How to manage scope

Learn what Scope is, how to add or remove scoped sources, and how to verify exactly what is powering each answer.

Written By Mark Ku

Last updated 2 days ago

Overview

In Chief, Scope is the set of knowledge sources the assistant can use for a chat turn.

🚀 Pro-Tip: When writing a prompt, you can use the @symbol to at-mention files, labels, collections, and concepts to put them into the scope of your chat. Give it a try!

Scope can include:

  • Files

  • Labels

  • Collections

  • Concepts

Using Scope well helps you reduce noise, improve answer relevance, and make repeated workflows more consistent.

You can also ask Storytell to use public data sources (information found on the web). Read more here: Chat with Public Data Sources

Default scope behavior

By default, Chief can run in an Entire Library style scope for project files unless you manually narrow it by removing scope.

You can then add explicit scoped items (for example a Label or Collection), or remove items, to make the context more precise.

ℹ️ Good to Know: Scope is turn-aware and shown in Prompt bar settings as Using ... files (plus labels, collections, and concepts when present).

Where to see current scope

The fastest way to check scope is Prompt bar settings -> Using ... files.

It shows:

  • file count (or Entire Library)

  • number of labels

  • number of collections

  • number of concepts

How to add scope

You can add scope from multiple entry points.

Method 1: Add from Prompt bar settings

  1. Open or start any chat.

  2. Open Prompt bar settings.

  3. In Using ... files, open the scope picker/flyout.

  4. Go to the appropriate tab (Files, Labels, Collections, Concepts).

  5. Select the items you want.

  6. Click the staged Add ... to chat action.

Method 2: Use @mentions in the prompt

  1. Click in the prompt bar.

  2. Type @.

  3. Pick a file, label, collection, or concept.

  4. Send the prompt.

Method 3: Use contextual Chat actions

From pages like Files, Labels, Collections, and Concepts, Chat actions can open a new chat with that entity already scoped.

How to remove scope

  1. Open Prompt bar settings.

  2. In Using ... files, open the scope picker/flyout.

  3. Find selected items in the relevant tabs.

  4. Unselect the items you want removed.

  5. Click the staged Remove ... from chat action.

For broad resets, you can remove large file scope states (including entire library scope) from the same scope controls.

⚠️ Important: Removing scope changes what evidence Chief can use. If answers suddenly become too general, re-check what is still selected.

How mentions and manual scope work together

Chief merges both:

  • manually selected scope (from picker/actions), and

  • scope implied by @mentions in the prompt

That means a mentioned Label or Collection can power the turn even if it was not manually selected beforehand.

If you need strict control, keep the prompt concise and confirm the final scope in Using ... files before submitting.

FAQ