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The agent may need a decision before it can continue: where to save progress, which behavior to preserve, or how much of a change to implement. You can answer through a structured question panel or an ordinary chat reply, depending on how the agent asks.

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Recognize the question panel

In Zen mode, a structured question replaces the normal composer with the question, answer options, Type your answer…, and Next or Submit. A request with several questions also shows your position, such as 1 of 2. The panel appears when the active harness sends a supported question request. Asking the agent to clarify something does not guarantee this panel will appear. A numbered list of questions in the transcript is ordinary response text; use a chat reply when the normal composer remains available.
Storage question 1 of 2 in the Zen composer, with This browser selected, Account sync unselected, an empty custom-answer field, and Next.

A two-question request from Pi in Zen. The first option is preselected; Next advances the draft to the next question.

A pending two-question request in Zen replaces the composer with choices and Next; the environment summary identifies Pi as the harness.

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Review and submit an answer

  1. Read the question and the descriptions under its options.
  2. Choose the answer you want, or enter a response in Type your answer….
  3. If there are several questions, choose Next to review each one. Use Back to revisit your answers.
  4. Choose Submit to send the answers together.
Next moves through your draft answers; it does not send each answer separately. After Submit, read the agent’s next response and check that it uses your decisions. If it keeps waiting or the connection changes, follow question recovery. The first option is preselected for each question that has options. A selected option is a draft answer, not an automatic submission. Review the defaults before choosing Submit, including when the first answer already looks suitable. For a question marked (select multiple), you can select several options. Click a selected option again to remove it. Keep at least one answer selected, or provide custom text, before continuing.

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Write a custom answer

Use Type your answer… when none of the options fits or your decision needs more detail. For example:
Save progress in this browser for now. Keep the storage format versioned so we can add account sync later. Do not add a sign-in flow in this change.
Custom text replaces the selected options for that question; it is not an additional note sent alongside them. If you want an option plus a qualification, include both in your written answer. Selecting an option again switches the answer back to that option, even if text remains visible in the custom field. Check the selected state before submitting. Clearing custom text does not automatically restore the initial option—select an option yourself if you want to use it. An answer containing only spaces is empty. Next requires an answer to the current question, and Submit requires answers to all questions in the request.

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Use the keyboard on desktop

When focus is in the options area: Moving keyboard focus does not itself change the selected answer. Because options start preselected, Enter can advance or submit immediately. Review every question before using the submit shortcut.

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Cancel a question

On desktop or web, use the × control at the top of the question panel, labelled Cancel question. This sends a request to cancel the question without submitting your drafted answers. Cancellation does not mean the agent’s entire task is finished. Some harnesses can continue without the missing information or ask another question. Use the conversation’s Stop control if you need to stop current work, and check the resulting status. For an ongoing goal, also check whether automatic work remains active.

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Answer on mobile

On iOS and Android, the question also appears in the composer area:
  1. Tap an option, or scroll to Type your answer… beneath or type your own response.
  2. Use Next and Back to review a request with several questions.
  3. Tap Submit on the last question to send the complete set of answers.
The same draft rules apply: the first option starts selected, custom text replaces option selections, and every question needs an answer before submission.
The mobile question panel’s × control currently does not cancel the request from the main chat. To cancel without supplying an answer, open the same conversation on desktop or web with access to its connected device, check that the question is still pending, and use Cancel question there.

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Answer a question written in chat

When questions appear as ordinary response text, write your decisions in the normal composer. Include enough context to identify which question each answer resolves. For example:
For the Trail Notes plan: save progress in this browser, and have Reset clear only trail progress. Summarize these two decisions in one sentence. Do not use tools or edit files.
Send the message, then check the acknowledgment. In this example, it should confirm browser storage and a reset limited to trail progress. A summary confirms the decision was understood; it does not mean the storage feature has been implemented.
A Trail Notes message chooses browser storage and reset of trail progress only; the agent confirms both decisions beneath it.

A normal reply supplies both decisions after this Codex conversation reported that structured questions were unavailable. The agent acknowledges the choices without editing files.

The completed decision acknowledgment in the left Zen conversation, with the normal composer below and Review Checks open on the right.
If the agent is still running, use the appropriate Queue or Steer control for the reply. If it is only waiting without a usable question panel, Stop the response, wait for the interruption to finish, and send the answer as a new message. If the conversation shows an error before any question appears, follow Help with starting a chat. Review the error before retrying; a failed response is not a pending question you can answer through Submit.

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If the question disappears or returns

The panel can close as soon as you submit or cancel. Its disappearance alone does not confirm that the agent received the response. Check the next response or the conversation’s waiting state. If the connection drops, restore it and inspect the current question before answering again. Another client may already have resolved it. If it returns, check the selections and custom text before submitting; do not assume an unsent draft survived a reload or app restart. Within the same open question panel, Back preserves your answers. Replaying the same request also preserves the panel’s draft, while a replacement request starts with new defaults. This is local editing behavior, not a saved answer shared across your devices.

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Continue the work

Answering a question supplies information. It does not change your permission mode or approve a separate plan review. Handle those decisions when they appear. Once the agent continues, use Queue or Steer if you need to add a correction or another constraint.