FitWhen to use it — and when not
Use it when
- Assistants with many skills, tools or modes
- Products where power features drive retention
- After onboarding, as users grow
Skip it when
- Single-purpose tools with one job
AnatomyThe parts of the pattern
- Slash menu"/" opens commands with descriptions; filters as you type.
- Rotating hintPlaceholder that suggests a real capability.
- Contextual tipsSuggest a capability when the context fits.
- Capability listAn honest "what I can and cannot do".
GuidelinesDo & don’t
Do
- Describe each command by outcome, not by name.
- Support keyboard: arrows, Enter, Esc.
- Surface capabilities at the moment they are useful.
Don’t
- Hide features behind a docs page only.
- Tour every feature on day one.
- Claim capabilities the model does unreliably.
In the wildReal-world examples
Notion AICursorClaude CodeRaycastSlack
Products named for reference only — no affiliation, and the demo above is an original illustration, not a copy of their UI.
For engineersImplementation notes
- Register commands as data (name, description, args schema) shared by the UI menu and the model's tool list.
- Fuzzy-match on name and description; rank by the user's recent usage.
- Track discovery: first use per capability per user.