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Chatting with Nisaba#

How to open the chat, ask Nisaba — your AI writing partner inside Nabu — for help, and use the typed shortcuts that make her faster.

New to Nisaba? Start with Meet Nisaba for who she is and what she will and won't do.

Opening the chat#

Where Nisaba appears depends on your screen.

On a tablet or desktop, Nisaba lives as a panel along the right edge of your project.

  1. Look to the right side of your project. The Nisaba panel sits there by default.
  2. If it's collapsed, click the toggle to expand it. Your conversation comes back exactly where you left it.
  3. Drag the panel's left edge to make it wider or narrower.

On a phone, Nisaba is a floating round button in the bottom-right corner.

  1. Tap the floating button. A chat panel slides in.
  2. Type your message and send it.
  3. Tap the X to close it. Your conversation is saved.

Tip: The chat travels with you. Open it on the corkboard, ask a structure question, then jump to the editor — the same conversation is still there. Nisaba also notices which page you're on.

Asking for help#

Just write to Nisaba like a person. Try things like:

  • "I want a scene where Mara finally tells her sister the truth — quiet, no shouting."
  • "This act feels saggy in the middle. What's missing?"
  • "Who is Daniel, again? Remind me what we've decided about him."
  • "Rewrite the diner scene so it's funnier."
  • "I'm stuck. I know the ending I want but not how to get there."

She matches your energy — a one-line question gets a focused answer, not an essay. If you're vague, she'll ask a clarifying question rather than guess.

Unrecognized story references are removed from her saved reply; the answer still arrives. Links and notes stay as written.

Uses your plan: Chatting with Nisaba draws from your plan. Most quick back-and-forth is light; bigger jobs like drafting a full scene use more. The footer shows a usage bar and the percent you've used — hover it to see when your plan resets.

A message that needs extra steps costs more.

Attach a file with + on touch devices or the paperclip on desktop, drop it onto the composer, or paste a long note. Each becomes a tile in wizard and project chats. Material adds context; it never imports a script or replaces your treatment on its own. Nisaba tells you she has it and works from it. If it's a script, she may mention once that you can import it. Right-click a tile to change its type; × removes it before sending. Files you pinned come first, with a pin; click one to see what Nabu read or to unpin it.

Material you shared in the wizard stays with the project after you finish, so Nisaba can use it in later project chats.

If a send is refused before the message is saved, your words and tiles stay in the composer, including after a refresh. If you kept typing while it was sending, those newer words stay too. If your plan usage is spent, check Settings → Usage & billing.

Once saved, the message and its tiles stay in the chat: press Send again under it when you’re ready. It sends that same message, never another copy.

What kinds of requests work well#

Strong asks:

  • Describe the feeling or the moment, not just the mechanics. "Make this scene ache" tells her more than "add two lines."
  • Name who and where. "A scene between Eli and his father, in the garage."
  • Ask for options when you're unsure. "Give me a few ways this could go."
  • Ask her to read and react. "Is this character consistent?" or "What's this scene really about?" — she can look across your whole story to answer.
  • Think out loud. Half-formed is fine; that's what she's for.

When she's working on something larger in the background, you'll see live progress, and you can keep chatting while she works.

How she makes edits#

  • Small edits to your scene text — like "tighten this scene" or "punch up this dialogue" — show up as highlighted suggestions in the editor. You can accept or reject each one. Nothing changes until you say yes.
  • Bigger rewrites and structural changes — like rewriting a full scene, changing a character, reordering scenes, removing a scene, or revising your synopsis or treatment — happen straight away when you ask.

You can always undo with Cmd+Z (or Ctrl+Z on Windows) while you're in that scene, or restore an earlier version from History.

See Inline suggestions for how to accept or reject her proposed edits in the script.

She adapts to your genre#

When you set your project's genre (during the wizard), Nisaba's voice and attention shift to match. A thriller draws out tension and pace; a tender drama softens her tone and pulls her attention toward character and feeling. There's no switch — it follows from the genre your project is built on.

Chat commands#

A handful of typed shortcuts start with a slash and do something instantly.

Type this What it does
/help Shows what Nisaba can do right now, plus the most useful commands.
/where Tells you where you are: your project title, what stage you're in, and which scene is in focus.
/status Lists anything Nisaba is working on in the background, with live progress.
/summary Shows the latest summary of your conversation and the facts she's remembered — no cost, just a read.
/remember <your note> Saves a fact you want her to hold onto, like /remember the film is set in 1974. Free, and it doesn't use a chat turn.
/new Starts a fresh conversation thread. Your screenplay stays exactly as it is.
/clear Resets the conversation and tucks the old one away. (/reset does the same thing.) Your screenplay data is untouched.
/retry Asks Nisaba to take another swing at her last reply.
/cancel Stops every running and pending background job for this project and releases the usage that was set aside for them.
/model Shows which AI model is driving your chat, or switches it. Type /model alone to see the options, then /model and an option's name to switch.
/mode Tells you which kind of conversation you're in. It only reports — it doesn't switch anything.
/compact Summarizes the conversation so far.

Note: Anything you type that isn't one of these — including screenplay-style lines like /INT. — just gets sent to Nisaba as a normal message.

Uses your plan: Most commands are free, but /compact uses a little. /model may change how much your future chats draw from your plan depending on which model you pick. /cancel releases usage by stopping work that was reserved but not finished.

If a second opinion cannot be completed, Nisaba says so; the current conversation stays saved. A failed first-three-scenes reading returns to the consent step.

Good to know#

  • The conversation is durable. Close the panel, refresh the page, switch devices — your chat is still there.
  • She reads your newest words. A message you send while your script is still saving waits until the save lands. It isn't in the conversation yet; a text-only draft is lost if you refresh during that wait. If the save fails, choose Wait or Send anyway — then she reads the last saved version.
  • When an act comes together in a very long conversation, Nisaba may hold her note for a later moment. Your messages stay saved, and you can keep chatting.
  • She answers at your length. A short message gets a short reply. Ask when you want more.
  • Milestone notes are paused for now. Nabu still keeps track of what you've written in each part of your story; the notes will return.
  • If you don't like a reply, /retry for a fresh take, or just tell her what was off — "too long," "make it darker," "that's not the tone" — and she'll adjust.
  • When Nisaba asks about a passage, she shows you the lines first, says what she takes from them and asks if that's what you meant. Answer Yes or Not quite. When she asks about something like what's at stake, Not quite lets you say it in your own words.
  • Her questions about your story wait beside the message box. Browse the full titles with All titles, including in the phone chat sheet; choosing a title changes what you view. Choose sends a single answer. For multiple answers, mark them with Select, then use Select below the options to send them.