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Every Space in elvex has a Context document which should be used to describe what the Space is for, what its resources are used for, and any behavioral guidance for the AI. Manually keeping that document up to date takes ongoing effort, especially as a team's work evolves. Automatic context extraction solves this by letting elvex learn from conversations happening inside the Space and update its context document for you â with as much or as little oversight as you want.
This uses the same automatic context extraction system used for Personal Context, applied to a Space's shared context instead of an individual's.
The Three Extraction Modes
From a Space's Context tab, users with edit access can choose one of three modes for how the Space's context updates:
Automatic: elvex's context-extraction system monitors conversations with the Space and writes new insights â decisions made, resources referenced, recurring patterns, project-specific knowledge â directly into the Space's context document, with no manual editing required.
Get Approval: elvex presents proposed updates to the Space's context in a review UI, so someone with edit access can approve, edit, or reject each one before anything is saved.
Manual: Automatic extraction is disabled entirely. The context document is static and only changes when someone with edit access updates it directly.
The context-extraction system is only triggered when the Space appears in the context strip of a conversation. It will not be triggered if you add the Space as a one-off attachment to a conversation instead.
Important: Members can opt individual conversations out of context extraction using the off-the-record toggle in the chat box toolbar. Off-the-record conversations won't contribute to the Space's context under any mode.
How Users Know What Mode Is Active
Two places surface the current extraction status:
Space new-thread screen: If the Space is set to Automatic or Get Approval, a message appears near the composer reading, "This thread will update [Space name]'s context." This message only appears in shared Spaces (not personal or solo-access Spaces), so users are only notified when their conversation could affect other members' shared context.
Space configuration callout: On the new-thread header, a status pill links directly to the Context tab in Space settings, showing the Space's current mode.
Reviewing and Approving Space Context Updates
When a Space is set to Get Approval, a notification appears for users with edit access when there's a pending update, with an option to open a review panel. From there, you can:
Read a summary of what triggered the update
Review the specific changes being proposed (additions are highlighted)
Navigate between multiple pending updates
Approve to apply the changes, or reject to discard them
When Should You Use Each Mode?
Use Automatic when:
The Space represents an ongoing project where knowledge accumulates over time (e.g., a product launch, a sales initiative, a content campaign)
Multiple people are contributing conversations to the Space and the shared context should reflect the collective work, not just what was manually written at setup time
Use Get Approval when:
You want the Space's context to grow over time, but you want a chance to review changes before your team relies on them
Use Manual when:
The Space is a reference hub â a stable collection of resources and context that shouldn't change based on conversations (e.g., an onboarding Space with fixed policy docs)
The Space is team-scoped but context should be tightly controlled, so any changes to the context document are deliberate and manually reviewed
Conversations in the Space are exploratory or sensitive, and you don't want that content influencing the shared context others will see
A Note on Permissions
Only users with edit access to the Space can change its extraction mode. Read-only members will see the setting disabled. This means the decision to let a Space "learn" always rests with whoever owns or manages it â not with every member who happens to chat inside it.
The Takeaway
Automatic context extraction is what transforms a Space from a static folder into a living workspace. Over time, a Space set to Automatic or Get Approval builds a richer and more accurate picture of the project it serves â and every new conversation in that Space benefits from everything that came before it, without anyone having to maintain that knowledge manually.