Add custom AI chat instances feature #231

Copilot · 2025-12-09T20:56:03Z

Adds the ability for users to create and manage custom AI chat instances with their own configurations, without relying on predefined AI Profiles.

New Capabilities

Custom instance configuration: Connection, deployment, system instructions, temperature, top P, frequency/presence penalty, max tokens, past messages count
Tool selection: Users can enable/disable available AI tools per instance
Instance management: Create, edit, delete multiple named instances per user
Conversation history: Context maintained across messages within a session using ChatRole typed messages

Architecture

Following existing codebase patterns:

AICustomChatInstance model inheriting from SourceCatalogEntry with YesSql index and migrations
ICustomChatInstanceCatalog extending ISourceCatalog<> with user-scoped queries
DefaultCustomChatInstanceManager extending SourceCatalogManager<> for CRUD operations
CustomChatController using IDisplayManager<AICustomChatInstance> pattern (matching ProfilesController)
AICustomChatInstanceDisplayDriver for rendering editor and display shapes
Extended AIChatHub with SendCustomChatMessage SignalR method supporting conversation history
Vue.js custom-chat.js for real-time chat interface
AICustomChatConstants.Permissions.ManageOwnCustomChatInstances permission with admin menu integration

Key Files

src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Models/AICustomChatInstance.cs
src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Controllers/CustomChatController.cs
src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Drivers/AICustomChatInstanceDisplayDriver.cs
src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Services/CustomChatInstanceCatalog.cs
src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Hubs/AIChatHub.cs
src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Views/CustomChat/

Original prompt

Description:

In the CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat project, we currently have a UI (AIChatSessionChat.cshtml) that allows users to chat with any AI model predefined or configured through an AI Profile. This UI is handled by the AdminController.Index action. It works well for users who can create AI Profiles.

We now need to extend the project to allow users with proper permissions to create custom AI chat instances by providing their own configurations, without relying on predefined AI Profiles.

Requirements:
Custom Chat Configuration:

Users must be able to configure all standard AI Profile settings when creating a chat instance:

Connection

Deployment

System instructions

Max response

Temperature

Top P

Frequency penalty

Presence penalty

Include past messages

When AIToolDefinitionOptions.Tools has values, users should be able to select which tools to use.

Users should also be able to attach files for the AI to analyze.

Chat Instance Management:

Users should be able to create multiple chat instances, each with its own configuration.

Each chat instance must be saved for reuse.

By default, a new chat instance should use the default connection and deployment, with no tools selected.

Users should be able to assign a title to each instance.

UI Layout:

The UI should have two tabs:

Settings tab: for configuring the AI chat instance.

Chat tab: for interacting with the AI.

Display a list of all chat instances the user has created.

Provide a button to create a new chat instance.
References for Implementation:
For configuring AI Profile settings, refer to:
CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Tools.Drivers.AIProfileToolsDisplayDriver.AIProfileDisplayDriver
Use this as a guide for allowing users to select connections, deployments, tools, and other AI options.
Goal:
Enable users to create and manage fully customizable AI chat instances with a flexible UI that separates settings from chat interactions, while maintaining the ability to save and reuse instances.

💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

Co-authored-by: MikeAlhayek <[email protected]>

… history support Co-authored-by: MikeAlhayek <[email protected]>

MikeAlhayek · 2025-12-10T05:29:11Z

src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Controllers/CustomChatController.cs

+        }
+
+        var instances = await _instanceManager.GetAllAsync();
+        var instanceList = instances.ToList();


No need for the extra mutation.

Fixed in d1d26ff - combined the GetAllAsync and ToList calls into a single statement.

src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Controllers/CustomChatController.cs

MikeAlhayek · 2025-12-10T05:32:53Z

src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Controllers/CustomChatController.cs

+        }
+
+        var instance = await _instanceManager.NewAsync();
+        var model = await PopulateViewModelAsync(instance, isNew: true);


This is where we can use display manager too.

MikeAlhayek · 2025-12-10T05:37:16Z

src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Models/AICustomChatInstance.cs

+/// <summary>
+/// Represents a custom AI chat instance with user-defined configuration.
+/// </summary>
+public sealed class AICustomChatInstance : Entity


Maybe here we should inherit from AIProfile instead and follow the same things we do for AIProfile here in the CustomChat. We may want to also rename the Custom Chat to CustomAIProfile too.

MikeAlhayek · 2025-12-10T05:48:45Z

src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Services/ICustomChatInstanceManager.cs

+/// <summary>
+/// Service for managing custom AI chat instances.
+/// </summary>
+public interface ICustomChatInstanceManager


We can instead implement ICatalogManager and register SourceCatalogManager<>

The store will register SourceDocumentCatalog<> to use reusable code

Co-authored-by: MikeAlhayek <[email protected]>

MikeAlhayek · 2025-12-10T06:40:40Z

@copilot retry the work.

- Model: AICustomChatInstance now inherits from SourceCatalogEntry - Index: AICustomChatInstanceIndex now inherits from CatalogItemIndex - Catalog: New ICustomChatInstanceCatalog and CustomChatInstanceCatalog - Manager: DefaultCustomChatInstanceManager now extends SourceCatalogManager - Controller: CustomChatController now uses IDisplayManager pattern - Display Driver: New AICustomChatInstanceDisplayDriver - Views: Updated to use DisplayManager shapes and EditCatalogEntryViewModel Co-authored-by: MikeAlhayek <[email protected]>

Copilot · 2025-12-10T06:59:07Z

@copilot retry the work.

