, but does not need one.
Reminder	A one-time Schedule that brings something back at a time you choose. It fires in the cloud and notifies every device signed in to your account. Ask Charlie to “remind me”.
Briefing	A built-in Schedule that writes the brief of today and tomorrow at midnight, then rewrites it when your events or todos change. It appears on Home as Upcoming.
Tidying	A built-in Schedule that proposes what to keep, move, or remove from Home. Nothing moves until you accept it.
Debriefing	A built-in Schedule that recaps your day on weekday evenings: how you spent it, what got done, and what’s still open.
Remembering	A built-in Schedule that turns your activity, chats, and meetings into History as it happens.
Dreaming	A built-in Schedule that runs at 4 AM in your time zone. It summarizes the day before in History by part of the day, then updates Collections.
Ask first / Keep going	How Charlie acts. Ask first asks for your confirmation before critical actions such as sending, paying, or deleting; reading needs no confirmation, including web searches and web pages from Charlie’s own search results or links you gave; other web pages need a yes. Keep going finishes the work within the access you granted without asking.
Confirmation	A request for approval before a potentially irreversible action. The dependent action waits for your answer.
Clarification	A question for missing information. Optional questions let Charlie continue with a stated assumption; required questions wait for your answer.

To have Charlie do something, describe the job in a chat. To record your own next steps, use a checklist. For time-triggered work, see Schedule work.

Capabilities

Term	What it means
Apps	Services and tools you connect to Char (connected apps). A connection gives access to the account and capabilities you permit.
Skill	A reusable package of instructions and optional resources for a specialized workflow. A Skill has no schedule of its own.
Agents	Other AI agents, such as coding agents. Charlie can delegate work to them and report back.
Charlie’s computer	A computer in the cloud where Charlie works, available on the Max plan with up to 750 hours a month. It sleeps after 10 minutes without work and starts again when Charlie needs it.
Computer use	Charlie operating apps on your Mac, with your permission.

Memory

Term	What it means
Charpedia	Charlie’s memory, combining History and Collections. Memory is part of the Pro and Max plans; the Free plan keeps no memory.
Awareness	Char desktop’s capture of permitted on-screen activity so Charlie can remember what you worked on. It is part of the Pro and Max plans. You can pause it and exclude apps and websites in Settings → Awareness.
History	Charlie’s episodic memory: what happened, day by day, built from Awareness, chats, and meetings. Today shows individual memories; past days are summarized by part of the day. Memories are not edited after they are written; to correct something, tell Charlie.
Memory	One entry in History: a short summary of something that happened, with its app, time, and source.
Summary	For past days, History summarizes each part of the day (overnight, morning, afternoon, evening). The individual memories remain the record.
Source	What a memory or a fact came from, such as a website, chat, or meeting.
Collections	Charlie’s semantic memory: a wiki of what Charlie knows about people, organizations, projects, and meetings, citing the History it came from. Each one is a Page: its details at the top, then What Charlie knows, then your own notes. A correction you make through Charlie wins everywhere.
Contact	A person or organization in Collections. Its Page is the contact: there is no separate contact record.

See Connect apps and Awareness and privacy for the controls available to you.

Getting started

Write and organize

Work with Charlie

Settings and privacy

Help and reference

The app

Writing and conversations

Work and timing

Capabilities

Memory

​The app

​Writing and conversations

​Work and timing

​Capabilities

​Memory

The app

Writing and conversations

Work and timing

Capabilities

Memory