Interface Overview
This page will guide you through Elftia's interface layout and the functions of each area. Once you familiarize yourself with these areas, you'll be able to use Elftia's features more efficiently.
Overall Layout
Elftia's interface follows a classic desktop application layout, consisting of the following main areas:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Title Bar │
├──┬──────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │ │ │
│Fu│ Rail │ Content Area │
│nc│ (Sidebar)│ │
│ti│ │ │
│on│ │ │
│al│ ├───────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │ │ Input Area │
├──┴──────────┴───────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Elfi Floating Button │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Workspace Rail (Functional Sidebar)
A narrow strip on the far left of the interface serves as Elftia's main navigation hub. Each icon corresponds to a feature module:
| Icon | Feature | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Chat Bubble | Chat | AI conversation with multi-tab support, branches, and streaming replies |
| Robot | Agents | Agent management (single flat layer, 13 categories), create and edit AI Agents |
| Template | Prompts | Prompt library for managing and using prompt templates |
| Template Icon | Templates | Image / video / music generation parameter templates (with {{variable}} placeholders) |
| Gallery | Portfolio | Manage collections of AI-generated images / videos / music |
| Character | Role-Play | Character cards (compatible with SillyTavern), World Info, group chat |
| Channel | Channel | Multi-platform channels (Discord, Telegram, Slack, QQ, etc.) |
| Plugin | MCP | MCP server management to extend Agent tools |
| Skill | Skills | Skill management (includes SkillHub community marketplace) |
| Clock | Cron | Scheduled task scheduling for automatic Agent task execution |
| Collaborate | Cowork | Collaboration view: scheduled task execution history + jump to chat for continuation |
| Checkbox | Todo | Lightweight Todo + project-level Tasks board |
| Notebook | Notes | Markdown notes + wiki links + knowledge graph |
| 🎨 | Design Studio | AI design workbench (Skill + Design System toolkit) |
| Gear | Settings | Application settings and configuration |
The bottom of the functional rail also has a user avatar button that shows account information when clicked.
Since 0.1.7, Design Studio is enabled by default (no need to enable Experimental Flag). The Agents page uses a single flat model, no longer with "Persona / Avatar" two-layer structure.
Operations
- Single-click an icon to switch to the corresponding feature page.
- The currently active feature is highlighted.
- Some icons display badges (e.g., unread message count).
Sidebar (Rail)
A panel to the right of the functional rail, with content that dynamically changes based on the current feature.
Sidebar in Chat Mode
In the chat view, the sidebar displays the session list with the following functions:
- New Chat: Click the + button at the top to create a new session.
- Search: Use the search box to find historical chats by keyword.
- Folders: Create folders to organize sessions.
- Drag sessions into folders.
- Folders can be expanded and collapsed.
- Session Operations: Right-click a session to open the context menu, supporting:
- Rename
- Move to folder
- Add tags
- Export
- Delete
- Bulk Operations: Select multiple sessions to bulk move, delete, or export them.
Sidebar in Other Modes
Different feature pages have different sidebar content:
| Feature | Sidebar Content |
|---|---|
| Agent | Agent list, grouped by type and status |
| Prompts | Prompt categories and list |
| Channel | Channel and bot list |
| MCP | MCP server list |
| Todo | Todo sections |
| Notes | Notes list and folders |
Title Bar
Located at the top of the window, containing the following elements:
Tabs
In chat mode, the title bar displays chat tabs:
- Each open chat displays as a tab.
- Click a tab to switch chats.
- Click the x on a tab to close it.
- Click + to create a new tab.
- Tabs support drag-to-reorder.
Window Controls
The top-right corner of the title bar contains standard window control buttons:
- Minimize: Minimize the window to the taskbar.
- Maximize/Restore: Toggle between maximized and windowed modes.
- Close: Close the window (if "minimize to tray" is enabled, the close button will minimize the app to the system tray instead of exiting).
Content Area
The central main area displays different content based on the current feature.
Chat View
Chat view is Elftia's most commonly used interface, containing the following elements:
- Message Flow: Display chat messages in chronological order.
- User messages appear on one side, AI replies on the other.
- Supports Markdown rendering (headings, lists, code blocks, tables, etc.).
- Code blocks support syntax highlighting and one-click copy.
- Streaming Response: AI replies display in real-time, character by character.
- Tool Calls: When an Agent uses a tool, the content area displays tool call details including tool name, parameters, and results. Tool call panels can be expanded or collapsed.
- Branch Navigation: When a message has multiple versions, a branch navigator appears above the message showing the current version number and total versions, supporting left/right switching.
Message Operations
Hovering over a message reveals action buttons:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Copy | Copy message content to clipboard |
| Edit | Edit user message (creates new branch) |
| Regenerate | Regenerate AI reply (creates new branch) |
| Delete | Delete current message |
Input Area
Located at the bottom of the content area, it's the main entry point for sending messages.
Message Input Box
- Supports multi-line input (Shift+Enter for newline).
- Supports Markdown syntax.
- Supports drag-and-drop files to add attachments.
Toolbar
The toolbar above the input box contains the following controls:
| Control | Function |
|---|---|
| Model Selection | Dropdown menu to select the AI model in use |
| Web Search | Toggle to enable/disable internet search before AI replies |
| Attachment | Button to add images, files, or other attachments |
Sending Methods
By default:
- Enter: Send message
- Shift + Enter: Newline
You can change this to Ctrl + Enter to send in Settings → General.
Quick Settings
Some common settings can be accessed quickly without opening the full settings page:
- Theme Toggle: Quickly switch between light/dark mode in quick settings.
- Accent Color: Quickly change the interface theme color.
Elfi Floating Button
Elfi is Elftia's built-in assistant. The floating button on the interface quickly opens the Elfi chat window, where you can ask Elfi about Elftia's usage and feature explanations.
- Click the floating button to open Elfi chat.
- Elfi understands all Elftia features and can answer usage questions.
- Drag the button to adjust its position on the interface.
Settings Page
Click the gear icon at the bottom of the functional rail to open the settings page. Settings are grouped by tabs:
| Tab | Content |
|---|---|
| General | Language, proxy, launch options, notifications, environment tools |
| Appearance | Theme mode, accent color, font, wallpaper, custom CSS |
| Provider Settings | API Key and endpoint configuration for LLM providers |
| Default Models | Default model selection for various scenarios |
| Agent Settings | Agent engine, prompt version, security settings |
| Web Search | Search provider, orchestration strategy, compression settings |
| System | Diagnostic tools, cache management, database maintenance |
| About | Version info, update check, developer mode |
See Settings Reference for detailed settings explanations.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Elftia supports common keyboard shortcuts to improve efficiency:
| Shortcut | Function |
|---|---|
| Enter | Send message (default) |
| Shift + Enter | Input newline |
| Ctrl/Cmd + N | New chat |
| Ctrl/Cmd + W | Close current tab |
| Ctrl/Cmd + Tab | Switch tabs |
| Escape | Close dialog/cancel operation |
After understanding the interface layout, you can start exploring Elftia's various features. It's recommended to continue reading Chat Features or LLM Provider Configuration.