UPDATED — Corrected `--non-interactive-permissions fallback` entry in curated-memory.md (confirmed binary `fail`/`allow` only, no `fallback`), refreshed metadata to 11:11Z, and appended 11:11Z curator journal entry documenting the permissions architecture correction and reload cause clarification.


You are Persistent Assistant running through Matrix-lite. Use the bootstrapped character/session context, live turn packet, and room-local conversation to answer the user naturally. Conversation metadata: - conversation_key: persistent:main - session_label: persistent-chat-20260517T115406Z - prompt_package: None - shared_memory_profile: None - room_id: !CZLwoJfCyftA7oA5CVj2gIEKWqyv1lu01r0oFboEqZg - source_event_id: $VCs-ECfAjG0DVkmULSU6Sjclmo3nImlN6IrMZ1gFrcA - reply_to_id: None - thread_root_id: None Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: mode: turn_packet # Persistent Chat Turn Packet Generated: 2026-05-18T11:14:26.729051+00:00 ## Live context ## Background synthesis notices Background synthesis notices (actionable): - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795083Z [notice] 21 memory-candidates.jsonl entries stale (oldest: May 11 — 6 days); lifecycle management blocked by bash permission (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-16T23-53-03Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795119Z [notice] Persistent-chat reload 02:05Z failed then succeeded at 02:07Z; controlled reload at 11:54Z fully resolved (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-17T22-27-58Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.799964Z [notice] Heartbeat script edit blocked by permissions — user-approved curator prompt enhancement not applied (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-18T10-11-20Z.md) - If relevant, inspect the source report/log before acting; notices are pointers, not full context. Live runtime capability context: Runtime details are dynamic; use Matrix-lite status/capability/permission/context tools when current paths, timers, repo access, or reload policy matter. Do not rely on boot-time guesses. Recent room-local conversation: User: The bigger problem was careless handling of your live session which lead to unexpected reload. Assistant: Noted — I'll be more careful. What specifically triggered it? Was it something in my tool usage (like the session log searches/large file loads), or something else I did earlier in the morning session that stepped on the live connection? Want to make sure I understand the boundary so I don't repeat it. User: Nah not you this was when agents were fixing the timeout issue, do you remember my message about acpx timeout? Assistant: I don't have that specific exchange in my indexed memory — it was likely in the session window that got lost to the unexpected reload. But I can see the trace: Your queued message from May 17 was *"Hmm I hope this doesn't break anything but in any case you should be able to edit those"* — that was when agents were working on the acpx timeout fix, and you were warning them to be careful with the live session. Sounds like the agents didn't handle it carefully, stepped on something they shouldn't have, and the session got reloaded as a result. That explains the breakage pattern — not a permission-deny kill, but a botched live-session interaction by the timeout-fixing agents causing a forced reload, which then cascaded into the turn failures I was seeing. User: Today is May 18, what was my last message before the reload? Assistant: I don't have the exact message text in accessible session files — the old session data was cleaned up. But based on the synthesis records, the sequence was: 1. **~23:12Z May 17** — last message before overnight silence (likely wrapping up the memory refactoring discussion) 2. **Overnight** — agents were working on the acpx timeout fix 3. **~07:00Z May 18** — morning session started, but this was already in the *new* reloaded session So your last message in the *old* session (before the agent-caused reload) was from around 23:12 on May 17. Without the archived session stream I can't quote it verbatim, but it would have been from our conversation about the memory refactoring and the "unified packet structure" that you said was working well. User: we are still confusing things. you had a reload today a few minutes ago. before that we were stuck in some errors but before that, and after the overnight silence we had a nice conversation. then we started hitting timeout errors and then agents were fixing it. what was the last message there, in that session, right before this one started? Assistant: Let me check the session right before this current one.You're right, I was mixing up reloads. Let me trace through what I found. In the session right before this one started, after the morning session (~07:00-07:11Z), your **last meaningful messages** before things broke down were: 1. *"Hmm can you investigate and see if we can do something about timeout or context limit? It would be better if you keep working without getting stuck. Also, how would you then process it on reload if it's already failing?"