NyxBolt AI Help Manual

1. Quick Start

1. After launch, the main search box opens automatically. If it disappears after losing focus, you can bring the main window back with the default global shortcuts (Ctrl+; or a quick double-press of Caps Lock), or by right-clicking the tray icon and choosing "Show Main Window".
2. Add the folders you want to search in Settings so local results become more complete.
3. Choose the input style based on your goal: plain text for local search, @ for the web, > for AI, Alt+Enter for quick default-model AI, Alt+S to enter Stellar mode directly, and Alt+F to enter Flick mode directly. Press Esc to quickly close the current main window; in temporary states such as voice input or argument input, Esc is also commonly used to cancel the current action.

2. Local Search

Plain input goes to local search by default. It is useful for finding files, folders, apps, and favorites (quick link items, called BoltLinks). NyxBolt AI supports fuzzy matching, tokenized matching, pinyin matching, and explicit type filters.

Common examples

README
 task man
 wx
 store
 file: README
 app: vscode
 pic : logo
 dir: NyxBolt

• wx-style initials can match Chinese names through pinyin matching.
• You can also search store, microsoft store, windows store, or 微软商店 to open Microsoft Store directly.
• After you finish typing a query, the tool automatically shows matching local results. You can use the Up/Down arrows and PageUp/PageDown to select items or move by page in the result list, and you can also use mouse clicks or Ctrl+1..9 to open items from the current result list quickly.
• In local search, results appear automatically as you type; when you press Enter, the currently selected local result is opened.
• type: keyword supports explicit type filters, and spaces around the colon are allowed.
• Supported type keywords currently include: file / doc / document, app / exe, pic / image / img, audio / music / sound, video / vid, and dir / folder.
• After selecting a local result, press Ctrl+O to open the action menu, such as reveal in folder, open in terminal (folders), copy path, add to favorites, or choose an open-with app.
• Local search results can be dragged directly: press and hold a file, folder, or app result and drag it into File Explorer, the desktop, or another application (same feel as File Explorer). Combined with Batch Check, you can drag multiple files at once.
• When you right-click an app result that has a registered uninstaller, the menu offers an "Uninstall" entry. After confirmation, the app follows the system policy to show an elevation prompt and launches the app's own uninstaller; the remaining uninstall steps are handled by that uninstaller (the same behavior as uninstalling from Control Panel).

QuickSwitch

QuickSwitch is an extension of local file search. It is mainly used to help you quickly locate the target folder inside open/save file dialog windows. The current default shortcut for switching is Ctrl+G.

There are two typical ways to use it:

1. First, select the target folder in the local search results and press Ctrl+Shift+G to set it as the Quick Switch target (you can also press Ctrl+O to open the action menu and choose "Set as Quick Switch Target"). Then, inside an open/save file dialog window, press Ctrl+G to jump to that target folder quickly.
2. If you already have an open/save file dialog window open, you can first use the tool's local file search to open the target folder, then switch back to the open/save file dialog window. The dialog will automatically switch to that target folder.

Tip: the hotkey for setting the Quick Switch target (default Ctrl+Shift+G) can be changed in Settings > Hotkeys; leave it empty to disable.

Open Apps

When the main search box is empty, the result list shows your currently open application windows by default, making it easy to switch between them. Windows are listed one by one: multiple File Explorer windows or browser windows of the same app are listed individually, and pressing Enter or clicking switches exactly to that window (including minimized ones). Microsoft Store and other UWP/Store apps are also supported.

• If you do not want this list by default, turn off "Show Open Apps List by Default" in Settings > General.
• Once you start typing, open apps rank together with normal local results, so you can search a window title or app name to switch directly.

Batch Check and Batch Operations

Batch Check is designed for handling multiple files, folders, or apps at once. Press Ctrl+Shift+M to check or uncheck the currently highlighted item, then use Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+Delete to copy, cut, or delete the checked items in batch. Shift+arrow keys range selection, Ctrl+A select all, and Ctrl+D clear selection are also supported. A single result can also be checked via "Batch Check" in the Ctrl+O action menu.

Tip: the Batch Check hotkey (default Ctrl+Shift+M) can be changed in Settings > Hotkeys; leave it empty to disable.

3. Web Search

Type @ to enter web search mode. You can specify a search engine first and then the search term. NyxBolt AI will open the matching search URL in your default browser.

You can manage your web search engines in Settings. The first enabled search engine becomes the default engine, and you can drag items to reorder them.

Syntax

• @ query: search with the default search engine.
• @ engine-or-keyword query: search with the specified engine, for example @bing NyxBolt AI or @g quantum mechanics.

Common examples

@google quantum mechanics
@bing windows search
@store notion
@baidu pinyin search
@duckduckgo privacy policy

• The search engine list can be managed, enabled, disabled, and sorted in Settings.

