---
title: "Organize, find, share, and export chats"
description: "How to start, rename, pin, archive, delete, select, and move chats into projects in Bearly, read the sidebar, use Needs attention, search chats and files, use the command menu, download a chat as Markdown, share a chat as a Page, ask Bearly to manage chats for you, and open What's New."
canonical: "https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/chat/organize/"
markdown: "https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/chat/organize.md"
---

# Organize, find, share, and export chats

HTML: [https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/chat/organize/](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/chat/organize/)

> How to start, rename, pin, archive, delete, select, and move chats into projects in Bearly, read the sidebar, use Needs attention, search chats and files, use the command menu, download a chat as Markdown, share a chat as a Page, ask Bearly to manage chats for you, and open What's New.

Chats live in the left sidebar, grouped by project, pins, and date. This page covers starting and naming chats, keeping the list tidy, finding anything you wrote or uploaded, exporting and sharing a chat, and having Bearly do the filing for you. Everything here works in the web app, phone browser, desktop app, and iOS app, except dragging chats into projects, which needs a mouse or trackpad.

## Start a new chat

**Use it when:** starting a new topic, or keeping unrelated work in separate chats so each one stays focused.
**You need:** Nothing extra.



1. Select **New Chat** in the sidebar — opens the new-chat screen, outside any project.
2. Or press <kbd>⌘</kbd> <kbd>N</kbd> or <kbd>⌘</kbd> <kbd>⇧</kbd> <kbd>N</kbd> (<kbd>Ctrl</kbd> <kbd>N</kbd> or <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> <kbd>Shift</kbd> <kbd>N</kbd> on Windows and Linux; a web browser may keep these keys for its own windows), use the pen icon in the chat header (shown when the sidebar is closed), or choose **New** in the command menu — from a project chat, these start the new chat in the same project.
3. To pick a project on the new-chat screen, use the project chip under the composer ("Start this chat in a project") — search for a project, choose from **Recent** or **All projects**, create one with **New project**, or choose **No project**. The project is fixed once the chat starts.
4. Type your first message and send.



**What you get:** A new chat, listed in the sidebar once you send the first message. Until then the empty draft shows only on the device where you opened it.
**Limits:** Pressing the shortcut while you're already on the new-chat screen just puts the cursor in the composer and shows "You're already in a new chat".
**Combines with:** [Projects](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/projects.md) to give a group of chats shared files, instructions, and settings.

## Name and rename chats

Bearly titles each chat automatically from your first message, in the background. If titling fails, it tries again later, and it repairs a chat still named "New Chat" with a number when you open it.



1. Click the title in the chat header and type a new one — <kbd>Enter</kbd> saves, <kbd>Esc</kbd> puts back the old title.
2. Or open **More actions** (the **…** on the chat's sidebar row) → **Rename**, or choose **Rename** in the command menu.
3. To have Bearly write a fresh title from the conversation so far, open the command menu and choose **Generate New Name**.



**Limits:** An empty title isn't saved.

## Read the sidebar

The list is grouped, top to bottom:

- **Projects**, with their chats.
- **Pinned** chats.
- Everything else by last activity: **Today**, **This Week**, **This Month**, then each earlier month of this year, then each earlier year.

A chat's row can show:

| Indicator | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Accent bar on the left | Unread replies |
| Spinner ("Bearly is working") | An answer is running |
| Shield ("Waiting for approval" or "Shell approval needed") | Bearly is waiting for you to approve an action |
| Lock ("Approve this device to open this chat") | An end-to-end encrypted chat this device can't open yet |
| Archive icon | The chat is archived |

Pins and archives are saved to your account, so the sidebar looks the same on every device.

