Threads
A thread is a conversation with an agent, and every agent run happens inside one. Whether you asked a question or a check fired, you get the same page: the streamed answer, every tool call and result, and the artifacts the agent produced.
What it does
Responses stream live and every tool call lands in the transcript as it happens, so you follow the work instead of waiting for a summary. Answers carry numbered reference badges; hover one to see the source and what it says, and the tool result behind it holds the raw data. Agents also produce artifacts alongside the conversation, such as reports, diagrams and pull requests, listed in the thread's artifacts panel.
Agents can hand part of the work to sub-agents, whose threads nest under the parent. Every thread records where it started: the console, Slack, the CLI, the API, MCP, the browser extension, GitHub or email.
Thread types
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
chat | A conversation you start to ask a question or explore a problem. |
fix_run | The agent working one issue from verdict to pull request. See Fix runs. |
exploration | An unattended sweep of a cloud account or integration that records findings and may open an issue. |
pr_review | An agent reviewing a pull request against what it knows about your infrastructure. |
key_query_discovery | An agent choosing the monitoring queries for one resource scope. |
Start a thread
In the console, open Threads, click New thread and type what you want to know, for example "Which services call our production database, and which of them deployed in the last 24 hours?". From a terminal, polylane thread ask starts a thread and waits for the reply:
polylane thread ask "why did p99 latency on api-gateway rise since 14:20 UTC?"
Scripts and integrations create threads with POST /v1/threads, documented in the API reference.
From Slack
Mention Polylane in a channel it is in and the answer arrives in a Slack thread under your message. Replies in that Slack thread continue the same Polylane thread, which also appears under Threads in the console for your workspace. A direct message to Polylane works the same way. After a mention, Polylane reads the rest of that Slack thread and answers only the messages meant for it, and telling it to leave the conversation mutes it there until someone mentions it again.
Where to find it
Threads lists every thread with the presets All, Mine, Running and Needs you, the last one for threads whose run is waiting on a person. While a run is streaming, a stop button replaces the send button; click it to cancel the turn.
When an agent wants to make a write call against a cloud account that requires confirmation, the run pauses and shows you the exact call. Approve it, or reject it with an optional note the agent reads before continuing.
Sharing
Threads are private by default. Share thread changes the Visibility to your workspace, a team or public, and Copy puts the link on your clipboard. From a terminal, polylane thread export writes the transcript to a file.
Related
- Fix runs for the thread type that works an issue to a pull request.
- Escalations for what a thread waiting on you is asking.
- Memories for what agents carry from one thread to the next.
- CLI for driving threads from scripts and coding agents.