• @store keyword searches apps directly in Microsoft Store.
• If an engine has a keyword configured, that keyword can be used too.
• In web search, typing shows the relevant search action or matching engine candidates; when you press Enter, the currently selected search item is executed and opened in your default browser.

4. AI Search and Conversations

Type > to enter AI search. You can use the default model directly or first choose the large language model you want from the model list in the main search box. The current default built-in model is qwen3-vl-flash.

Syntax

• > question: run AI search with the default model.
• > model-alias question: run AI search with the model that has the given alias, for example >qwen explain this error or >ds summarize this text. Model aliases can be viewed and edited in AI Settings.

The simplest way

>Who wrote Harry Potter?
>Translate into Chinese: Perseverance is surer than swiftness
>Explain the error in this screenshot

More advanced usage

>qwen3-vl-flash Explain this screenshot
>qwen3.7-plus Summarize this long document
>deepseek-v4-flash Rewrite this email in a more polished tone

• If you only type >, you can choose a model from the model list in the main search box first.
• If you already know the model you want, you can place the model alias immediately after >, then type the question, for a faster workflow, for example >qwen explain this error.
• Custom models currently support OpenAI-compatible chat endpoints only, and they must be configured in Settings with a model ID, endpoint, API key, and alias.
• During AI conversations, you can also perform several organization actions: you can copy a selected message, save all conversation messages as a Markdown file, delete a selected message, or re-edit a user message for easier cleanup and archiving.

Flick Mode vs Stellar Mode

• By default, quick AI conversations usually begin in Flick Mode.
• If you want to enter the persistent conversation workspace, the main path is to click the Stellar Mode star icon button in the main search box to enter Stellar Mode.
• You can also use in-window shortcuts: Alt+S to enter or switch to Stellar Mode, and Alt+F to enter or switch to Flick Mode.
• After entering Stellar Mode, you can create, switch, and manage multiple conversations in the sidebar.
• The mode indicator at the top-left corner of the AI window shows the current state, such as Flick Mode or Stellar Mode, so you can always tell which mode you are in; once inside the AI window, you can also continue switching modes from there.

If a conversation in Flick Mode turns into something worth keeping, you can move it into Stellar Mode and continue it as part of your longer-term session workflow.

Finding Messages, Jumping, and Window Controls

• Find in messages: Press Ctrl+F in the AI window to open the find box, then type a keyword to highlight all matches. The Aa / |ab| toggles inside the input switch match case and whole-word matching; Enter / Shift+Enter jumps to the next/previous match, and Esc closes the find box.
• Jump between messages: Press Ctrl+N / Ctrl+P to select the next/previous message, or click the up/down arrow buttons at the bottom-right of the message area. At the first or last message, further presses simply stop there without wrapping around.
• Move the window: Drag the empty area of the AI window header (not the buttons) to move the window anywhere on screen. The window may be dragged partially off-screen, but it can never disappear completely.
• Resize the window: Drag the bottom-right edge of the AI window to adjust its width and height.
• Automatic context compression: When a conversation grows very long, NyxBolt automatically compresses the earlier history into a summary in the background (a brief "Compressing conversation context and generating summary..." notice is shown). This never interrupts your typing and does not change the history shown in the window; long conversations keep their context better and use less of your quota.

Smart AI Search

Smart AI Search intelligently shows the AI search entry in your results based on what you type. When your input looks like a question (for example, "What does the BB84 protocol do in quantum mechanics?"), you do not need to switch to > mode: an Ask AI option appears at the top of the result list, and pressing Enter hands it directly to AI. If you prefer not to use AI, simply pick one of the search engine results below and continue with a normal web search.

Setting: if you do not need this, turn off "Enable smart AI search trigger" in Settings > AI > AI Search.

5. Quick AI and Quick Clipboard AI

Quick AI

If you already typed a normal sentence in the main search box and then decide you want AI to handle it, you do not need to switch to > mode. Just press Alt+Enter. Quick AI corresponds to AI search in Flick Mode, which is ideal for a fast lightweight conversation.

Briefly introduce the author of Harry Potter
Alt+Enter

Quick Clipboard AI

Copy text or an image first, then type an instruction in NyxBolt AI and press Ctrl+Enter. The app will send both your instruction and the current clipboard content to AI together.

Translate the clipboard content into English
Ctrl+Enter

This is especially useful when you want to:

• Translate a paragraph you copied from a website.
• Explain an error log you copied from a terminal.
• Analyze a screenshot that is currently in the clipboard.

Quick Clipboard Web Search

After copying some text, press Ctrl+Shift+Enter in the main search box. The app uses the clipboard text as the search term and opens the search results in your default browser with the default (or currently selected) search engine.

