> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.prodexlabs.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Chat, Tasks & Reviews

> How Dexter shows its work: the live task list, review briefs and approvals, action cards, and structured question prompts.

## Overview

When Dexter takes on anything non-trivial, it works out loud. Four surfaces make that visible in the conversation: the **task list**, **review briefs**, **action cards**, and **question prompts**. Together they let you follow what Dexter is doing, catch problems before they land, and answer the questions Dexter needs answered — without ever guessing at hidden state.

This page walks through each one: where it lives, what it looks like, and how to respond.

## The Task List

For any multi-step effort — cleaning a dataset, building out a simulation model, running an experiment sweep — Dexter creates a task list so you can see the plan and its progress in real time.

**Where it lives.** The **Tasks** section of the Artifacts panel on the [Dexter page](/product/ai-assistant) — and, condensed, as a **Tasks** chip in the dock just above the chat input box, so the current plan stays in view while you type. Expand the chip to see the full list.

**What you see per task.** Each task has a short, plain-language title ("Validate cycle times against historical data", "Build the paint-line model") and a status:

* **Pending** — queued, not started yet.
* **In progress** — Dexter is actively working on it (one at a time).
* **Completed** — done.

A task can declare a dependency on another; Dexter won't pick it up until the prerequisite is done.

**How it updates.** Dexter flips a task to In progress the moment it starts, and to Completed the moment it finishes — not in a batch at the end. If Dexter hits a blocker mid-task, it creates a new task for the blocker and links it, rather than silently abandoning the work. If a pre-planned list turns out to be wrong, Dexter clears it and rewrites one that matches the actual work.

<Tip>
  **The task list is editable through chat.** If you see a task that shouldn't be there, or one missing that should be, say so — Dexter will restructure the list.
</Tip>

## Review Briefs

Before Dexter commits to anything expensive or hard to undo, it stops and asks you to sign off with a **review brief**. Think of it as a one-page memo: what's being decided, the assumptions behind it, and the evidence — inline in the conversation.

**What triggers one:**

* A produced piece of work is ready for your check — a completed analysis, derived numbers, a report about to land.
* A plan is about to run that would be costly to unwind — a large model change, a data pipeline about to overwrite outputs.
* Inside a [Project](/product/dexter/projects), moving from one phase to the next — phase transitions are gated by a review brief.

**What's in one.** A markdown card in the conversation, usually a page or less: the decision up top, then the open questions and assumptions the decision rests on, then the evidence — tables, numbers, diagrams. Everything you need to decide is inside the brief; you don't need to open other files to evaluate it.

**How to respond.** Two buttons:

* **Approve** — Dexter proceeds with what the brief describes. Inside a [Project](/product/dexter/projects), if the brief was about a produced artifact (a document, a report), approval is what moves it out of drafts and into its phase's permanent home.
* **Request changes** — opens a comment field. Say what needs to change; Dexter revises and re-presents.

<Note>
  Some briefs are **freeform** rather than approve/reject — Dexter is asking for open-ended feedback on work in progress rather than a go/no-go. These look the same, but the response is a comment box instead of two buttons.
</Note>

**After approval.** Dexter continues the turn — the approved artifact lands, the phase advances, or the plan begins executing. The brief stays in the conversation as the record of what you approved and when.

## Action Cards

An **action card** is a small call-to-action card that appears in the conversation with a title, a one-line reason, and a button that takes you somewhere in the app to act on it.

**When they appear.** When the natural next step lives in a part of the app that you drive, not Dexter — Dexter surfaces the card instead of describing where to go in prose. They are **non-blocking**: Dexter keeps working (or closes out its turn) rather than waiting for you to click. Act on them when you're ready.

**Common examples:**

* **Start a project** — after Dexter has scoped an effort large enough to warrant a [Project](/product/dexter/projects), it points you at the page where you begin one.
* **Add data** — after Dexter has identified data it needs but doesn't have, it points you at the upload page.

Only one card at a time — Dexter picks the single most useful next step rather than stacking a list of options.

## Question Prompts

When Dexter needs input from you, it uses a **structured question**. Four shapes, each rendered differently in chat:

| Type              | What you see                                                                                                                                       | How to answer                                                        |
| ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Single-select** | A card with the question, a short header, and 2–6 clickable options, each with a label and a one-line description. Recommended options are marked. | Click one option, or type into the freeform field below if none fit. |
| **Multi-select**  | Same layout, but multiple options can be picked. Used when choices aren't mutually exclusive ("Which of these SKUs should we include?").           | Click every option that applies, or type a freeform answer.          |
| **Approval**      | Two buttons — **Approve** / **Reject** — with a comment field. Used for small in-flight confirmations ("Proceed with these two assumptions?").     | Approve, or reject with a comment telling Dexter what to change.     |
| **Freeform**      | A plain text field, no options. Used when there's no useful short list ("What's the setup time on the older press?").                              | Type your answer.                                                    |

The freeform field is always there on select-type questions — you don't need an "Other" option in the list. For heavier sign-offs on produced work, Dexter uses a [review brief](#review-briefs) instead of an approval question.

**Batches.** Dexter may ask several questions in one card when they're related and independent — answer them together. If one question only makes sense after another is answered, Dexter asks the first batch, then a follow-up shaped by your answers.

<Info>
  **You can answer later.** All four types stay in the conversation until answered — scroll up and respond to an older question at any time.
</Info>

## Limits

* **Tasks are per-conversation.** A fresh conversation starts with an empty list.
* **Review briefs and questions are pause points.** While one is waiting on you, Dexter has ended its turn and won't continue until you respond. Non-blocking action cards are the exception — they don't gate progress.
* **Long conversations shed early context.** Questions answered long ago may need re-answering in a fresh conversation — or, better, move the answers into [Memories](/product/dexter/memories) or [Rules](/product/dexter/memories#rules-and-preferences) so every future conversation starts with them.

<Warning>
  **There is no undo on an approved brief.** If you approved something that shouldn't have landed, tell Dexter — it will roll the change back where possible, but some changes (data pipeline overwrites, external file exports, deletions) can't be undone.
</Warning>