Chat sessions

Chat sessions store one resume token per engine per chat (per sender in group chats), so new messages can auto-resume without replying. Reply-to-continue still works and updates the stored session for that engine.

Assistant and workspace workflows If you chose assistant or workspace during onboarding, chat sessions are already enabled. This guide covers how they work and how to customize them.

Enable chat sessions

If you chose handoff during onboarding and want to switch to chat mode:

=== “untether config”

```sh
untether config set transports.telegram.session_mode "chat"
```

=== “toml”

```toml
[transports.telegram]
session_mode = "chat" # stateless | chat
```

With session_mode = "chat", new messages in the chat continue the current thread automatically.

You explain the auth flow

Untether done · claude · 15s · step 4

The auth flow uses JWT tokens…

You now add rate limiting to it

The second message automatically continues the same session — no reply needed.

Reset a session

Use /new to cancel any running task and clear the stored session for the current scope:

• In a private chat, it resets the chat.
• In a group, it resets your session in that chat.
• In a forum topic, it resets the topic session.

See /new in Commands & directives.

Resume lines and branching

Chat sessions do not remove reply-to-continue. If resume lines are visible, you can reply to any older message to branch the conversation.

If you prefer a cleaner chat, hide resume lines:

=== “untether config”

```sh
untether config set transports.telegram.show_resume_line false
```

=== “toml”

```toml
[transports.telegram]
show_resume_line = false
```

How it behaves in groups

In group chats, Untether stores a session per sender, so different people can work independently in the same chat.

How session persistence works

When session_mode = "chat", Untether stores resume tokens in a JSON state file next to your config:

• Assistant mode: telegram_chat_sessions_state.json — one token per engine per chat
• Workspace mode: telegram_topics_state.json — one token per engine per forum topic

When you send a message, Untether checks the state file for a stored resume token matching the current engine and scope (chat or topic). If found, the engine continues that session. If not, a new session starts.

The /new command cancels any running task and clears stored tokens for the current scope. Switching to a different engine also starts a fresh session (each engine has its own token).

Handoff mode has no state file In handoff mode (session_mode = "stateless"), no sessions are stored. Each message starts fresh. Continue a session by replying to its bot message or using /continue.

Working directory changes

When session_mode = "chat" is enabled, Untether clears stored chat sessions on startup if the current working directory differs from the one recorded in telegram_chat_sessions_state.json. This avoids resuming directory-bound sessions from a different project.

Related

• Conversation modes
• Cross-environment resume — pick up CLI sessions from Telegram with /continue
• Forum topics
• Commands & directives