## Use the More actions menu

Each chat row has a **More actions** menu (**…**). It appears on hover, and is always visible on touch devices and for the chat you have open.

| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Rename** | Edit the title in place. <kbd>Enter</kbd> or clicking away saves. |
| **Pin** / **Unpin** | Keep the chat at the top, under **Pinned**. |
| **Move to project...** | Move the chat into a project, or out of one. Shown when you have projects. |
| **Archive** / **Unarchive** | Take the chat out of the main list without deleting it. |
| **Mark unread** / **Mark read** | Flag a chat to come back to. Shown once the chat has activity. |
| **Delete** | Delete the chat after you confirm. Archived chats show "Delete · unarchive first" instead. |
| **Select** | Start choosing several chats at once. |

## Archive chats

Archiving keeps a chat but takes it out of your everyday list.



1. Choose **Archive** in the chat's **More actions** menu, or select several chats and choose **Archive** — they leave the main list.
2. To see them, select **Archives** (with its count) above the account menu at the bottom of the sidebar — archived chats are grouped by the date you archived them, each with its project.
3. With eight or more archived chats, use **Filter archives** to narrow the list.
4. Select the back arrow (**Back to all chats**) to return.



**Limits:** An archived chat can't be deleted until you unarchive it ("Unarchive this chat before deleting it."). Projects can be archived too, and a chat can't be moved into an archived project.

## Delete chats

Deleting a chat removes the conversation, its files, and its memory for good.

**Use it when:** you don't need the chat or anything in it again.



1. Choose **Delete** in the chat's **More actions** menu, or press <kbd>⌘</kbd> <kbd>D</kbd> (<kbd>Ctrl</kbd> <kbd>D</kbd>) in the open chat, or choose **Delete** in the command menu.
2. Read the **Delete Chat** confirmation — it names the chat and warns that its files and memory will be lost and that this can't be undone.
3. Select **Delete**.



To delete the open chat and start a fresh one in one step, use **Delete & New** in the command menu, or press <kbd>⌘</kbd> <kbd>⇧</kbd> <kbd>D</kbd> (<kbd>Ctrl</kbd> <kbd>Shift</kbd> <kbd>D</kbd>).


A deleted chat's messages, files, and memory are gone. Archive instead if you might need it later.


**Limits:** Unarchive a chat before deleting it.

## Select several chats



1. Open any chat's **More actions** menu and choose **Select** — checkboxes appear, and the header reads "Select chats", then the number selected.
2. Check chats, or use **Select all** — it selects only the chats visible in the current view.
3. Choose **Move** (shown when you have projects), **Archive** (**Unarchive** in Archives), or **Delete**.
4. Select **Cancel**, press <kbd>Esc</kbd>, or switch views to stop selecting.



**Limits:** Bulk **Delete** skips archived chats and says how many it skipped. If every selected chat is archived, it asks you to unarchive them first.

## Move chats into projects



1. Choose **Move to project...** in a chat's **More actions** menu, or select several chats and choose **Move** — the **Move to project** dialog opens.
2. Search with **Search projects...**, or pick from **Pinned**, **Recent**, or **All projects**. The chat's current project is marked **Current**. Arrow keys and <kbd>Enter</kbd> work too.
3. To take a chat out of its project, choose **Remove from project** — it goes back to the main chat list.



With a mouse or trackpad, you can also drag a chat onto a project in the sidebar, or drag a project chat onto the main list to remove it from the project. Dragging isn't available on touch devices.

**Combines with:** [Projects](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/projects.md) for project settings, files, and sharing.

## Needs attention

When other chats are waiting for an approval or have unread replies, a **Needs attention** chip with a count appears in the sidebar. Select it to replace the list with **Awaiting approval** and then **Unread** chats, newest first, including project chats with their project name. Select it again to show all chats.

**Use it when:** several chats are running tools at once and you want to see which ones need you.
**Limits:** The chat you have open and archived chats aren't listed. Approvals show only for chats that have been active since you opened Bearly.

## Search chats and files

Search finds messages, files you uploaded, and files Bearly created, across all your chats.

**Use it when:** you remember what was said or what a file contained, but not which chat it was in.
**You need:** Nothing extra. Search works whether or not **Memories** is on.



