> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.tonic.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.tonic.ai/textual/textual-agent/textual-agent-about.md).

# About the Textual Agent

## What is the Textual Agent?

The Textual Agent is a chat-based tool to help you to explore the content of dataset files and configure the file processing.

<figure><img src="https://3072847115-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FvOPn7KQptPWmS5iKg5P0%2Fuploads%2FHKwz8cipDJFbjVz6mPCf%2FTextualAgentPopulated.png?alt=media&amp;token=52dcffd5-c83d-4095-9ce7-0d66974766d4" alt=""><figcaption><p>Dataset details page with the Textual Agent</p></figcaption></figure>

## When does the Textual Agent start?

The Textual Agent starts when you create or edit a Textual dataset.

Each combination of dataset and user has its own Textual Agent chat.

## Enabling the Textual Agent on a self-hosted instance

The Textual Agent is always enabled on Textual Cloud.

For information on how to enable the Textual Agent on a self-hosted instance, go to [Enabling the Textual Agent](/textual/textual-install-administer/configuring-textual/enable-and-configure-textual-features/enabling-the-textual-agent.md).

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