Navigating the App
A guide to the sidebar, header bar, and key navigation elements in Aura.
Once you're signed in, here's how to find your way around Aura. The layout has two main parts: a sidebar on the left and a header bar at the top.
The sidebar
The sidebar is your main navigation. What you see in it depends on whether you're signed in, which mode you're in, and what page you're on.
Back button
At the top of the sidebar, a back button takes you to the previous page in your browser history - the same as your browser's back button.
The mode switcher
Right below the back button, signed-in users see the mode switcher - a toggle between Creator ("Build & manage companions") and Explorer ("Chat & discover companions"). Switching modes takes you to /explore (Explorer) or your creator home (Creator).
Discover section
- Explore - browse and discover companions. Available to everyone, including guests.
- Collections - your saved companion collections. Explorer Mode only.
- History - a timeline of your past conversations. Explorer Mode only.
Guests and creators only see Explore here - Collections and History appear once you switch into Explorer Mode.
Creator section (Creator Mode only)
- Profile - your public creator page, where visitors can see your companions. This link is disabled until your account has an organization slug set up - until then it's greyed out and doesn't navigate anywhere.
- Dashboard - your performance dashboard with analytics across all your companions.
Account alerts
Above the sidebar's nav content, Aura shows an inline banner whenever there's something you need to know about your account or subscription. Only one category shows at a time, ranked by severity if more than one applies (critical first, then warning, then info):
| Category | Severity | Trigger | Dismissible |
|---|---|---|---|
| No active subscription | Critical | You have no subscription at all | No |
| Subscription paused | Critical | Payment failed and your subscription is paused/past due | No |
| Services paused | Critical | Your credit balance has hit 0 | No |
| Subscription inactive | Critical | Your subscription was cancelled or has expired | No |
| Subscription/trial ending soon | Warning | 10 days or fewer remain on a trial, or on a subscription set to cancel at period end | Yes |
| Low credits | Warning | Your balance is above 0 but under 50 credits | Yes |
Each banner has an action button that takes you straight to the fix - Subscribe or Renew for subscription issues, Recharge for credit issues, all routing to your Wallet. Dismissible banners have a close (×) button; dismissing one snoozes it for one hour, after which it reappears in the banner if the underlying issue is still there. Non-dismissible banners (no active subscription, subscription paused, no credits, subscription inactive) can't be closed - they stay until you resolve the issue.
Two more categories, promotions and informational announcements, are built into the same system but aren't currently turned on.
This banner only appears for signed-in Creator Mode users - Explorer Mode accounts don't need a subscription, so they never see it.
Companion section (inside a companion's workspace)
When you're editing or reviewing a specific companion, a Companion section appears with:
- Profile - edit your companion's persona, voice, behaviour, data, advanced settings, and widget.
- Insights - analytics and engagement data for this specific companion.
- Conversations - browse and review past conversations with this companion.
- Guides - build and manage step-by-step guides for this companion.
Bottom section
At the bottom of the sidebar, a section is pinned for everyone:
- Updates - product updates and announcements from the Aura team.
- Docs - platform documentation and guides.
- Help & Support - opens a quick contact form right where you are; no page navigation needed.
- Feedback - share your thoughts, report issues, or suggest features.
- Admin - only visible to platform administrators.
Collapsing the sidebar
You can collapse the sidebar to just icons by clicking the menu icon at the top of the sidebar. This gives you more room for the main content area. Click it again to expand the sidebar back out. On mobile devices, the sidebar opens as an overlay and closes when you tap outside it or navigate to a page.
The header bar
The header bar runs across the top of every page. Here's what you'll find there:
Guided tours button
On the left side of the header, there's a tour launcher - visible to guests and Creator Mode users, but hidden in Explorer Mode. Clicking it opens a dropdown of interactive walkthroughs for the page you're on and other parts of the platform. See Guided Tours for more details.
AURA wordmark
The "AURA" text is centered in the header. It's purely decorative - a little reminder of where you are.
Signed in: notification bell and profile menu
- Notification bell - click it to view your notifications, like product updates and important account alerts.
- Profile menu - click your avatar to open the dropdown. If you have an active subscription, a thin progress ring circles your avatar showing your remaining credits (all sources) against your plan's total - it's indigo by default, turns amber at 25% or less remaining, and red at 10% or less. The dropdown gives you access to:
- Your name, email, and current credit balance / plan status
- Account Management - update your profile, password, and security settings
- Wallet and Integrations - Creator Mode only. WhatsApp setup isn't its own menu entry - it's reached from a card on the Integrations page.
- Log out
Guest: sign-in button
If you're not signed in, the header shows a Sign in button in place of the bell and profile menu.
Mobile navigation
On smaller screens, the sidebar collapses into a hamburger menu in the top-left corner of the header. Tap it to slide the sidebar open, and tap outside the sidebar (or navigate to a page) to close it.
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