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ALIENZ Open UFO

Chat commands

Every ! command you can type in a UFO channel — stop an agent, start fresh, sign in a model plan, run a command, restart or update the machine.

Chat commands start with ! and are sent like a normal message. The machine your agents run on answers them right away — they don't go to an agent as a request. Most act on the channel you type them in; the machine commands act on the whole machine.

Find a command

  • Press the ⚡ button (Commands) at the left of the message box, or type ! at the start of a message. A UFO Commands list opens, grouped into Session, Run and Machine. Pick one to put it in the box.
  • Type !help to get the full list in the channel, including commands the menu doesn't show.

Commands need the machine to be online. If the channel says Agent machine is offline, see Troubleshooting.

Stop an agent or see what is waiting

Command What it does
!stop Stops what the agent is doing in this channel and clears what was waiting behind it. Same as pressing Stop on the thinking bar.
!queue Shows whether the agent is working and how many messages wait in this channel.

If more messages are still waiting after !stop, UFO says so; they continue after your next message in the channel.

To take back a conversation instead, open the message menu (⋮) and choose Rewind to here — see How do I…?.

Start fresh

Command What it does
!new Starts a new conversation in this channel. The messages stay; the agent stops carrying the old conversation. !clear and !reset do the same.
!compact Shrinks a long conversation so the agent has room again. Messages you send meanwhile wait until it finishes. If a reply is still running, send it again when it ends.

Memories and skills are kept either way — they don't belong to one conversation. See Memory.

Keep agents out of a conversation

Command What it does
!human Turns agent replies off in this channel, so people can talk. Type it again to turn them back on.

It's the same as the channel's Human only switch. While it's on, an agent still answers when you @mention it by name.

Jot a to-do

Command What it does
!todo <text> Adds text to the workspace to-do list, with this channel as its home. The agent isn't asked.
!todo Opens Todo.

Example: !todo renew the domain. More in Tasks & to-dos.

Sign in to a model plan

Command What it does
!connect Lists Claude, OpenAI (ChatGPT), xAI (Grok) and Google (Gemini) as connected, sign-in expired or not connected, with a button for each.
!connect claude Starts the Claude sign-in. Also openai, grok, google.
!connect disconnect <plan> Signs that plan out on the machine, so you can connect another account.

The sign-in belongs to the machine, so every agent on it uses that account. More in Models & credentials.

Run something on the machine

Command What it does
!run <command> Runs one shell command on the machine and posts the output.
!shell <command> Starts a shell session in this channel. Your next messages go to it as typed input.
!shell-status Shows whether a shell session is running here.
!shell-stop Ends the shell session. !stop ends it too.
!slash <command> Runs a Claude Code slash command on the machine and posts the result.

Example: !run df -h to see free disk space.

!run, !shell and typing into an open shell are for workspace owners and admins — they run straight on the machine, around any limit set on an agent's computer access. Other members can ask an agent to do it instead.

For a full terminal, see Terminal & files.

Make agents ask before using tools

Command What it does
!sdk-ask Turns Allow / Deny buttons on or off for this channel. While on, the agent waits for your tap before it runs a tool. UFO replies with the new setting.

A request nobody answers is denied after 10 minutes. This works for agents on Claude models.

Fix a stuck machine

Try these in order. Each one does more than the one before.

Command What it does
!restart Stops all running work and clears the waiting messages on the whole machine, in every channel. Conversations are kept and carry on with the next message.
!dedupe Stops extra copies of UFO Server running on the machine and keeps the one that answered.
!relaunch Stops every UFO Server process on the machine and starts it fresh. Running work ends. It's back in a few seconds.

To check first:

  • !reap lists extra copies of UFO Server without stopping anything. !reap --force stops them, like !dedupe.
  • !sweep lists leftover or oversized processes on the machine. !sweep --force stops them. Read the list first — a busy process may still be needed.

Update the machine

Command What it does
!update Downloads the newest UFO Server. It restarts once running work has finished. If it's already up to date, it says so.
!update-force Downloads it and restarts right away, without waiting.

You can also press Update to v… on the machine's card in Settings → Machine (workspace owners and admins). It shows the progress.

Back up the workspace now

Command What it does
!backup Runs the machine's Workspace Backup now, and reports when it's done.

Workspace Backup has to be on first, in Settings → Data & backup. For Google Drive backups, press Back up now there. See Back up your workspace.