1. Select the magnifier at the top of the sidebar, or press <kbd>⌘</kbd> <kbd>F</kbd> (<kbd>Ctrl</kbd> <kbd>F</kbd>) — the search box opens with "Search chats and files...".
2. Type what you're looking for — results update as you type. Search matches meaning, not only exact words, and ranks exact text and title matches higher.
3. Switch between the **Chats** and **Files** tabs. A chat result shows its title, the date of the matching message, the number of matches, and a preview. A file result is labeled **Uploaded**, **Generated**, or **Saved by Bearly**.
4. Select a result to open its chat. Press <kbd>Esc</kbd> to close.



**What you get:** Chats ranked by their best match, with up to 20 matches per chat. If nothing matches, Bearly says "No results found for" and your search.
**Limits:** Search covers project chats but not end-to-end encrypted chats.
**Combines with:** [Memories](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/chat/settings.md#memories), which lets the AI itself search past chats while it answers.

## The command menu

Press <kbd>⌘</kbd> <kbd>K</kbd> (<kbd>Ctrl</kbd> <kbd>K</kbd>) or select **…** in the chat header to open the command menu. It shows the chat's title, a **Search...** box, an **Actions** group, and **Switch Chats**, which lists every chat, including project chats. Use <kbd>↑</kbd> <kbd>↓</kbd> to move, <kbd>Enter</kbd> to run, and <kbd>Esc</kbd> to close.

| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| **New** | Start a new chat (in the same project when you're in a project chat) |
| **Delete & New** | Delete this chat and start a new one, after you confirm |
| **Delete** | Delete this chat, after you confirm |
| **Rename** | Rename this chat |
| **Refresh Chat** | Reload this chat's data |
| **Generate New Name** | Retitle the chat from the conversation |
| **Download as Markdown** | Export the chat as a Markdown file |
| **New Routine** | Open Routines to schedule a prompt. Pro and higher, when your organization allows Routines. |
| **Show all...** → **Show Release Notes** | Open What's New |

The chat also refreshes itself when you come back to the window.

## Download a chat as Markdown

Export a chat as a readable Markdown file, with or without a record of the tools Bearly used.

**Use it when:** keeping a record of a decision, pasting a conversation into a document or ticket, or archiving a project's history outside Bearly.
**You need:** Nothing extra.



1. Open the command menu and choose **Download as Markdown** — the **Download Markdown** dialog opens: "Export this chat as a readable Markdown file."
2. Turn on **Include tool activity** if you want "compact records of tool calls, inputs, assets, and summarized results" — leave it off for just the conversation.
3. Select **Download** to save the file, or **Copy** to put the Markdown on your clipboard.



**What you get:** A file named after the chat's title, ending in `.md`. Each turn is headed "User" or "Bearly".
**Limits:** Markdown only; there's no PDF or HTML export of a whole chat.

## Share a chat as a Page

Sharing doesn't hand out your conversation. Bearly turns the substance of the chat into a Page, with artwork and a link preview, and you review it before anything is published.

**Use it when:** sending the outcome of a chat to someone outside Bearly, such as a summary, a plan, or a short guide.
**You need:** A chat you can edit. Your organization must allow sharing.



1. Select **Share** in the chat header — the **Share conversation** panel opens.
2. Select **Prepare share** — Bearly writes the Page. The panel notes "Your full conversation isn't shared. You review the Page before publishing."
3. When it's ready, the Page opens on its own, marked "Ready to share" — check it, then select **Publish** in its header to choose who can open it. If you closed it, select **Share** again and choose **Review and publish**, or **Create another** for a different take.



You can also type `/share` in the chat. To give a single file its own Page, use **Share file** on that file.

**What you get:** A Page you control, built from the conversation's substance rather than its transcript.
**Limits:** Preparing a Page uses your plan's usage. Not available in chats you can only read.
**Combines with:** [Pages and Canvas](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/capabilities/pages-and-canvas.md) for editing and publishing Pages.

