Search Sessions (Full-Text)

Search session summaries using natural language queries.

When to Use

User asks: "What did we work on last week?"
User asks: "What sessions involved database work?"
User asks: "Show me sessions where we fixed bugs"
Looking for past sessions by topic or theme

Command

curl -s "http://localhost:37777/api/search/sessions?query=authentication&format=index&limit=5"

Parameters

query (required): Search terms (e.g., "authentication", "database migration", "bug fixes")
format: "index" (summary) or "full" (complete details). Default: "full"
limit: Number of results (default: 20, max: 100)
project: Filter by project name (optional)
dateRange: Filter by date range (optional)

When to Use Each Format

Use format=index for:

Quick overviews of past sessions
Finding session IDs for deeper investigation
Listing multiple sessions
Token cost: ~50-100 per result

Use format=full for:

Complete session summaries with requests, completions, learnings
Understanding the full context of a session
Token cost: ~500-1000 per result

Example Response (format=index)

{
  "query": "authentication",
  "count": 3,
  "format": "index",
  "results": [
    {
      "id": 545,
      "session_id": "S545",
      "title": "Implemented JWT authentication system",
      "subtitle": "Added token-based auth with refresh tokens",
      "created_at_epoch": 1699564800000,
      "project": "api-server"
    }
  ]
}

How to Present Results

For format=index, present as a compact list:

Found 3 sessions about "authentication":

🎯 **Session #545** Implemented JWT authentication system
   > Added token-based auth with refresh tokens
   > Nov 9, 2024 • api-server

🎯 **Session #546** Fixed authentication token expiration
   > Resolved race condition in token refresh flow
   > Nov 8, 2024 • api-server

For complete formatting guidelines, see formatting.md.

Session Summary Structure

Full session summaries include:

Session request: What the user asked for
What was completed: Summary of work done
Key learnings: Important insights and discoveries
Files modified: List of changed files
Observations: Links to detailed observations

Error Handling

Missing query parameter:

{"error": "Missing required parameter: query"}

Fix: Add the query parameter

No results found:

{"query": "foobar", "count": 0, "results": []}

Response: "No sessions found for 'foobar'. Try different search terms."

Tips

Be specific: "JWT authentication implementation" > "auth"
Start with format=index and limit=5-10
Use dateRange for recent sessions: ?query=auth&dateRange[start]=2024-11-01
Sessions provide high-level overview, observations provide details
Use project filtering when working on one codebase

Token Efficiency:

Start with format=index (~50-100 tokens per result)
Use format=full only for relevant items (~500-1000 tokens per result)
See ../principles/progressive-disclosure.md

When to Use Sessions vs Observations

Use sessions search when:

Looking for high-level work summaries
Understanding what was done in past sessions
Getting overview of recent activity

Use observations search when:

Looking for specific implementation details
Finding bugs, features, or decisions
Need fine-grained context about code changes

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