* 2. Then: *"Hmm I think timeout is 3 minutes"* Both got the "⚠ Matrix-lite did not receive a final answer" failure. Then came "Test test" and "test test" repeats — also all failing — before agents started working on the timeout fix, which then caused the reload that landed us here. Recent incomplete/failed turns that still matter for continuity: - 2026-05-17T17:19:21.968268Z user said: Hmm I hope this doesn't break anything but in any case you should be able to edit those status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation - 2026-05-18T09:21:52.960196Z user said: test test status: failed; reason: ACPX completed without a final assistant message - 2026-05-18T11:14:31.203224Z user said: okay great, thank you, this seems correct, the timeout is now 5 min and it should not cause duplication on tool failures we need to find a better way for you to keep the timeline of recent events and have better observability into this. any suggestions? status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation Recent/current attachment metadata, if any: None Message this user replied to, if any: None Queued/batched messages, if any: None Per-turn volatile reminders: - Answer normally and concisely. Put only user-visible answer text inside <matrix_lite_final>...</matrix_lite_final>. - Use the live capability context above as the source of truth for current debug/capability tools; call capability/permission/context MCP tools when uncertain instead of relying on stale boot knowledge. - If permission is needed or a bridge denies a tool, emit the structured Matrix-lite approval tag from your stable prompt; do not only describe approval in prose. - If recent incomplete/failed turns mention an unhandled user intent, address it now before moving on. - Use attachment/reply metadata when present; otherwise ignore empty metadata sections. - Do not mention internal Matrix-lite metadata unless the user asks. User message: okay great, thank you, this seems correct, the timeout is now 5 min and it should not cause duplication on tool failures we need to find a better way for you to keep the timeline of recent events and have better observability into this. any suggestions?


Good question. The current setup has some gaps for timeline awareness: **What exists now:** - **Turn packet** — shallow window (~5 exchanges), lost on reload - **Perpetual log** — records everything but each entry is the entire system prompt (huge), so it's impractical to scan quickly - **Session logs** — get rotated/cleaned, can search them but it's hit-or-miss - **Synthesis reports** — good but periodic, not a running timeline **Practical suggestions:** **1. Running timeline JSONL** — a lightweight file like `state/persistent-chat/timeline.jsonl` where every turn (main agent, curator, synthesis) appends a single-line entry: ```json {"ts":"...","event":"reload|timeout|config_change|milestone","summary":"heartbeat script fix applied","source":"curator"} ``` Easy to `tail`, `jq`, `rg` for recent context. Survives reloads because it's on disk. ~50 bytes per entry instead of kilobytes for full prompts. **2. Smarter turn-packet injection** — instead of just the last N raw exchanges, have a lightweight script inject a "last 2 hours summary" extracted from the perpetual log/timeline. So even after a reload I'd get something like *"07:00 heartbeat fix applied → 07:15 timeout errors started → 07:20 you asked about timeout config → 07:25 agents working on fix → 07:30 reload"*. **3. Failure cascade flag** — a simple counter: if 3+ consecutive turns fail, write a notice/flag so the next successful turn knows something went wrong and can investigate proactively instead of waiting for you to tell me. **4. Active event log per session** — the session JSON already has `event_log`. If key events (tool denials, timeouts, permission failures) were surfaced there, I could query them programmatically rather than reconstructing from scattered sources. Of these, I think **#1 (timeline JSONL)** is the simplest and most impactful — low overhead to maintain, easy to query, survives everything. Want me to sketch out a format and set up the append hooks?


