Understand nodes & paths

Selecting a node does more than highlight a card. It defines the conversation path shown in chat and the historical context for the next message.

What the chat pane includes#

The pane reconstructs the ancestor chain from the conversation root to the selected node. It shows the user and assistant messages on that route, plus context-only entries, citations, attachments, and available response metadata.

Messages on sibling branches are not part of this view. This prevents an alternative you explored elsewhere from silently influencing the selected line of thought.

Where a normal send attaches#

When a node is selected, Send attaches the new request after that node. If it already has another child, the new request becomes another branch. If it is a leaf, the graph simply grows forward.

After generation, Convography normally selects the new response and advances the chat pane. If you changed graph selection while the response was running, the app respects your newer selection instead.

Combined graph nodes and chat messages#

The graph favors readable units, while the chat pane shows the precise message sequence. A graph node can summarize the paired prompt and response with separate generated titles behind the scenes. This is why selecting one graph point can reveal both the source prompt and its answer in the path.

A synthesis node is assistant-only. Although the graph displays an incoming edge from every source selected for synthesis, opening the result does not choose one of those source branches or replay them above the response. Its linear chat path starts with the synthesized answer. A normal follow-up continues from that answer.

Context boundaries#

The active ancestor path is the core context. Additional context can come from:

• files you select explicitly;
• file scope inherited from a node, branch, or conversation;
• context-only nodes stored with Load context;
• supported hosted tools such as web search for the current request.

A file visible somewhere in the graph is not automatically included in every later request. Inspect the composer file count and each message’s Included Files control when provenance matters.

Choose the right branch point#

Branch from the earliest node that still contains all assumptions you want to preserve. Branching too late carries decisions you may be trying to challenge; branching too early makes you restate useful context. Open the candidate node, read the end of its path, and then send.