Brake
Brake is one control that pauses all model work: writing stops between words, tallies between records, agents between steps. Nothing written so far is lost, and each job resumes or stops on its own. Still stops motion; Brake stops the model.
Three jobs start when you scroll here. Press Brake while they run, then resume or stop each one. The same Brake appears above the dock whenever the model has worked for two seconds anywhere in this app, and ⌘. or Ctrl+. presses it.
Anatomy
When to use
- Any screen where the model can work on its own: drafting, reconciling, agents acting on your behalf.
- Alongside Still. Still stops motion for comfort; Brake stops work for control. People need both.
- Not as a cancel button for one request. A single answer can have its own Stop; Brake reaches everything at once.
Behaviour
| Work | Safe point | What is kept |
|---|---|---|
| Writing | Between words | Every word written so far |
| Tallying, reconciling | Between records | Every record already matched |
| An agent acting | Between steps; the current step finishes | Every completed step |
| A step that can’t be undone | Before it starts | Nothing has been sent |
After a brake, each job offers Resume and Stop. Resume carries on from the safe point; Stop ends the job and keeps what it made. Resume all releases everything at once.
Best practices
- Name every job in words people use: “Agent: booking six viewings”, not “Task 3”.
- Say where each job paused: “Paused before step 3: Hold Tue 11:30.”
- Show Brake only once work has run long enough to matter, about two seconds, so quick drafts don’t flash a control.
- Keep one Brake for the whole app, in the thumb zone. Every job registers with it.
Accessibility
- ⌘. on a Mac or Ctrl+. elsewhere presses Brake from anywhere, the long-standing shortcut for stopping work.
- Braking and resuming are announced: “Paused 3 model jobs at the next safe point.”
- Each paused job is a row with its own Resume and Stop buttons, reachable by Tab.
Specifications
- Appears
- After two seconds of model work
- Position
- Above the dock on phones; lower right on large screens
- Shortcut
- ⌘. or Ctrl+.
- While paused
- Model marks and carets stop moving
- Scope
- Page work ends when you leave the page; the guide and murmurs follow you
Jobs register with model.start(label) and call gate(id) at every safe point; gate waits while the job is paused and returns false once it is stopped.