> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.speakoflow.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Assistant panel

> The SpeakoFlow assistant panel is a floating always-on-top chat you open with a hotkey. Learn its shortcuts, how to ask by voice or text, attach images and screen regions, and resize the panel.

A floating always-on-top chat you open with a hotkey. Ask by voice or by typing, get streaming answers, and have them read back aloud without leaving the app you are in.

## Shortcuts

| Action                 | Windows                  | macOS                       | Linux                    |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------ | --------------------------- | ------------------------ |
| Ask the assistant      | `Left Ctrl` + `Left Alt` | `Option` + `Ctrl` + `Space` | `Ctrl` + `Alt` + `Space` |
| Show or hide the panel | `Ctrl` + `Shift` + `A`   | `Option` + `Ctrl` + `A`     | `Ctrl` + `Alt` + `A`     |

Both are rebindable in *Settings → Assistant → Shortcuts*.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How the ask hotkey handles push to talk">
    The assistant hotkey follows the same *Push to talk* setting as dictation. It is on by default, so you hold the hotkey while you talk.

    Add `Shift` for the opposite mode. Or tap the assistant's lock key mid-recording (`Space` on Windows, `Shift` elsewhere) to go hands-free and let go of the hotkey. See [Hands-free](/docs/dictation/hands-free).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## What you can do

| Control                | What it does                                                                                                                              |
| ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Ask by voice**       | Hold *Ask the assistant* and talk. Your transcript appears, then the answer streams in token by token.                                    |
| **Ask by text**        | Type in the message box.                                                                                                                  |
| **Attach**             | Add an image or file, or snip a region of your screen to ask about. Text-like files are inlined as context. Images are sent to the model. |
| **Collapse to a pill** | Shrink the panel to a small pill you click to talk, then expand it again when you want the full view.                                     |
| **Regenerate**         | Re-ask for a fresh answer. The old one stays in [History](/docs/personalize/history).                                                          |
| **Copy**               | Copy any reply, or a single code block.                                                                                                   |
| **Stop**               | Interrupt a reply mid-stream. Whatever was generated so far is kept. It also silences a spoken reply that is still playing.               |
| **Clear conversation** | Start fresh. Hiding the panel keeps the conversation. Clearing it does not.                                                               |

Images in the conversation, both screen captures and files you attached, appear as inline thumbnails you can click to enlarge.

<Tip>
  Type `/summarize` to compact the whole conversation into a summary that replaces the transcript. It is the one slash command.
</Tip>

## Header controls

The header carries a persona switcher (see [Profiles](/docs/personalize/profiles)) plus quick toggles for [screen vision](/docs/assistant/screen-vision), [web search](/docs/assistant/web-search), and [voice replies](/docs/assistant/voice-output). Each toggle applies to the conversation you are in, so you can turn one on without opening Settings.

The screen-vision toggle is sticky. Once it is on, your screen is attached to every message until you turn it off. It is hidden entirely when screen access is set to `Off`.

## Appearance

Three knobs in *Settings → Assistant → Panel appearance*, with a live preview as you change them.

| Setting       | Options                         | Default    |
| ------------- | ------------------------------- | ---------- |
| Text size     | Small, Medium, Large            | `Medium`   |
| Panel size    | Small, Compact, Standard, Large | `Standard` |
| Panel opacity | 50% to 100%                     | `100%`     |

The panel is dark only. There is no accent color and no light option, so those three settings are the whole surface. App-wide theme and text size for the settings window live in [General settings](/docs/settings/general).

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Resizing by hand, and small screens">
    You can drag the panel's edges to resize it. A manual resize wins for the rest of the session, and the next app start goes back to the preset.

    Whichever size you pick is clamped to the monitor the panel is on, so a large preset shrinks to fit a small display instead of running off the edge or hiding under the taskbar.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="When to lower the opacity">
    At `100%` the panel is fully solid. Lower values let the desktop show through, which helps when you are reading an answer against the thing you asked about.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Models and providers" icon="brain" href="/docs/assistant/providers">
    Run it offline, on your own server, or on a cloud key.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Behavior and memory" icon="sliders" href="/docs/assistant/behavior">
    Conversation context and reply length.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>