A session is a single, continuous interaction between you and goose, providing a space to ask questions and prompt action. This guide covers how to manage the session lifecycle.
When you open goose, you'll see the session interface ready for use. Just type—[or speak](/docs/guides/sessions/in-session-actions#voice-dictation "Learn how to enable voice dictation")—your questions, requests, or instructions directly into the input field, and goose will immediately get to work.
goose Desktop supports working with multiple active chat sessions in the same window. Your new sessions are added to the `Chat` section of the sidebar, so you can quickly switch between your 10 most recent sessions. Just click a session to [continue working](#resume-session) in that session.
To start a session in a new window, click the <AppWindow className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left. After you send your first prompt, the new session is added to the `Chat` section of the sidebar.
On macOS, you can also use the goose dock icon to quickly start sessions:
You can customize these keyboard shortcuts in the **Settings** menu:
1. Click the <PanelLeft className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left to open the sidebar
2. Click `Settings`
3. Click the `Keyboard` tab
Changes to global shortcuts (Focus Window, Quick Launcher) take effect immediately. Changes to application shortcuts (New Chat, Settings, etc.) require restarting goose.
From your terminal, navigate to the directory from which you'd like to start, and run the [session](/docs/guides/goose-cli-commands#session-options) command:
A session's display name is auto-generated based on the context of your initial prompt. Session names help you identify goose sessions so you can switch between active sessions or [resume a session](#resume-session).
In the output above, `20260213_9` is the session ID. Session IDs use the format `YYYYMMDD_<COUNT>`. Many [goose CLI commands](/docs/guides/goose-cli-commands) let you identify a session by name (`--name` / `-n`) as an alternative to `--session-id`.
Use [`GOOSE_DISABLE_SESSION_NAMING`](/docs/guides/environment-variables#session-management) to keep the default name instead of calling a model to generate one (useful in CI/headless workflows). The default name in goose Desktop is "New Chat" and the default name in goose CLI is "CLI Session".
This searches the content of messages in your conversations. The search is limited to the 10 most recent matching messages across sessions. If your search term appears in many messages, the search will only return a subset of sessions.
Starting with version 1.10.0, goose uses a SQLite database (`sessions.db`) instead of individual `.jsonl` files. Legacy `.jsonl` files remain on disk but are no longer managed by goose.
You can switch between active sessions in the sidebar or resume any session from your history.
#### Switch Between Active Sessions
goose Desktop allows you to switch between multiple chat sessions in the same window. You can start a task in one session, switch to another to do some work, and return to the first session when the task is completed.
Your most recent sessions (up to 10) are available in the sidebar for quick access:
Sessions created in goose Desktop can be resumed in the CLI and vice versa. All sessions are stored in the [same database](/docs/guides/logs#session-records).
While you can resume sessions, we recommend creating new sessions for new tasks to reduce the chance of [doom spiraling](/docs/troubleshooting/known-issues#stuck-in-a-loop-or-unresponsive).
You can use the [`project`](/docs/guides/goose-cli-commands#project) and [`projects`](/docs/guides/goose-cli-commands#projects) commands to start or resume sessions from a project, which is a tracked working directory with session metadata. For a complete guide to using Projects, see [Managing Projects Guide](/docs/guides/managing-projects).
1. Click the <PanelLeft className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left to open the sidebar
2. Click `View All` at the bottom of the `Chat` section
3. Find the session you want to duplicate
4. Hover over the session card to reveal the action buttons
5. Click the <Copy className="inline" size={16} /> button that appears in the top-right corner
The duplicated session includes:
- Complete conversation history
- All session metadata and settings
- Provider and model configuration
- Extension data and configurations
- Recipe information (if applicable)
The new session is named the same as the original and appears at the top of your session list.
:::tip Duplicate vs Fork Session
- **Duplicate** (Copy button in session list): Creates a complete copy of the entire session. Use this to preserve a working session or reuse its configuration.
- **[Fork Session](/docs/guides/sessions/in-session-actions#fork-session)** (Edit button on a message): Creates a new session with conversation history up to a specific edited message. Use this when editing a message to explore different approaches from that point.
:::
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Create a new session by copying all messages from a previous session using the `--fork` flag along with `--resume`.
You can remove sessions using CLI commands. For detailed instructions on session removal, see the [CLI Commands documentation](/docs/guides/goose-cli-commands#session-remove-options).
Import complete sessions from JSON files to restore, share, or migrate sessions between goose instances. Importing creates a new session with a new ID rather than overwriting existing sessions.
Export complete sessions as JSON files for backup, sharing, migration, or archival. Exported files preserve all session data including conversation history, metadata, and settings.
1. Click the <PanelLeft className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left to open the sidebar
Export sessions for backup, sharing, migration, or documentation purposes. You can export as JSON files to preserve complete session data including conversation history, metadata, and settings, or as Markdown files to get a formatted, readable version of the conversation.