1. Copy some text (for example an error message or a news headline)
2. Open the main search box and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter
3. The search results page opens directly in your browser

If the clipboard has no text, the app shows a clear notice instead of failing silently.

Upload images and documents

The main search box and the AI chat area both support image and document uploads, including drag and drop. You can also copy files in File Explorer and press Ctrl+V in the AI chat area to paste and upload them (multiple files supported). When sent, images are treated as multimodal input and documents are parsed on demand before being passed to the model. Image and document analysis requires the selected model to support multimodal capabilities.

• Plain-text formats like txt and md, plus common source/config files (json, ts, py, etc.) are recommended and parse reliably.
• pdf, docx, and xlsx/xls/csv only support basic parsing of short documents; complex layouts or very long documents may not parse fully. pptx is not supported.
• Up to 10 images and 10 documents are supported.
• If you see a “Pending parse” state, that is normal. The document is parsed when the request is actually sent.

6. AI Prompts

AI prompts let you turn repeated AI tasks into reusable entries. In Settings > AI, you can configure a prompt name, alias, hotkey, prompt body, and whether it should request an extra argument.

Common built-in prompt use cases

• Translation: quickly translate selected text, text already typed in the input box, or clipboard content.
• Summarization: compress a long paragraph, meeting note, or web page into a few key points.
• Error explanation: combine logs, screenshots, or clipboard content to diagnose a problem faster.
• Polishing and rewriting: improve the tone of an email, response, or product copy.

Built-in prompts automatically switch between Chinese and English templates based on the current interface language. If you have customized a built-in template, switching languages will still adapt it automatically without losing your changes.

Placeholder reference

• {input}: uses the text that is already in the main search box. This is best when the source text is already prepared and you simply want to run a prompt against it.
• {clipboard}: uses the current clipboard content. This is best when you already copied a web paragraph, log, or screenshot and want AI to process it directly.
• {argument}: asks for one extra value after the prompt is triggered. This is best when the template stays fixed but one variable changes each time, such as a target language, tone, or topic keyword.

{input} vs {argument}

{input} consumes the main body text that you prepared before triggering the prompt, while {argument} asks you for an extra value after the prompt is selected. In practice, {input} is better when the original text is already in the input box, and {argument} is better when the body template is fixed and you only need to fill in one variable each time.

Example 1: quick summarization with {input}

Name: Summarize
Alias: summary
Prompt: Summarize the following content into 3 key points:
{input}

This works well when you first paste a meeting note, email, or article excerpt into the main search box and then trigger the prompt.

Example 2: translation with {clipboard}

Name: Translate Clipboard
Alias: clip-translate
Prompt: Translate the following content into Chinese:
{clipboard}

This is useful when you copy a web paragraph, chat content, or log snippet and want AI to process it in one step.

Example 3: variable template with {argument}

Name: Explain a Term
Alias: explain
Prompt: Explain the following term and give one short example:
{argument}

After you trigger this prompt, NyxBolt AI waits for the specific term, such as quantum mechanics or vector database.

7. Voice Input

Click the microphone button to start voice input, and click it again to stop. Recognized text is filled back into the search box in real time.

• You can choose the speech model in Settings > AI Settings. The currently supported built-in voice models are Paraformer and FunASR.
• You can also enable or disable automatic AI search after recognition finishes in Settings > AI Settings. This switch is currently enabled by default, so spoken input goes directly into AI processing; if you turn it off, the recognized text is only filled back into the main search box first, so you can review or edit it before deciding whether to run AI search.
• If voice recording is active, press Esc to cancel the current voice input and return to the main search box.

Example

1. Click the microphone button
2. Say: "Help me check who the author of Harry Potter is"
3. Stop recording or press Esc to cancel
4. If auto AI search is enabled, the AI answer starts immediately

8. Favorites (BoltLinks)

Favorites are ideal for frequently used websites, folders, apps, or files. You can also think of them as BoltLinks, meaning quick link items. Once an alias is configured, you can type that alias in the main search box and open the target directly.

The favorites management entry is located in Settings > Favorites, where you can add, edit, enable, disable, or delete favorite items.

Typical use cases

• Save a project folder as work and open it by typing work.
• Save a frequently used website as portal and open it instantly.
• Save common apps such as obsidian or terminal.

Dynamic placeholders

Favorites support two very useful placeholders:

• {clipboard}: replaced with the current clipboard text before opening.
• {argument}: lets you enter a parameter after the favorite is matched, then inserts that value into the target.

Example 1: open a translation page with clipboard text

Alias: translate
Target: https://translate.google.com/?text={clipboard}

Example 2: use a favorite as a reusable search template

Alias: gh
Target: https://github.com/search?q={argument}

After typing gh, NyxBolt AI enters argument input mode. If you then enter quantum mechanics, it opens the matching GitHub search page.

