diff --git a/app.js b/app.js
index 13b4f60..cd2ec92 100644
--- a/app.js
+++ b/app.js
@@ -1163,7 +1163,7 @@ async function sendMessage(e) {
   const timestamp = Date.now();
 
   console.log("Sending message to current topic:", topic); // Add logging
-  if (message.startsWith('~')) {
+  if (message.startsWith('>')) {
     await handleCommand(message, {
       eventEmitter,
       currentTopic: topic, // Pass the current topic as a string
diff --git a/commands.js b/commands.js
index 912c9cc..2131078 100644
--- a/commands.js
+++ b/commands.js
@@ -23,33 +23,33 @@ export default async function handleCommand(command, context) {
   console.log("Current topic:", currentTopic); // Add logging to check the current topic
 
   switch (cmd) {
-    case '~clear':
+    case '>clear':
       clearMessages(currentTopic);
       break;
-    case '~ping':
+    case '>ping':
       addMessage('LinkUp', 'pong', agentAvatar, currentTopic);
       break;
-    case '~help':
-      addMessage('LinkUp', 'Available commands:\n- ~clear\n- ~ping\n- ~help\n- ~join [topic]\n- ~leave\n- ~create [alias]\n- ~list-files', agentAvatar, currentTopic);
+    case '>help':
+      addMessage('LinkUp', 'Available commands:\n- >clear\n- >ping\n- >help\n- >join [topic]\n- >leave\n- >create [alias]\n- >list-files', agentAvatar, currentTopic);
       break;
-    case '~join':
+    case '>join':
       if (restArgs) {
         await joinRoom(currentTopic, restArgs);
       } else {
-        addMessage('LinkUp', 'Usage: ~join [topic]', agentAvatar, currentTopic);
+        addMessage('LinkUp', 'Usage: >join [topic]', agentAvatar, currentTopic);
       }
       break;
-    case '~leave':
+    case '>leave':
       leaveRoom(currentTopic);
       break;
-    case '~create':
+    case '>create':
       if (restArgs) {
         await createRoom(currentTopic, restArgs);
       } else {
-        addMessage('LinkUp', 'Usage: ~create [alias]', agentAvatar, currentTopic);
+        addMessage('LinkUp', 'Usage: >create [alias]', agentAvatar, currentTopic);
       }
       break;
-    case '~list-files':
+    case '>list-files':
       const files = await listFiles();
       const fileList = files.length > 0 ? files.map(file => `- ${file}`).join('\n') : 'No files available';
       addMessage('LinkUp', `Available files:\n${fileList}`, agentAvatar, currentTopic);