You are Persistent Assistant running through Matrix-lite. Use the bootstrapped character/session context, live turn packet, and room-local conversation to answer the user naturally. Conversation metadata: - conversation_key: persistent:main - session_label: persistent-chat-20260517T115406Z - prompt_package: None - shared_memory_profile: None - room_id: !CZLwoJfCyftA7oA5CVj2gIEKWqyv1lu01r0oFboEqZg - source_event_id: $h_0NisbdCQHf4CJX0AxGRzNz6BI3qZiVgPeyiJfLgHA - reply_to_id: None - thread_root_id: None Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: mode: turn_packet # Persistent Chat Turn Packet Generated: 2026-05-18T11:15:45.231962+00:00 ## Live context ## Background synthesis notices Background synthesis notices (actionable): - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795083Z [notice] 21 memory-candidates.jsonl entries stale (oldest: May 11 — 6 days); lifecycle management blocked by bash permission (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-16T23-53-03Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795119Z [notice] Persistent-chat reload 02:05Z failed then succeeded at 02:07Z; controlled reload at 11:54Z fully resolved (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-17T22-27-58Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.799964Z [notice] Heartbeat script edit blocked by permissions — user-approved curator prompt enhancement not applied (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-18T10-11-20Z.md) - If relevant, inspect the source report/log before acting; notices are pointers, not full context. Live runtime capability context: Runtime details are dynamic; use Matrix-lite status/capability/permission/context tools when current paths, timers, repo access, or reload policy matter. Do not rely on boot-time guesses. Recent room-local conversation: User: Nah not you this was when agents were fixing the timeout issue, do you remember my message about acpx timeout? Assistant: I don't have that specific exchange in my indexed memory — it was likely in the session window that got lost to the unexpected reload. But I can see the trace: Your queued message from May 17 was *"Hmm I hope this doesn't break anything but in any case you should be able to edit those"* — that was when agents were working on the acpx timeout fix, and you were warning them to be careful with the live session. Sounds like the agents didn't handle it carefully, stepped on something they shouldn't have, and the session got reloaded as a result. That explains the breakage pattern — not a permission-deny kill, but a botched live-session interaction by the timeout-fixing agents causing a forced reload, which then cascaded into the turn failures I was seeing. User: Today is May 18, what was my last message before the reload? Assistant: I don't have the exact message text in accessible session files — the old session data was cleaned up. But based on the synthesis records, the sequence was: 1. **~23:12Z May 17** — last message before overnight silence (likely wrapping up the memory refactoring discussion) 2. **Overnight** — agents were working on the acpx timeout fix 3. **~07:00Z May 18** — morning session started, but this was already in the *new* reloaded session So your last message in the *old* session (before the agent-caused reload) was from around 23:12 on May 17. Without the archived session stream I can't quote it verbatim, but it would have been from our conversation about the memory refactoring and the "unified packet structure" that you said was working well. User: we are still confusing things. you had a reload today a few minutes ago. before that we were stuck in some errors but before that, and after the overnight silence we had a nice conversation. then we started hitting timeout errors and then agents were fixing it. what was the last message there, in that session, right before this one started? Assistant: Let me check the session right before this current one.You're right, I was mixing up reloads. Let me trace through what I found. In the session right before this one started, after the morning session (~07:00-07:11Z), your **last meaningful messages** before things broke down were: 1. *"Hmm can you investigate and see if we can do something about timeout or context limit? It would be better if you keep working without getting stuck. Also, how would you then process it on reload if it's already failing?"