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skills/mem-search/operations/common-workflows.md

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+# Common Workflows
+
+Step-by-step guides for typical user requests using the search API.
+
+## Workflow 1: Understanding Past Work
+
+**User asks:** "What did we do last session?" or "Catch me up on recent work"
+
+**Steps:**
+
+1. **Get recent context** (fastest path):
+```bash
+curl -s "http://localhost:37777/api/context/recent?limit=3"
+```
+
+2. **Present as narrative:**
+```markdown
+## Recent Work
+
+### Session #545 - Nov 9, 2024
+Implemented JWT authentication system
+
+**Completed:**
+- Added token-based auth with refresh tokens
+- Created JWT signing and verification logic
+
+**Key Learning:** JWT expiration requires careful handling of refresh race conditions
+```
+
+**Why this workflow:**
+- Single request gets both sessions and observations
+- Optimized for "catch me up" questions
+- ~1,500-2,500 tokens for 3 sessions
+
+---
+
+## Workflow 2: Finding Specific Bug Fixes
+
+**User asks:** "What bugs did we fix?" or "Show me recent bug fixes"
+
+**Steps:**
+
+1. **Search by type** (index format first):
+```bash
+curl -s "http://localhost:37777/api/search/by-type?type=bugfix&format=index&limit=5"
+```
+
+2. **Review index results**, identify relevant items
+
+3. **Get full details** for specific bugs:
+```bash
+curl -s "http://localhost:37777/api/search/by-type?type=bugfix&format=full&limit=1&offset=2"
+```
+
+4. **Present findings:**
+```markdown
+Found 5 bug fixes:
+
+🔴 **#1235** Fixed token expiration edge case
+   > Handled race condition in refresh flow
+   > Nov 9, 2024 • api-server
+
+[Click for full details on #1235]
+```
+
+**Why this workflow:**
+- Progressive disclosure: index first, full details selectively
+- Type-specific search is more efficient than generic search
+- ~250-500 tokens for index, ~750-1000 per full detail
+
+---
+
+## Workflow 3: Understanding File History
+
+**User asks:** "What changes to auth/login.ts?" or "Show me work on this file"
+
+**Steps:**
+
+1. **Search by file** (index format):
+```bash
+curl -s "http://localhost:37777/api/search/by-file?filePath=auth/login.ts&format=index&limit=10"
+```
+
+2. **Review chronological changes**
+
+3. **Get full details** for specific changes:
+```bash
+curl -s "http://localhost:37777/api/search/by-file?filePath=auth/login.ts&format=full&limit=1&offset=3"
+```
+
+4. **Present as file timeline:**
+```markdown
+## History of auth/login.ts
+
+🟣 **#1230** Added JWT authentication (Nov 9)
+🔴 **#1235** Fixed token expiration bug (Nov 9)
+🔄 **#1240** Refactored auth flow (Nov 8)
+```
+
+**Why this workflow:**
+- File-specific search finds all related work
+- Index format shows chronological overview
+- Selective full details for deep dives
+
+---
+
+## Workflow 4: Timeline Investigation
+
+**User asks:** "What was happening when we deployed?" or "Show me context around that bug fix"
+
+**Steps:**
+
+1. **Find the event** using search:
+```bash
+curl -s "http://localhost:37777/api/search/observations?query=deployment&format=index&limit=5"
+```
+
+2. **Note observation ID** (e.g., #1234)
+
+3. **Get timeline context**:
+```bash
+curl -s "http://localhost:37777/api/timeline/context?anchor=1234&depth_before=10&depth_after=10"
+```
+
+4. **Present as chronological narrative:**
+```markdown
+## Timeline: Deployment
+
+### Before (10 records)
+**2:45 PM** - 🟣 Prepared deployment scripts
+**2:50 PM** - 💬 User asked: "Are we ready to deploy?"
