Tool approval and compaction
Control how aggressively Orion's assistant uses tools and manage long conversations that fill the model's context window.
Tool approval
Open Settings → Models and find Tool approval:
| Setting | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Always ask | Each tool call (run cell, edit file, terminal command, etc.) waits for your approve or deny |
| Auto-run | Tools execute without per-call prompts (subject to mode: Ask mode remains read-only) |
Use Always ask when you want to review every action. Use Auto-run for faster iteration when you trust the workflow.
Tool approval applies in Agent mode. Ask mode never runs tools. Edit mode allows file and terminal tools but not notebook execution.
Compact conversation history
Long chats consume context. Orion can summarize earlier messages to free space while keeping recent turns.
Ways to compact:
- Type
/compactin chat - Use the compact control in the chat UI when context is nearly full
After compaction, older detail is replaced by a summary. Re-mention important files or cells if the assistant loses specifics you still need.
Session cost
Type /cost to see approximate cost and request totals for the current chat session. Useful when comparing models or long agent runs.
Related
Last updated May 2026.