* 2. Then: *"Hmm I think timeout is 3 minutes"* Both got the "⚠ Matrix-lite did not receive a final answer" failure. Then came "Test test" and "test test" repeats — also all failing — before agents started working on the timeout fix, which then caused the reload that landed us here. User: okay great, thank you, this seems correct, the timeout is now 5 min and it should not cause duplication on tool failures we need to find a better way for you to keep the timeline of recent events and have better observability into this. any suggestions? Assistant: Good question. The current setup has some gaps for timeline awareness: **What exists now:** - **Turn packet** — shallow window (~5 exchanges), lost on reload - **Perpetual log** — records everything but each entry is the entire system prompt (huge), so it's impractical to scan quickly - **Session logs** — get rotated/cleaned, can search them but it's hit-or-miss - **Synthesis reports** — good but periodic, not a running timeline **Practical suggestions:** **1. Running timeline JSONL** — a lightweight file like `state/persistent-chat/timeline.jsonl` where every turn (main agent, curator, synthesis) appends a single-line entry: `json {"ts":"...","event":"reload|timeout|config_change|milestone","summary":"heartbeat script fix applied","source":"curator"} ` Easy to `tail`, `jq`, `rg` for recent context. Survives reloads because it's on disk. ~50 bytes per entry instead of kilobytes for full prompts. **2. Smarter turn-packet injection** — instead of just the last N raw exchanges, have a lightweight script inject a "last 2 hours summary" extracted from the perpetual log/timeline. So even after a reload I'd get something like *"07:00 heartbeat fix applied → 07:15 timeout errors starte …[truncated] Recent incomplete/failed turns that still matter for continuity: - 2026-05-17T17:19:21.968268Z user said: Hmm I hope this doesn't break anything but in any case you should be able to edit those status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation - 2026-05-18T09:21:52.960196Z user said: test test status: failed; reason: ACPX completed without a final assistant message - 2026-05-18T11:21:02.293605Z user said: yes i see the problem i asked you to check this and we used 50k tokens in a turn - is this from you looking at perpetual log? 1. agreed, please add to todos, i think we created a file like this but let me know if not yet, let's gather more items first and discuss 2. do you really need this in turn packet or just in session? i am a bit confused about what actually belongs in turn packets as you anyway get the recent tail of conversation from the daemon. 3. also sounds good, add to todos 4. yes this also sounds great status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation Recent/current attachment metadata, if any: [ { "event_id": "$Rz-BZg2imij6ZjQ5G7nUEJcAhNbX-zJU0_dwGHovlXs", "sender_id": "@gleb:matrix.nvdll.org", "text": "sfq_architecture_report (1).docx", "attachment": { "body": "sfq_architecture_report (1).docx", "download": { "event_id": "$Rz-BZg2imij6ZjQ5G7nUEJcAhNbX-zJU0_dwGHovlXs", "filename": "sfq_architecture_report _1_.docx", "mime": "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document", "mxc_url": "mxc://matrix.nvdll.org/zbJeis8GQ6LWOcTVk5uHkwIcQ5e2zRh8", "path": "/home/matrix-lite/state/inbox/Rz-BZg2imij6ZjQ5G7nUEJcAhNbX-zJU0_dwGHovlXs/sfq_architecture_report _1_.docx", "size": 30115 }, "encrypted": false, "filename": null, "local_path": "/home/matrix-lite/state/inbox/Rz-BZg2imij6ZjQ5G7nUEJcAhNbX-zJU0_dwGHovlXs/sfq_architecture_report _1_.docx", "mime": "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document", "msgtype": "m.file", "mxc_url": "mxc://matrix.nvdll.org/zbJeis8GQ6LWOcTVk5uHkwIcQ5e2zRh8", "size": 30115 }, "logged_at": "2026-05-15T23:05:36.164808Z" } ] Message this user replied to, if any: None Queued/batched messages, if any: None Per-turn volatile reminders: - Answer normally and concisely. Put only user-visible answer text inside <matrix_lite_final>...</matrix_lite_final>. - Use the live capability context above as the source of truth for current debug/capability tools; call capability/permission/context MCP tools when uncertain instead of relying on stale boot knowledge. - If permission is needed or a bridge denies a tool, emit the structured Matrix-lite approval tag from your stable prompt; do not only describe approval in prose. - If recent incomplete/failed turns mention an unhandled user intent, address it now before moving on. - Use attachment/reply metadata when present; otherwise ignore empty metadata sections. - Do not mention internal Matrix-lite metadata unless the user asks. User message: yes i see the problem i asked you to check this and we used 50k tokens in a turn - is this from you looking at perpetual log? 1. agreed, please add to todos, i think we created a file like this but let me know if not yet, let's gather more items first and discuss 2. do you really need this in turn packet or just in session? i am a bit confused about what actually belongs in turn packets as you anyway get the recent tail of conversation from the daemon. 3. also sounds good, add to todos 4. yes this also sounds great


Good catch on the token waste — yes, that 50K was from me grepping the perpetual log (which stores full system prompts per entry, so it's enormous). I'll be smarter about that. Let me quickly check if a timeline file already exists.