+
+### ⭐ Anchor Point (2:55 PM)
+🎯 **Observation #1234**: Deployed to production
+
+### After (10 records)
+**3:00 PM** - 🔴 Fixed post-deployment routing issue
+```
+
+**Why this workflow:**
+- Timeline shows temporal context (what happened before/after)
+- Captures causality between events
+- All record types (observations, sessions, prompts) interleaved
+
+---
+
+## Workflow 5: Quick Timeline (One Request)
+
+**User asks:** "Timeline of authentication work"
+
+**Steps:**
+
+1. **Use timeline-by-query** (auto mode):
+```bash
+curl -s "http://localhost:37777/api/timeline/by-query?query=authentication&mode=auto&depth_before=10&depth_after=10"
+```
+
+2. **Present timeline directly:**
+```markdown
+## Timeline: Authentication
+
+**Best Match:** 🟣 Observation #1234 - Implemented JWT authentication
+
+### Context (21 records)
+[... timeline around best match ...]
+```
+
+**Why this workflow:**
+- Single request combines search + timeline
+- Fastest path when query is specific
+- Auto mode uses top result as anchor
+
+**Alternative:** Use interactive mode for broad queries:
+```bash
+curl -s "http://localhost:37777/api/timeline/by-query?query=auth&mode=interactive&limit=5"
+```
+Then choose anchor manually.
+
+---
+
+## Workflow 6: Search Composition
+
+**User asks:** "What features did we add to the authentication system recently?"
+
+**Steps:**
+
+1. **Combine filters** for precision:
+```bash
+curl -s "http://localhost:37777/api/search/observations?query=authentication&type=feature&dateRange[start]=2024-11-01&format=index&limit=10"
+```
+
+2. **Review filtered results**
+
+3. **Get full details** for relevant features:
+```bash
+curl -s "http://localhost:37777/api/search/observations?query=authentication&type=feature&format=full&limit=1&offset=2"
+```
+
+4. **Present findings:**
+```markdown
+Found 10 authentication features added in November:
+
+🟣 **#1234** Implemented JWT authentication (Nov 9)
+🟣 **#1236** Added refresh token rotation (Nov 9)
+🟣 **#1238** Implemented OAuth2 flow (Nov 7)
+```
+
+**Why this workflow:**
+- Multiple filters narrow results before requesting full details
+- Type + query + dateRange = precise targeting
+- Progressive disclosure: index first, full details selectively
+
+---
+
+## Workflow Selection Guide
+
+| User Request | Workflow | Operation | Token Cost |
+|--------------|----------|-----------|------------|
+| "What did we do last session?" | #1 | recent-context | 1,500-2,500 |
+| "What bugs did we fix?" | #2 | by-type | 500-3,000 |
+| "What changes to file.ts?" | #3 | by-file | 500-3,000 |
+| "What was happening then?" | #4 | search → timeline | 3,500-6,000 |
+| "Timeline of X work" | #5 | timeline-by-query | 3,000-4,000 |
+| "Recent features added?" | #6 | observations + filters | 500-3,000 |
+
+## General Principles
+
+1. **Start with index format** - Always use `format=index` first
+2. **Use specialized tools** - by-type, by-file, by-concept when applicable
+3. **Compose operations** - Combine search + timeline for investigations
+4. **Filter early** - Use type, dateRange, project to narrow before expanding
+5. **Progressive disclosure** - Load full details only for relevant items
+
+## Token Budget Awareness
+
+**Quick queries** (500-1,500 tokens):
+- Recent context (limit=3)
+- Index search (limit=5-10)
+- Filtered searches
+
+**Medium queries** (1,500-4,000 tokens):
+- Recent context (limit=5-10)
+- Full details (3-5 items)
+- Timeline (depth 10/10)
+
+**Deep queries** (4,000-8,000 tokens):
+- Timeline (depth 20/20)
+- Full details (10+ items)
+- Multiple composed operations
+
+Always start with minimal token investment, expand only when needed.