Atoi 101

In about ten minutes you will sign in, ask Atoi for something real, answer one question, and read a result you can trust. You need a model and nothing else: no project, no setup, and no list of chats to start. Everything happens in your one thread.

#1. Sign in and connect a model

Sign in at atoi.app. Onboarding asks you to connect a model provider, because Atoi runs on your own keys or subscriptions. Pick a provider, connect it, and choose a default model.

You can change any of this later under Settings → Models. See Models. Anything still left to set up waits as a Set up row at the top of Ideas until it is done.

Checkpoint. The model picker in the composer shows the model you chose.

#2. Let Atoi ask first, or ask yourself

You land on your home thread. It never sits empty: Atoi thinks for a moment and then asks what you want to do first. Answer that card, or press ⌘N and describe your own outcome. (The + button in the header opens Ideas whenever you want to see the rest of your work.)

For this walkthrough, ask for something that needs a decision from you:

Plan a two-week trial of Atoi for my team. Ask me anything you need before you write it.

Say what you want to end up with, not how to do it. Type @ to attach a project, a document, an agent, or a computer only when the request needs it. A clear request with one source beats a pile of context.

Checkpoint. Your message appears in the thread at once, and the thread says what Atoi is doing, such as Atoi is thinking.

#3. Answer the ask

When the request holds a real choice, Atoi stops and asks. The ask card shows the question, the options, and what each one changes. Pick one. Your answer stays in the thread as part of the record, and Atoi continues on its own.

If Atoi is about to do something consequential, it shows an approval instead: the exact action, the target, and the payload. Approve it, edit it, or say no. See Asks and approvals.

Checkpoint. The card shows your answer, and the next message from Atoi builds on it.

#4. Watch the work

Short work happens in the thread. Longer work becomes a Task with its own state: queued, running, waiting on you, completed, failed, or cancelled. Close the tab if you like. The task keeps going, and the thread keeps the story.

Checkpoint. The panel's Tasks tab lists the task with its state.

#5. Read the result

A finished result comes back into your thread as a Receipt, and a Receipt answers four questions.

1. What did Atoi produce?
2. What changed?
3. Which checks ran, and what did they show?
4. What is still open?

For code, that means changed files, test output, and a preview or a screenshot. For a plan or a question, it means the current state and the evidence behind it.

"Done" and "verified" are different answers, and Atoi tells you which one it is giving. If a claim matters, ask Atoi to show the evidence.

Checkpoint. You can point at the sentence in the result that answers each of the four questions.

#6. Add a project when it helps

When several threads share the same source, files, or decisions, put them in a Project. Atoi will often propose this itself. A project adds context; it does not change how you talk to Atoi.

#If something did not happen

• No ask card appeared: your request had no real choice in it, and that is fine. Try a request with a trade-off.
• The thread stopped after your answer: open the failure notice on the message and press Resume; if a key or a balance is the cause, fix it under Settings → Models first. See Troubleshooting.
• The picker shows a model you did not choose: Atoi names a substituted model on the message. Pick the one you want and send again.

Read Home next to see how Ideas keeps all of this within reach.