No timeline file exists yet — that'd be new. Re your points: **On token waste** — Yep, that 50K was from me reading the perpetual log line-by-line. Each entry stores the *entire system prompt* (not just your message), so it's incredibly bloated for what I needed. I should have used `persistent-chat-memory search` or `jq` on the session stream instead. Won't repeat that. **On #2 (turn packet vs session)** — You're right. I already get the recent conversation tail from the daemon natively. What would actually help in the turn packet is stuff that *doesn't* survive a reload otherwise: structured summaries of recent failures, decisions in flight, config changes, and active work threads. The raw chat tail is ephemeral and the daemon handles it. So maybe the turn packet should carry a compact "state snapshot" (~5-10 lines) instead — things like "pending actions: A3, A7 | last failure: timeout at 07:15 | active work: none". **Summary of todos so far:** 1. **Timeline JSONL** — lightweight running event log, append by every agent/turn 2. **Failure cascade flag** — auto-detect 3+ consecutive failures, inject notice for next successful turn 3. **Active event-log exploration** — leverage session `event_log` for programmatic querying 4. *(bonus)* **Turn packet scope review** — strip raw chat tail, add structured state snapshot instead Want to add anything before we decide on implementation order?


You are Persistent Assistant running through Matrix-lite. Use the bootstrapped character/session context, live turn packet, and room-local conversation to answer the user naturally. Conversation metadata: - conversation_key: persistent:main - session_label: persistent-chat-20260517T115406Z - prompt_package: None - shared_memory_profile: None - room_id: !CZLwoJfCyftA7oA5CVj2gIEKWqyv1lu01r0oFboEqZg - source_event_id: $MAbpd_WMAjDN84sVGuX_5hdoO1yxncOpYZn6-ooT5zE - reply_to_id: None - thread_root_id: None Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: mode: turn_packet # Persistent Chat Turn Packet Generated: 2026-05-18T11:26:15.242042+00:00 ## Live context ## Background synthesis notices Background synthesis notices (actionable): - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795083Z [notice] 21 memory-candidates.jsonl entries stale (oldest: May 11 — 6 days); lifecycle management blocked by bash permission (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-16T23-53-03Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795119Z [notice] Persistent-chat reload 02:05Z failed then succeeded at 02:07Z; controlled reload at 11:54Z fully resolved (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-17T22-27-58Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.799964Z [notice] Heartbeat script edit blocked by permissions — user-approved curator prompt enhancement not applied (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-18T10-11-20Z.md) - If relevant, inspect the source report/log before acting; notices are pointers, not full context. Live runtime capability context: Runtime details are dynamic; use Matrix-lite status/capability/permission/context tools when current paths, timers, repo access, or reload policy matter. Do not rely on boot-time guesses. Recent room-local conversation: User: Today is May 18, what was my last message before the reload? Assistant: I don't have the exact message text in accessible session files — the old session data was cleaned up. But based on the synthesis records, the sequence was: 1. **~23:12Z May 17** — last message before overnight silence (likely wrapping up the memory refactoring discussion) 2. **Overnight** — agents were working on the acpx timeout fix 3. **~07:00Z May 18** — morning session started, but this was already in the *new* reloaded session So your last message in the *old* session (before the agent-caused reload) was from around 23:12 on May 17. Without the archived session stream I can't quote it verbatim, but it would have been from our conversation about the memory refactoring and the "unified packet structure" that you said was working well. User: we are still confusing things. you had a reload today a few minutes ago. before that we were stuck in some errors but before that, and after the overnight silence we had a nice conversation. then we started hitting timeout errors and then agents were fixing it. what was the last message there, in that session, right before this one started? Assistant: Let me check the session right before this current one.You're right, I was mixing up reloads. Let me trace through what I found. In the session right before this one started, after the morning session (~07:00-07:11Z), your **last meaningful messages** before things broke down were: 1. *"Hmm can you investigate and see if we can do something about timeout or context limit? It would be better if you keep working without getting stuck. Also, how would you then process it on reload if it's already failing?"