## Ask Bearly to manage your chats

You can ask in any chat for Bearly to find, read, create, rename, move, or delete chats for you. It asks before it looks through your chats or reads another one, and before it deletes anything.

**Use it when:** filing a batch of chats into a project, pulling context from an earlier chat into this one, or cleaning up old chats by topic.
**You need:** Your organization must allow **Chat management**. It's on unless an admin turned it off.

What Bearly can do from a chat:

- List your chats and your projects.
- Create a new chat, optionally in a project, without switching you to it.
- Read another chat, at three levels of detail: your messages only, the conversation, or the conversation with tool activity.
- Rename chats, and move them into or out of projects.
- Delete chats.

Before it lists your chats, Bearly asks for permission and explains: "Lists your chats and their titles so Bearly can find the right one." Before it reads another chat, it names that chat and says: "Reads another chat's full history into this chat. Allow only chats you want this chat to see." You can allow it for this response, for this session, or for this chat on this device. Before deleting, Bearly shows "Delete this chat?" or how many chats it will delete, with their titles. If you allow deleting for longer than one request, later deletions asked for in that chat go ahead within that scope without asking again. **Full access** never skips any of these questions.

```text
Find my chats about the Q3 budget, rename each one to start with "Q3 budget:", and move them all into the Finance project.
```

**Limits:** Up to 20 chats per delete, and a chat can't delete itself. Reading returns up to 100 turns at a time, and a very large chat comes back as a Markdown file. Regular chats can't see your end-to-end encrypted chats. Bearly can't send messages from one chat into another.
**Combines with:** [Memories](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/chat/settings.md#memories) to find the right earlier chat by meaning; [Permissions](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/capabilities/permissions.md) for how approvals work.

## What's New

When a new Bearly release is out, **What's New** opens on its own the next time you use a chat on that device. It lists **Highlights**, **Also new**, and **Fixes & improvements**, with links to related posts and docs. New accounts don't see it on their first visit.

To open it any time, press <kbd>⌘</kbd> <kbd>K</kbd> and choose **Show all...** → **Show Release Notes**. The same notes are on the public [changelog](https://bearly.ai/docs/changelog.md).

## Combinations to try

**Find, summarize, and file.** In a project chat with **Memories** set to **Project Only**, ask Bearly to find an earlier decision and file the current chat. Memories finds the earlier chat; chat management reads it (after you allow it), then renames and moves this one.

```text
Find what we decided about pricing in this project, summarize it in five bullets, then rename this chat to "Pricing decision" and move it to the Finance project.
```

**Export the record, then clear the list.** When a long piece of work is done, choose **Download as Markdown** with **Include tool activity** on for a full record, then **Archive** the chat. It leaves your everyday list but stays in **Archives**.

**From template to published Page.** Run one of your Prompt Templates from the `/` menu, then type `/share` and review the Page before publishing it. See [Write, attach, and send](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/chat/compose.md#reference-tools-files-and-skills).

## Related

- [Projects](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/projects.md)
- [Keyboard shortcuts](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/chat/shortcuts.md)
- [Privacy and security](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/privacy-and-security.md)

## Continue through the documentation

- [Manual index](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual.md): Browse every page of the Bearly Manual.
- [Documentation index](https://bearly.ai/docs.md): Browse every Bearly guide.
- [Previous: Work with answers](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/chat/answers.md)
- [Next: Tune a chat: settings, style, reasoning, and memory](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/chat/settings.md)
- [Related: Projects: shared context, files, and settings](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/projects.md)
- [Related: Make Pages and edit in Canvas](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/capabilities/pages-and-canvas.md)
- [Related: Approvals, permissions, and Full access](https://bearly.ai/docs/manual/capabilities/permissions.md)
- [Related: Changelog](https://bearly.ai/docs/changelog.md)