SUPPORTING KNOWLEDGE · 0009
Queue, steer and dispatch, in plain terms¶
While an agent is working, or while a chat is still starting, anything you send is not lost and not sent yet. It is queued. Berd's rules for the composer are written as laws, and the laws say: every accepted message goes into that chat's queue in the order you sent it, even before the session is ready; nothing is dispatched until the session can process it; and nothing jumps ahead of a message queued before it.
Dispatch is the moment a queued message is handed to the session. The laws are protective here too: a message leaves the queue only when the session has begun processing it; a failed dispatch leaves it at the front, not lost; a second copy is never sent while the first is unresolved; one dispatch never becomes two user turns.
Steer is the exception. Instead of waiting its turn, the first queued message is pushed into the run that is already going, so the agent changes course without finishing what it was doing. Only the first message can be steered, and a steered message is marked Steered in the transcript. Steering is offered for the Goose harness only, and one error string admits it may be unavailable even in some Goose backends.
Why it matters to you¶
Queueing is what makes talking to an agent feel like talking to a colleague: you say the next thing while they are still on the last thing. But the queue is where the two commonest surprises live. "I typed three things while it was starting; are they gone?" No, they are queued in order, and since v0.6.3 messages sent while a chat is still starting are no longer stranded. "Why did my correction arrive after it had finished the wrong version?" Because it was queued, not steered.
The difference is a setting and a shortcut. The follow-up behaviour setting decides the default, queue or steer, and its description says Cmd+Enter does the opposite for one message. The law adds that while a session is running, a shortcut with an empty composer steers the first queued message; with draft text in the composer, or a queued message being edited, nothing steers.
You can also work the queue directly: edit a queued message (its position does not change), dismiss one (the rest keep their order), or cancel an edit. Dismissing one does not send the next.
How to apply it¶
Queue by default. Send follow-ups freely while the agent works; they arrive in order, and you do not have to wait.
Steer when the run is going wrong and stopping would waste it: "use the second file, not the first". Clear the composer, then use the shortcut, and check for the Steered label. If the run is beyond saving, stop generation instead.
Read the queue before you leave a chat. A message sitting first after a failed dispatch will go next when the session recovers; edit or dismiss it if that is no longer what you want.
Expect messages from elsewhere. A message sent into this chat by an agent in another session, or by a monitor, arrives labelled as sent by Berd from another session. See Run long work outside the turn.
If you ignore this¶
You send "stop, that's wrong" as an ordinary message, it waits politely in the queue, and the agent finishes the wrong thing first. Or you assume a message that failed to send has vanished, retype it, and later find both in the queue.
Examples¶
A colleague at a whiteboard. Queueing is writing your next three points on a sticky note for when they finish. Steering is saying "wait, other column" while the pen is still moving.
An agent is rewriting a section; you notice it is using the draft from the wrong folder. Composer empty, steer shortcut, "use notes/v3.md". The transcript shows the message marked Steered and the rewrite continues from the right file.
Typing a long correction and pressing the steer shortcut with the text still in the composer. The law says nothing is steered while the composer holds draft text; the message queues instead.
Do it: Run a working session
Last checked: Berd v0.6.4, 2026-09-11.
Reference¶
- block/berd — LAWS/CHAT.md — the queue, dispatch and steering rules
- block/berd — src/shared/i18n/locales/en/settings.json — follow-up behaviour, Queue or Steer (Goose harness only)
- block/berd — src/shared/i18n/locales/en/chat.json — queue actions, the Steered label, the steering-backend message, cross-session labels
- block/berd — CHANGELOG.md — v0.6.1 (empty-composer Enter steers) and v0.6.3 (queued sends no longer stranded)
- Verified
- Berd v0.6.4 · 2026-09-11