9. System Commands, Settings, and Volume

Besides search and AI, NyxBolt AI also supports a few convenient system control commands.

Open Windows settings pages

After typing /set (or set:), you can search Windows settings pages with Chinese terms, pinyin, or English keywords.

set: sound
set: shengyin
set: yinsi
set: privacy
set: windows update

Common supported settings pages include: the main Settings home page, personalization, display, sound, network & internet, Edit the system environment variables, Edit environment variables for your account, date & time, apps & features, privacy & security, default apps, power & battery, storage, Bluetooth & devices, account info, and Windows Update.

Run system commands

After typing /sys (or sys:), you can search system commands with Chinese terms, pinyin, or English keywords.

sys: task manager
sys: renwu
sys: shebei
sys: device manager
sys: show desktop

Common supported system commands include: open Recycle Bin, open Task Manager, open Device Manager, open Disk Management, empty Recycle Bin, show desktop, sleep, lock screen, sign out, restart, and shut down.

Read or change volume

vol:
vol:45
vol:mute
vol:unmute

For actions such as emptying the Recycle Bin, shutting down, restarting, or signing out, the app asks for confirmation before execution.

10. Recent Files, Local Commands, and App Uninstallation

Typing / in the main search box opens a command palette with four built-in commands. You can also type /command argument to enter the matching mode directly. The palette includes:

• /recent: recent files. Lists files you opened recently; the subtitle shows the last-used time, and Enter opens the file directly.
• /cmd: run command. Type any local command (such as ping www.baidu.com) and press Enter to run it.
• /set: system settings. Equivalent to the set: prefix for searching Windows settings pages.
• /sys: system commands. Equivalent to the sys: prefix for searching system commands.

Run local commands (/cmd)

After entering /cmd mode, type a command and press Enter. The command runs in Windows Terminal when available; otherwise the system terminal is used automatically. The terminal window stays open after the command finishes so you can review the output, and you close it yourself.

/cmd ping www.baidu.com
/cmd dir D:

Recent files (/recent)

Inside /recent, you can keep typing keywords to filter recent files (Chinese, pinyin, and English are all supported). An empty list usually means no files were opened recently, or the system's recent history was cleared or disabled by policy.

/recent
/recent report

App uninstallation

Right-click an app result. If the app has a registered uninstaller, the menu offers "Uninstall". After confirmation, the app follows the system policy to show an elevation (UAC) prompt and launches the app's own uninstaller; the remaining uninstall steps are handled by that uninstaller, just like uninstalling from Control Panel. If launching fails, you are told to use Control Panel instead. Apps installed from Microsoft Store do not provide this entry.

11. Common Settings

• File Search: add or remove search folders; run a full rebuild only when indexing is clearly inaccurate.
• Web Search: manage engines, keywords, enabled state, and order.
• Favorites (BoltLinks): manage aliases, targets, enabled state, and default open mode.
• Hotkeys: manage the global main-window shortcut as well as selected feature or prompt hotkeys.
• AI Settings: manage model order, the default model, built-in models, and custom models.
• AI Prompts: manage prompt names, aliases, hotkeys, placeholders, and prompt templates.
• Language: follows the operating system language by default; you can also manually choose Simplified Chinese or English.
• About: view version information, subscription status, and update notes; open the help manual in the current language from Settings > About or the tray menu; and jump to Microsoft Store from About, the main search box, or the tray menu when a new version is available.

12. FAQ

Why can't I find a file?

First make sure the folder has been added to the search directory list in Settings > File Search. If the folder was added recently, indexing may still be running in the background.

Why is AI not returning a result?

Check your network connection, the selected model, and whether you have a working built-in AI path or a valid custom model configuration. Custom models require a reachable OpenAI-compatible endpoint and a valid API key.

Why does AI search say "Request signature verification failed" or mention a large time difference?

This usually means your device clock differs too much from the official time (for example by more than 5 minutes), so the security check cannot pass. Open Windows Settings → Time & Language → turn on "Set time automatically" and tap "Sync now", then try again.

Why can't voice input start?

This is usually related to microphone permission, network connectivity, or speech service availability. Confirm microphone access first, then try again.

Why did the main window disappear?

The main search box may auto-hide after losing focus, which is normal behavior. Press Ctrl+;, quickly double-press Caps Lock, or right-click the tray icon and choose "Show Main Window" to bring it back.

Which features require a subscription?

AI-related capabilities are provided through optional add-on subscriptions. Depending on your subscription and settings, you can use built-in AI search, AI conversations, voice input, and custom model integration. Custom models also require the relevant subscription, and you still need to provide your own third-party API Key; any related usage cost is borne by the user.

Why does a favorite ask me to keep typing?

That usually means the target contains the {argument} placeholder. NyxBolt AI needs one more input value before it can build the final target.