Composer

What it means

The composer aggregates text input, attachments, mode toggles (Search, Agent, Build), connector chips, and send/stop into the main interaction control of the product.

Why designers should care

Composer density is a core design problem: too empty and users face prompt anxiety; too crowded and power features hide. Progressive disclosure and mode clarity matter.

Example

Manus frames the composer with connector suggestion cards, + attach menu, skills via slash commands, and Lite/Pro/Max tier picker before the agent runs.

Common mistakes

• • Blank textarea with no starters, modes, or capability hints.
• • Cramming every feature into one row with no grouping or overflow menu.
• • Send and Stop using the same visual weight, causing accidental interrupts.

Related terms

• Prompt: Prompts set role, task, constraints, format, and context; the model’s reply is a direct response to that combined instruction stack.
• Connector: The product links a user account to a third-party service and exposes specific capabilities (search inbox, create event, post message) as tools the agent can invoke.
• Context Assembly: The client gathers, ranks, and truncates sources (files, URLs, thread history, skills) to fit the context window, then orders them for the model to read.
• Multimodal Input: The interface accepts multiple input modalities in a single turn: type a question, attach a photo, paste a link, or record audio, then send one combined prompt.
• Agent: The model decides sequences of actions (search, draft, click, call APIs) within policies until the task completes or hits a human checkpoint.