​

Managing Conversations

LibreChat provides powerful tools for managing your conversations, including organizing chats, navigating conversation history, and advanced features like branching and forking.

​

Overview

Conversations in LibreChat are organized in the sidebar, grouped by date for easy navigation. Each conversation can be renamed, shared, duplicated, archived, or deleted.

​

Conversation Sidebar

​

Viewing Conversations

Your conversations appear in the left sidebar, automatically grouped by:

• Today - Conversations from the current day
• Yesterday - Conversations from the previous day
• Previous 7 Days - Recent conversations from the past week
• Previous 30 Days - Older conversations from the past month
• Earlier - All conversations older than 30 days

The sidebar uses virtualized scrolling to efficiently handle large conversation histories.

​

Expanding and Collapsing

Click the Chats header in the sidebar to collapse or expand your conversation list. This helps you focus on the current chat or navigate to different conversations as needed.

​

Searching Conversations

Use the search bar at the top of the sidebar to filter conversations by title. The search updates in real-time as you type.

​

Conversation Actions

​

Accessing Conversation Options

Hover over any conversation in the sidebar to reveal the options menu (three dots icon). Click it to access:

• Share - Create a shareable link to the conversation (if enabled)
• Rename - Change the conversation title
• Duplicate - Create a copy of the conversation
• Archive - Move the conversation to your archive
• Delete - Permanently remove the conversation

​

Quick Actions with Shift Key

Hold Shift while hovering over the active conversation to reveal quick action buttons:

• Archive button - Instantly archive the conversation
• Delete button - Instantly delete without confirmation dialog

This provides faster access to common actions when you’re sure of your choice.

​

Renaming Conversations

1. Click the options menu (three dots) on a conversation
2. Select Rename
3. Enter a new title
4. Press Enter or click outside to save

Conversation titles help you quickly identify and find specific chats in your history.

​

Duplicating Conversations

Duplicating creates an exact copy of a conversation, including:

• All messages and their content
• Conversation settings and model configuration
• File attachments and context

1. Click the options menu on a conversation
2. Select Duplicate
3. A new conversation will be created and automatically opened

This is useful for:

• Starting a new conversation with the same context
• Experimenting with different responses while preserving the original
• Creating templates from existing conversations

​

Archiving Conversations

Archiving removes conversations from your main list without deleting them:

1. Click the options menu on a conversation
2. Select Archive
3. The conversation is moved to your archive

Archived conversations can be restored from the archive view in your settings.

​

Deleting Conversations

Permanently remove conversations you no longer need:

1. Click the options menu on a conversation
2. Select Delete
3. Confirm the deletion in the dialog that appears

Deleted conversations cannot be recovered.

​

Branching Conversations

Branching allows you to explore alternative responses from a specific point in a conversation without affecting the original thread.

​

Creating a Branch

When viewing messages with parallel agent responses (multiple agents responding to the same prompt):

1. Locate the agent response header showing the agent/model name
2. Click the branch icon (GitBranchPlus icon) next to the agent name
3. A new conversation branch is created starting from that specific agent response

Branches are useful for:

• Comparing different agent approaches to the same problem
• Continuing a conversation based on a specific agent’s response style
• Exploring multiple solution paths in parallel

​

Branch Notifications

When you successfully create a branch:

• A success toast notification appears
• The new branch opens automatically
• The original conversation remains unchanged

​

Forking Conversations

Forking creates a new conversation based on a specific message in your chat history, allowing you to explore alternative conversation paths.

​

Understanding Fork Options

LibreChat offers three fork modes:

​

1. Direct Path (Visible Messages)

Icon: GitCommit (rotated) Copies only the directly visible conversation thread from the start up to the target message. This excludes any alternative message branches that weren’t selected in the current view. Best for:

• Creating a linear conversation copy
• Focusing on a single conversation path
• Simplifying complex branched conversations

​

2. Include Branches

Icon: GitBranchPlus Copies all messages from the conversation start to the target message, including all alternative branches and sibling messages. Best for:

• Preserving the full conversation context
• Maintaining all explored alternatives
• Complete conversation backups with branching history

​

3. All Messages at Target Level (Default)

Icon: ListTree Copies the entire conversation up to the target level, including all messages at and before that depth in the conversation tree. Best for:

• Standard forking behavior
• Balanced context preservation
• Most common use cases

​

How to Fork a Conversation

1. Hover over any message in your conversation
2. Click the fork icon (GitFork icon) that appears in the message toolbar
3. Choose your fork option from the popup menu
4. The new forked conversation opens automatically

​

Fork Settings

​

Split at Target

When enabled, the fork starts at the target message rather than from the beginning of the conversation. This creates a shorter conversation starting from your selected point. Enable this when:

• You want to continue only from a specific point
• The earlier context isn’t relevant
• You’re creating a focused sub-conversation

​

Remember Fork Preference

Check “Remember fork preference” to save your fork settings:

• Your chosen fork mode becomes the default
• Future forks use this setting automatically without showing the menu
• Click the fork icon to immediately fork using your saved preference

To change your saved preference:

1. Go to Settings > Chat Settings
2. Find the “Fork Settings” section
3. Update your default fork mode
4. Toggle “Remember Default Fork” on or off

​

Fork Notifications

• Processing: Toast notification appears when fork starts
• Success: Confirmation when fork completes and new conversation opens
• Error: Alert if forking fails (e.g., rate limits, server errors)

​

Fork Availability

The fork feature is available when:

• The conversation has at least one message
• Forking is supported for the current endpoint
• You’re not currently submitting a new message

​

Favorites and Recent Conversations

The sidebar displays your favorited conversations at the top for quick access, followed by recent chats organized by date.

​

Managing Favorites

Favorite conversations stay pinned at the top of your sidebar regardless of when they were last updated.

​

Conversation Generation Indicators

Active conversations show a generation indicator (spinner icon) next to their title when the AI is currently generating a response.

​

Tips and Best Practices

​

Organization

• Use descriptive titles - Rename conversations with specific, searchable titles
• Archive completed topics - Keep your main list focused on active conversations
• Regular cleanup - Delete test conversations and duplicates periodically

​

Working with Branches and Forks

• Branch for parallel exploration - Use branching when comparing multiple agent responses
• Fork for alternative paths - Use forking to explore “what if” scenarios from past messages
• Name forked conversations - Immediately rename forks to distinguish them from originals

​

Performance

• Search instead of scroll - Use search for large conversation histories
• Archive old conversations - Improve sidebar performance by archiving completed chats
• Limit open conversations - Close tabs you’re not actively using

​

Keyboard Accessibility

All conversation actions are fully keyboard accessible:

• Tab - Navigate between conversations
• Enter/Space - Open conversation or activate focused button
• Arrow keys - Navigate within menus
• Escape - Close menus and dialogs

​

Troubleshooting

​

Conversations Not Loading

• Check your internet connection
• Refresh the page
• Clear browser cache if issues persist

​

Fork/Branch Failed

• Ensure you’re not rate-limited (wait a few moments and retry)
• Check that the conversation has valid messages
• Verify your account permissions

​

Lost Conversation

• Check the Archive in Settings > Data
• Use the search function with keywords from the conversation
• Deleted conversations cannot be recovered