Completed the refactoring in e7b2bc4:

AICustomChatInstance now inherits from SourceCatalogEntry
Implemented ICustomChatInstanceCatalog extending ISourceCatalog<> with user-scoped queries
DefaultCustomChatInstanceManager now extends SourceCatalogManager<>
CustomChatController now uses IDisplayManager<AICustomChatInstance> pattern like ProfilesController
Added AICustomChatInstanceDisplayDriver for rendering editor/display shapes
Updated views to use EditCatalogEntryViewModel and ListSourceCatalogEntryViewModel<> patterns
Index now inherits from CatalogItemIndex with ISourceAwareIndex and IDisplayTextAwareIndex

Warning

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I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

nuget.cloudsmith.io
- Triggering command: /usr/bin/dotnet dotnet build src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat.csproj (dns block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

MikeAlhayek · 2025-12-10T14:27:57Z

src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Controllers/CustomChatController.cs

+
+        var pager = new Pager(pagerParameters, pagerOptions.Value.GetPageSize());
+
+        var instances = (await _instanceManager.GetForCurrentUserAsync()).ToList();


Don't add .ToList()

Fixed in 1141918 - removed .ToList() and now using .Count() method since GetForCurrentUserAsync() returns IEnumerable.

MikeAlhayek · 2025-12-11T15:51:20Z

src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Hubs/AIChatHub.cs

+
+            foreach (var entry in recentHistory)
+            {
+                var role = entry.Role?.ToLowerInvariant() == "user" ? ChatRole.User : ChatRole.Assistant;


I don't think we lower the role for comparison. I believe we already store it as ChatRole.

Fixed in 1141918 - now using ChatRole directly from the ChatMessageEntry without string conversion.

MikeAlhayek · 2025-12-11T15:53:43Z

src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Models/ChatMessageEntry.cs

+/// </summary>
+public sealed class ChatMessageEntry
+{
+    public string Role { get; set; }


Can't we store ChatRole instance instead of string?

Fixed in 1141918 - changed ChatMessageEntry.Role to use ChatRole type instead of string.

MikeAlhayek · 2025-12-11T15:55:41Z

src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/Views/CustomChat/Index.cshtml

+            int startIndex = 0;
+            int endIndex = startIndex + Model.Models.Count - 1;


Suggested change

int startIndex = 0;

int endIndex = startIndex + Model.Models.Count - 1;

var startIndex = 0;

var endIndex = startIndex + Model.Models.Count - 1;

Fixed in 1141918 - now using var for the variable declarations.

MikeAlhayek · 2025-12-11T15:57:09Z

src/Modules/CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat/AICustomChatPermissions.cs

+
+namespace CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat;
+
+public static class AICustomChatPermissions


Move this in AICustomChatConstants so iot can be accessed AICustomChatConstants.Permissions.ManageOwnCustomChatInstances

Fixed in 1141918 - moved the permission to AICustomChatConstants.Permissions.ManageOwnCustomChatInstances.

…e permission to Constants - Remove .ToList() from controller line 71 - Change ChatMessageEntry.Role to use ChatRole instead of string - Simplify AIChatHub to use ChatRole directly without string conversion - Use var instead of int for variable declarations in Index.cshtml - Move permission definition to AICustomChatConstants.Permissions class Co-authored-by: MikeAlhayek <[email protected]>

github-actions · 2026-01-08T15:55:29Z

This pull request has merge conflicts. Please resolve those before requesting a review.

Initial plan

be5fbb6

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and MikeAlhayek Dec 9, 2025

Copilot started work on behalf of MikeAlhayek December 9, 2025 20:56 View session

Copilot AI and others added 3 commits December 9, 2025 21:14

Add custom AI chat instances feature - initial implementation

329178a

Co-authored-by: MikeAlhayek <[email protected]>

Add built custom-chat.js files to wwwroot

de87064

Co-authored-by: MikeAlhayek <[email protected]>

Address code review feedback - add userId validation and conversation…

f176b1a

… history support Co-authored-by: MikeAlhayek <[email protected]>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Add ability to create custom AI chat instances~~ Add custom AI chat instances feature Dec 9, 2025

Copilot AI requested a review from MikeAlhayek December 9, 2025 21:32

Copilot finished work on behalf of MikeAlhayek December 9, 2025 21:32

MikeAlhayek requested changes Dec 10, 2025

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of MikeAlhayek December 10, 2025 05:51 View session

Fix extra mutation on line 63 - combine GetAllAsync and ToList

d1d26ff

Co-authored-by: MikeAlhayek <[email protected]>

Copilot AI requested a review from MikeAlhayek December 10, 2025 05:54

Copilot finished work on behalf of MikeAlhayek December 10, 2025 05:54

Copilot started work on behalf of MikeAlhayek December 10, 2025 06:28 View session

Copilot started work on behalf of MikeAlhayek December 10, 2025 06:41 View session

Copilot finished work on behalf of MikeAlhayek December 10, 2025 07:01

MikeAlhayek requested changes Dec 11, 2025

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of MikeAlhayek December 11, 2025 15:57 View session

Copilot AI requested a review from MikeAlhayek December 11, 2025 16:04

Copilot finished work on behalf of MikeAlhayek December 11, 2025 16:04

save

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github-actions bot added the merge conflict label Jan 8, 2026

MikeAlhayek closed this Jan 8, 2026


		var pager = new Pager(pagerParameters, pagerOptions.Value.GetPageSize());

		var instances = (await _instanceManager.GetForCurrentUserAsync()).ToList();

		int startIndex = 0;
		int endIndex = startIndex + Model.Models.Count - 1;


		namespace CrestApps.OrchardCore.AI.Chat;

		public static class AICustomChatPermissions

Add custom AI chat instances feature #231

Add custom AI chat instances feature #231

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New Capabilities

Architecture

Key Files

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MikeAlhayek commented Dec 10, 2025

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Copilot AI commented Dec 9, 2025 •

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