Chat

Chat is an AI assistant that can read your patch, explain what is happening, and queue safe canvas changes for you to review.

Open the sidebar and switch to Chat. Ask a question, describe a change, or ask it to build something on the canvas.

How It Works

Chat works like a collaborator sitting next to your patch. It can inspect the canvas, read selected object data, check object errors, search the docs, and look up object-specific instructions before it suggests a change.

When you ask Chat to modify the canvas, it creates an action card. Nothing changes until you choose Apply. If the suggestion is not right, choose Dismiss and ask for a different version.

Try It

Ask About The Selected Object

Select an object on the canvas
Open Chat
Ask:

What does this object do?

Chat includes the selected object's type, data, and recent errors as context.

Make A Small Edit

Select a code object and ask:

Make this animation slower and use warmer colors.

Chat can read the current object data, rewrite the relevant fields, and queue an edit card for you to apply.

Build From A Preset

Ask:

Find texture presets that would work well for a soft background.

Chat can search built-in and user presets, read the full contents of a preset, and insert a preset by name. If you ask for something in the current view, Chat can read your viewport and place the preset where you are looking.

What Chat Can Do

Chat can queue these canvas actions:

Create one object from generated data
Create multiple connected objects
Insert an existing preset
Edit an object's data or code
Replace an object with another type
Delete objects
Move objects around the canvas
Connect objects with edges
Disconnect existing edges

For bigger creative requests, Chat may use a generation step first, then queue the final canvas change. For example, "make a kick and snare patch" can become a generated object graph, followed by one action card that inserts the objects and connections.

What Chat Can Read

Chat can use context tools behind the scenes:

The current canvas objects and edges
Your current viewport, zoom level, visible bounds, and canvas center
A specific object's full data and connected edges
Recent object errors and warnings
Object-specific instructions, handles, inlets, and outlets
Topic docs and object reference pages
Built-in object packs and preset packs
Preset search results and full preset contents
Built-in sample libraries, plus Freesound when configured

This context helps Chat avoid guessing. If something is failing, ask it to check the errors before changing the patch.

Working With Action Cards

Action cards are proposed changes.

Apply runs the change on your canvas
Dismiss leaves your patch unchanged
Applied actions use Patchies history, so you can undo them

You can also enable auto-approve in the chat controls when you want faster iteration. Keep it off when you are asking for broad changes or working in a patch you care about.

Useful Prompts

What objects are on this canvas, and how are they connected?

Fix the selected shader error.

Create a p5 object that draws bouncing circles.

Search for presets in the Texture Filters pack.

Insert the Blur preset.

Insert the Blur preset in the current view.

Move these three objects into a cleaner layout.

Connect the slider to the oscillator frequency.

Current Limits

Chat is strongest when you ask for concrete, reviewable changes. A few operations are still easier to do manually or with a follow-up prompt:

Object titles are usually set through object code, such as setTitle
Deep nested settings edits are handled as normal object data edits
Duplicating objects can be approximated, but there is no dedicated duplicate action yet