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

# Chat

> Encrypted messaging in Bastion — direct and group chats, threads, replies, reactions, pinned messages and file attachments.

Every chat in Bastion is **end-to-end encrypted**: messages are sealed on your device and only opened on the recipients'. The server only ever relays ciphertext. See [Security](/bastion/security) for how that works.

## Direct and group chats

Start a **one-to-one** chat with a teammate or create a **group** with several members. Open **New chat**, pick who to include, and start typing. New members you add later receive the shared history they're meant to see.

## Working with a message

Long-press (or right-click) a message for its actions:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Reply" icon="reply">
    Quote a message inline so the context travels with your answer.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Reply in thread" icon="comments">
    Branch a focused side-conversation off any message without derailing the main chat.
  </Card>

  <Card title="React" icon="face-smile">
    Add an emoji reaction from the picker; tap again to remove yours.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Edit & delete" icon="pen">
    Fix or remove something you sent — edits are marked, deletes remove it for everyone.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Pin" icon="thumbtack">
    Pin key messages to the top bar so the whole chat can find them.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Attach files" icon="paperclip">
    Send images, video and files — encrypted the same way as messages.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Sending and delivery status

Messages appear the moment you send them. If one fails to go out, it's flagged with a **one-tap retry** rather than lost. As it travels you see its status — **sent**, then **delivered** when it reaches a recipient's device, then **seen** once read — and a typing indicator shows when someone's replying.

<Note>
  An organization can switch off typing indicators and delivery/read receipts for maximum privacy — see [Accounts & privacy](/bastion/accounts-and-privacy).
</Note>

## Attachments

Use the paperclip in the composer to send an image, a video or any file. It's encrypted on your device before it leaves, stored as ciphertext, and decrypted only for the people in the chat. Images and videos preview inline — videos play right in the chat — and large files upload in **resilient chunks**, so a dropped connection retries the affected piece instead of restarting the whole transfer. Other files appear as a download chip.

## Search

Because the server only holds ciphertext, search runs **on your device**: Bastion decrypts your recent messages locally and searches those. Open search from the chats list, type a term, and jump straight to a hit.

## Managing a chat

Open a chat's **info** page (from the header) to see its members, add people, and check per-member **safety numbers** to confirm no one has been impersonated — see [Security](/bastion/security).

<Note>
  Adding a member seals the chat's current key to them so they can read the history the group shares. Only owners and admins can add members to a chat.
</Note>