---
title: "Set, pause and steer a Muse Code goal from the UI"
url: https://helicon.sh/features/goals
description: "Set, pause, resume, change and clear a Muse Code goal from the goal panel or the composer, without dropping back into the terminal to retype a slash command."
updated: 2026-09-19
site: Helicon
---

# Goals you can steer

Muse Code goals give a thread a standing objective. Helicon exposes the whole lifecycle in the interface: set a goal, pause it, resume it, change it or clear it, from either the goal panel or the composer, so steering a long run does not mean remembering command syntax.

## What a goal is for

A goal is the difference between a chat and a job. It survives turns, so the agent keeps orienting toward the same objective while the conversation moves around it.

## The controls

| Action | Where |
| --- | --- |
| Set a goal | Goal panel or composer |
| Pause | Goal panel |
| Resume | Goal panel |
| Change | Goal panel or composer |
| Clear | Goal panel |

Pausing matters more than it sounds. It lets you interrupt with a side task, deal with it, and put the thread back on its objective without losing the framing you set up.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is this different from just sending a message?

Yes. A goal persists across turns as a standing objective rather than being one more message in the history.

### Can I still use the slash command?

Yes. The composer accepts it, and the panel is there when you would rather click.

### Does pausing stop the agent?

Pausing suspends the standing objective. Stopping a running tool call or the whole turn is a separate control.

## Related

- [Keyboard and palette](https://helicon.sh/features/command-palette): A command palette, slash commands and a model and reasoning effort picker. Every project, session and action in Helicon is reachable without the mouse.
- [Background work](https://helicon.sh/features/background-tasks): Send a running tool call to the background, stop one, or stop them all. Cancel a workflow run, or skip and retry its agents, without abandoning the thread.
- [Session history and resume](https://helicon.sh/features/session-history): Every Muse Code session, grouped by project, with full history and one click resume. Sessions started in the muse terminal TUI are discovered and resumable too.

---

Helicon is a free, MIT licensed, unofficial community client for Meta's Muse Code CLI. Not made, sponsored or endorsed by Meta. Source: https://helicon.sh/. Machine readable index: https://helicon.sh/llms.txt