# What is the thinking section above a reply?

The line above a reply shows Bluedeer thinking or working, then how long it took. Press it to see the thoughts and the steps it took, and choose Shimmer or Dots under Settings.

When Bluedeer is working on a reply, a line appears above it. It shows what Bluedeer is doing, such as searching the web or reading a page, and when the reply is finished it shows how long Bluedeer spent. These steps are for the web app.

## While Bluedeer is working

The line reads one of these:

- **Thinking…** while Bluedeer is reasoning about your message.
- **Working…** while Bluedeer is using a tool or a skill, before it has written any thoughts.

Under the line you see a blurred glimpse of the thoughts as they arrive, with the newest at the bottom. Steps Bluedeer takes, such as searching the web, appear sharp in the same glimpse, in the order they happen. The glimpse is only a picture of the activity. You can't scroll it, and it is not for reading.

To see everything, press the line. The full thoughts and the steps open in the same place. Press the line again to close them. While Bluedeer is still working, the glimpse comes back.

## When Bluedeer has finished

The line changes to show how the thinking went:

- **Thought for 8s** or **Thought for 1m 5s** when Bluedeer wrote thoughts. The time is the time it spent thinking, to the nearest second.
- **Thought process** when there are thoughts, but no time was recorded.
- The name of a single step, such as **Searched the web**, or **3 steps**, when Bluedeer used tools but wrote no thoughts.

Press the line to open the thoughts and the steps, as you did while the reply was being written.

## The steps

Each step is a short line with a mark beside it:

- A step that is still going shows a small moving mark.
- A step that finished shows a tick.
- A step that failed shows a warning mark. When the thinking is open, the reason it failed is shown underneath.

When a step read web pages, a line such as **4 sources** appears at the end of the step. Press it to see the links Bluedeer read, and open any of them in a new tab. The sources list is only available once the thinking section is open in full.

## Choose how it looks while Bluedeer works

You can pick how the line looks while Bluedeer is thinking:

1. Click your account menu at the bottom of the sidebar and open **Settings**.
2. Choose the **AI & Chat** tab.
3. Under **Thinking indicator**, choose one of these:
   - **Shimmer** (the default): the word **Thinking…** has a gentle highlight, with the blurred glimpse under it.
   - **Dots**: the word **Thinking** or **Working** is followed by three moving dots. There is no glimpse under it.

Your choice is saved to your account, so it is the same when you sign in on another device. It only changes how the line looks while Bluedeer is thinking or working. Once the reply is finished, the line reads **Thought for**, **Thought process** or the step names, and you can always press it to see the full thoughts and steps.

## Related

- [Which thinking mode should I use?](https://support.bluedeer.ai/bluedeer/chats/thinking-modes.md) sets how much Bluedeer thinks before it answers.
- [How do I start a new chat?](https://support.bluedeer.ai/bluedeer/chats/start-a-chat.md) explains the **Stop generation** button while Bluedeer is answering.