Drafts¶
This page is for attorneys and paralegals who write documents for a matter. It covers how to link a document to an AI chat, have the AI edit it as tracked changes in LibreOffice Writer, and what happens to the link afterwards. You should already know how to open a matter (Matters) and start a chat on it (AI chat). Drafts are part of the AI chat, so they are available only when your firm has set up AI (see AI).
What a draft is¶
A draft is a word-processor file in OpenDocument Text format (a file ending in .odt) that sits in the matter's Google Drive folder and is linked to one AI conversation on the matter. You write in LibreOffice Writer on your own computer. The AI reads the document as you have it open, and when you tell it to change something, the change appears in Writer as a tracked change for you to accept or reject.
Kosmos has no drafts list, no versions and no publish step. The file in your Drive folder is the working copy, and Kosmos never changes it: every edit is made by Writer on your computer, and saving the file is what updates Drive.
Before you start¶
- The firm's Google Drive is connected and the matter is linked to its Drive folder (Link Drive Folder on the matter's Documents tab, see Documents).
- The matter's Drive folder is synced to your computer, so that you can open its files in Writer and your saves go back to Drive.
- LibreOffice Writer has the Kosmos companion extension installed. You download it from Kosmos: in the Link a Draft dialog (described below) click LibreOffice companion extension, then Download kosmos-companion.oxt, and follow the three steps shown there. The operator's page Drafting with LibreOffice has the details and the fixes for common problems.
The download is personal. It carries your access token, so do not share the file. If you use Rotate token or Revoke token under Settings → Claude Desktop, download the extension again and reinstall it (see Settings).
This page describes version 0.4.1 of the extension. The download dialog, LibreOffice Companion, names the current version, and Kosmos → Status in Writer shows the version you have installed (a copy that shows none is older). To update, download the file again, install it over the old one and restart LibreOffice.
Link a draft to a conversation¶
- Save the document as an .odt file in the matter's Drive folder, in any subfolder up to four levels down, and let it sync.
- Open the matter, click Case, then AI. Click the + button to start a conversation, or click a conversation's title and choose Resume. The chat opens in a new browser tab.
- Click the pen button at the left of the message box. Link a Draft opens and lists the matter's .odt files, each with its subfolder.
- Click the file.
The pen button is replaced by a badge with the file's name, and the conversation carries a Draft badge in the AI tab's list.
If the link cannot be made, the pen button stays and a message headed Draft not linked gives the reason. For example, "That file was not found in this matter's Drive folder. Reopen the list and pick the draft again." means the file was moved or deleted after the list opened.
Good to know:
- The pen button appears only while the firm's Google Drive is connected. A draft linked earlier keeps its badge and its unlink button either way.
- The dialog reads "Connect Google Drive and link this matter's Drive folder to use drafts." when the matter has no Drive folder linked, and "No ODT files found in this matter's Drive folder." when there is nothing to pick. The link to the extension download is shown in both cases.
- A conversation holds one draft at a time. Several conversations can link the same file.
Connect the document in Writer¶
- Open the same file in LibreOffice Writer, from the Drive folder on your computer.
- Choose Kosmos → Connect to drafting session.
A message confirms the connection and names the file, the matter and the conversation, for example "Complaint.odt" and "Rivera v. Northside Logistics: Complaint draft". Keep the document open while you work with the AI.
The document is paired with its link by file name. If you have linked more than one file of that name, for example on two matters, Writer first lists them, one line for each file with its matter and conversation, and asks you to "Choose the matter and conversation this document belongs to." Select the line and click Connect. Cancel leaves the document unconnected.
| Kosmos menu item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Connect to drafting session | Pairs the open document with its link in Kosmos and turns on the display of tracked changes. |
| Disconnect | Stops the connection. The AI goes back to reading the copy in Drive. |
| Status | Says whether the document is connected, to which file, matter and conversation, and what happened last. It also shows the version of the extension you have installed. |
Good to know:
- A copy of the extension older than 0.4.0 does not ask which file you mean. It connects to the file of that name linked most recently, which may be on another matter. Update the extension, and read the matter in the confirmation message.
- Only the person who started the conversation can connect Writer to its draft, and only while they can still open the matter. A colleague can read the chat, but their Writer answers "No draft link found". If you are taken off the matter while connected, the connection stops and Kosmos → Status says you no longer have access to the draft's matter.
