Here we cover the flow of a conversation and the data model (Thread, Message) used by C1Chat.

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The Flow of a Conversation

  • User Input: The user types a prompt into the chat composer and sends it.
  • Message Creation: The application creates a user message from this input and adds it to the current Thread’s history.
  • Backend Request: The frontend sends the new user message (often along with the thread context) to your backend server.
  • API Call: Your backend constructs the full payload for the C1 API. This typically includes a predefined system prompt, the conversation history from the Thread, and the new user message.
  • Assistant Response: The C1 API processes the request and returns a response, which your application stores as an assistant message.
  • UI Update: The frontend receives this C1 response, adds it to the Thread as a new assistant message, and displays it in the UI.

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Message

C1 API is openai compatible. So the message is the same as openai. A Message is a basic unit in a conversation. Each message has a role that defines its author:
  • user: Represents an input from the end-user.
  • assistant: Represents a response from the AI. The content can be standard text or a C1 DSL string for rendering interactive UI.
  • system: Provides high-level instructions to the AI and is typically not visible in the UI.

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Thread: A Single Conversation

A Thread is an ordered list of Message objects. It represents a single, continuous conversation.

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ThreadList: Managing Multiple Conversations

A ThreadList is the collection of all threads for a user. In a typical UI, this is represented by the chat history sidebar.