Getting around Cortex

Arc and Vantage share the same navigation controls. Use Chats for Arc conversations and projects, and Workspaces for Vantage investigations and shared data. This guide introduces Kato, the command palette, and the places you can go across Cortex.

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Meet Kato

Kato is your assistant across Arc and Vantage. Ask a question, describe what you want to do, or give it a task in ordinary language. Kato operates the platform from natural-language prompts: build workflows, set up ingestion pipelines, create workspaces, and move between tasks across the system. Press Command+J (⌘J) on a Mac or Ctrl+J on Windows or Linux to open Kato directly. For example, ask:

• “Create a workspace for our Bristol transport investigation.”
• “Set up an ingestion pipeline for these sources.”
• “Build a workflow that turns the collected material into a weekly brief.”

Describe the outcome you want and include the workspace, sources, or other context Kato should use.

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Open the command palette with Command+K

Press ⌘K on a Mac or Ctrl+K on Windows or Linux. You can also select Search or ask Kato in the top bar. The palette opens on All. Type a destination, an item name, or a command, then select the matching row. With focus in the search field, Tab moves to the next palette tab and Shift+Tab moves to the previous one. Use the arrow keys to select a row and Enter to activate it. Press ⌘K or Ctrl+K again to close the palette. In a creation sequence, Backspace in an empty search field returns one step. Outside a sequence, it returns from a filtered tab to All.

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Jump to a page or return to earlier work

To open your workspace quickly:

1. Open the palette and select Go to.
2. Type at least two characters of its name, such as Bristol.
3. Select the matching workspace.
4. Check its name and the page you have opened before continuing.

The same search can find chats and datasets. Chat matches include titles and message content. Results are a convenient way back into work, not an exhaustive search of every artefact or piece of evidence. Commands can depend on where you are. For example, a page within a particular workspace is offered when that workspace supplies the context. If the row you expected is missing, check your section, the selected tab, and your access.

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Ask Kato from the palette

The Kato tab also gives you a route into Kato conversations. Try a product question such as “What is the difference between a project and a workspace?” For natural-language tasks across the platform, see Meet Kato.

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Start from Home

Choose Home in the section switcher to see an overview of your work. With Vantage access, Your workspaces shows workspace cards and recent agent chats within them. Open a card to enter that workspace, or choose All workspaces for the fuller list. The status filters help you focus on rooms that need attention, are running, or are ready. Since you were last here shows recent activity. An activity item can take you to the resource it concerns. The waiting on you control opens Review; its count is a cue to inspect the waiting work, rather than approval of its outcome. Without Vantage access, Home shows activity without the workspace column. The content and destinations you see depend on your account and permissions.

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Use the app spindle to switch sections

The app spindle is the section switcher at the upper left. Its control is labelled Switch section and shows the current section’s name and icon. On a page with a sidebar, look at the top of that sidebar; on an overview screen, look in the top bar. Open it and choose a destination: Additional destinations, such as Console or Compliance, appear for the relevant roles. A visible destination does not grant access to every resource inside it. Switching sections changes where you are working. It does not move chat context, project files, or datasets between Arc and Vantage. See What carries over for those boundaries.

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Use the sidebar and breadcrumbs within a section

The sidebar gives you the destinations relevant to your current section. Overview screens can appear without a sidebar; opening a chat or workspace brings in its more detailed navigation. In Chats, use New chat, Projects, and Artefacts, or return to a recent conversation. Inside a Vantage workspace, first check the workspace name. Then use:

• Summary for its goal and details.
• Explore for workspace agent chats and investigations.
• Collections and Datasets for its organised data.
• Workflow runs and Apps for structured work.
• Access and Settings for the operations your permissions allow.

Other workspace entries include artefacts, alerts, and review waits. The destinations and actions you see depend on your role and resource access. The breadcrumb trail in the top bar identifies the resource and page you have opened. Use its links to return to a parent. On a narrow screen, open the sidebar with its toggle; the breadcrumb trail and global controls may fold into menus.

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Recognise the shared controls

The top bar also gives you:

• Create for available creation actions.
• Starred for resources you have marked for quick return.
• The notification bell for activity and notifications.
• Your account menu for account controls.

On smaller screens, some controls move into an overflow menu. The command palette remains another route to available destinations and actions.

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Try a short navigation loop

Open Chats, return to Home, then use the palette’s Go to tab to open a permitted workspace. Confirm the workspace name and find Summary, Explore, and Collections. You should now be able to identify your current section and resource, return to a parent, and use the palette to reach existing work. Continue with Your first task in Arc or Vantage, or Create a workspace around a goal if you need to prepare the Vantage starting point.