- If more than one file of the document's name is linked and the list to choose from cannot be shown, Writer connects to the most recently linked one and says so in the confirmation. Check the matter it names; Kosmos → Disconnect if it is the wrong one.
- The chat window does not show whether Writer is connected. Use Kosmos → Status in Writer.
Have the AI edit the draft¶
- In the chat, tell the AI what to change, for example "In the draft, change the response deadline from 20 days to 30 days."
- Wait for the reply. It includes "Applied 1 edit as tracked changes in the open LibreOffice document."
- In Writer, review the changes. They are tracked changes by the author "Kosmos AI". Accept or reject them with Writer's own commands under Edit → Track Changes.
- Save the file when you are satisfied.
The AI can replace wording inside a paragraph, delete a paragraph and insert new paragraphs after an existing one. Its text is plain: it does not apply bold, italics or other formatting. A set of edits is applied as a whole or not at all, and one undo in Writer removes the whole set. The AI is instructed to edit only when you direct it to. A question, or a request for suggestions, gets an answer in the chat and leaves the document alone.
When the edits are not applied, or Kosmos cannot tell, the reply says why:
| The reply says | What to do |
|---|---|
| "the draft is not connected" | Connect from Writer, then ask again. |
| "text not found in the document", "ambiguous", or another reason in parentheses | The AI's quote did not match the document. Nothing was changed. Ask again, quoting the passage you mean. |
| "the LibreOffice companion did not respond in time" | Writer did not collect the edits within 30 seconds. Nothing was changed. Check Kosmos → Status, then ask again. |
| "The proposed edits could not be confirmed" | Writer collected the edits and did not report back in time. Look at the document: if the tracked changes are there, they were applied. If they are not, check Kosmos → Status, then ask again. |
| "change recording could not be enabled" | Remove the document's tracked-changes protection in Writer, then ask again. |
Good to know:
- After the AI's first edit, Writer keeps recording changes, so your own edits are tracked as well until you turn recording off in Writer.
- While connected, the AI reads the document as it is open in Writer, saved or not. Your own edits reach it within about half a minute.
- When Writer is not connected, the AI can still discuss the draft. It reads the copy in Drive, which it checks again once its copy is more than five minutes old.
What the AI is given¶
With each message in a conversation that has a draft, the AI receives the full text of the draft along with what any chat on the matter receives: the matter's details, people, facts, documents, notes, emails and the conversation so far. While Writer is connected, the document is copied to your firm's Kosmos server about every 30 seconds and after each set of edits. The text then goes outside the firm to the AI provider whose model the conversation uses (Anthropic or Google). Your administrator can tell you what the firm has agreed with those providers. The full list of what is sent is under What is sent to the providers.
Find, unlink and remove drafts¶
Open the matter's AI tab. A conversation with a linked draft has a Draft badge beside its title. Hover over the badge to see the file name, and choose Resume from the title's menu to open the chat.
To unlink a draft:
- In the chat, click the × button beside the badge with the file's name.
- An Unlink Draft dialog asks "Unlink this draft from the conversation? The document itself is untouched." Click Unlink.
The pen button returns. Only the link is removed: the document is not deleted or changed. Deleting the conversation removes its link in the same way.
Good to know:
- Kosmos cannot rename, move or delete the file. Do that in Drive.
- If you rename the file in Drive, Writer answers "No draft link found" until the link has the new name. The link takes it when Kosmos next reads the file from Drive: that happens when you send a message in the conversation while Writer is not connected and Kosmos's copy is more than five minutes old. To reconnect sooner, unlink the draft and link it again.
File the finished document¶
Kosmos does not file a draft for you. The matter's Documents tab holds PDFs, so export the finished document from Writer as a PDF and add that to the matter. See Documents.
When the matter is closed¶
Setting a matter to Complete or Closed removes its link to the Drive folder, so Link a Draft no longer lists any files. A draft already linked stays linked. When the matter's AI chat history is deleted after it has been Closed for the retention period (see Close a matter), the links go with the conversations. The files in Drive are not touched.
Limits¶
- Only .odt files can be drafts. Save a Word document as ODT first.
- The file must be in the matter's Drive folder, no more than four subfolders down, and must have been saved before Writer can connect.
- Kosmos does not lock a draft or coordinate two people working on the same file. Each person's AI edits go to their own open copy.