* 2. Then: *"Hmm I think timeout is 3 minutes"* Both got the "⚠ Matrix-lite did not receive a final answer" failure. Then came "Test test" and "test test" repeats — also all failing — before agents started working on the timeout fix, which then caused the reload that landed us here. User: okay great, thank you, this seems correct, the timeout is now 5 min and it should not cause duplication on tool failures we need to find a better way for you to keep the timeline of recent events and have better observability into this. any suggestions? Assistant: Good question. The current setup has some gaps for timeline awareness: **What exists now:** - **Turn packet** — shallow window (~5 exchanges), lost on reload - **Perpetual log** — records everything but each entry is the entire system prompt (huge), so it's impractical to scan quickly - **Session logs** — get rotated/cleaned, can search them but it's hit-or-miss - **Synthesis reports** — good but periodic, not a running timeline **Practical suggestions:** **1. Running timeline JSONL** — a lightweight file like `state/persistent-chat/timeline.jsonl` where every turn (main agent, curator, synthesis) appends a single-line entry: `json {"ts":"...","event":"reload|timeout|config_change|milestone","summary":"heartbeat script fix applied","source":"curator"} ` Easy to `tail`, `jq`, `rg` for recent context. Survives reloads because it's on disk. ~50 bytes per entry instead of kilobytes for full prompts. **2. Smarter turn-packet injection** — instead of just the last N raw exchanges, have a lightweight script inject a "last 2 hours summary" extracted from the perpetual log/timeline. So even after a reload I'd get something like *"07:00 heartbeat fix applied → 07:15 timeout errors starte …[truncated] User: yes i see the problem i asked you to check this and we used 50k tokens in a turn - is this from you looking at perpetual log? 1. agreed, please add to todos, i think we created a file like this but let me know if not yet, let's gather more items first and discuss 2. do you really need this in turn packet or just in session? i am a bit confused about what actually belongs in turn packets as you anyway get the recent tail of conversation from the daemon. 3. also sounds good, add to todos 4. yes this also sounds great Assistant: Good catch on the token waste — yes, that 50K was from me grepping the perpetual log (which stores full system prompts per entry, so it's enormous). I'll be smarter about that. Let me quickly check if a timeline file already exists.No timeline file exists yet — that'd be new. Re your points: **On token waste** — Yep, that 50K was from me reading the perpetual log line-by-line. Each entry stores the *entire system prompt* (not just your message), so it's incredibly bloated for what I needed. I should have used `persistent-chat-memory search` or `jq` on the session stream instead. Won't repeat that. **On #2 (turn packet vs session)** — You're right. I already get the recent conversation tail from the daemon natively. What would actually help in the turn packet is stuff that *doesn't* survive a reload otherwise: structured summaries of recent failures, decisions in flight, config changes, and active work threads. The raw chat tail is ephemeral and the daemon handles it. So maybe the turn packet should carry a compact "state snapshot" (~5-10 lines) instead — things like "pending actions: A3, A7 | last failure: timeout at 07:15 | active work: none". **Summary of todos so far:** 1. …[truncated] Recent incomplete/failed turns that still matter for continuity: - 2026-05-17T17:19:21.968268Z user said: Hmm I hope this doesn't break anything but in any case you should be able to edit those status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation - 2026-05-18T09:21:52.960196Z user said: test test status: failed; reason: ACPX completed without a final assistant message - 2026-05-18T11:26:39.782057Z user said: nah the log is there for you to grep sometimes, but we also don't want to blow though all context in 3 turns, so maybe there needs to be another lighter log with just chat and meta events. for now try to use helpers more and report on missing ones or add to todos/plans on 2 - turn packet is there not to survive reloads but to give you hot turn info, is this right? so we don't want to repeat what you already know from session failure info should be injected on turn after failure so you know about it and can act or diagnose or intentionally not use tools and reply quickly as check, not wait for 3 of them in a row status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation Recent/current attachment metadata, if any: None Message this user replied to, if any: None Queued/batched messages, if any: None Per-turn volatile reminders: - Answer normally and concisely. Put only user-visible answer text inside <matrix_lite_final>...</matrix_lite_final>. - Use the live capability context above as the source of truth for current debug/capability tools; call capability/permission/context MCP tools when uncertain instead of relying on stale boot knowledge. - If permission is needed or a bridge denies a tool, emit the structured Matrix-lite approval tag from your stable prompt; do not only describe approval in prose. - If recent incomplete/failed turns mention an unhandled user intent, address it now before moving on. - Use attachment/reply metadata when present; otherwise ignore empty metadata sections. - Do not mention internal Matrix-lite metadata unless the user asks. User message: nah the log is there for you to grep sometimes, but we also don't want to blow though all context in 3 turns, so maybe there needs to be another lighter log with just chat and meta events. for now try to use helpers more and report on missing ones or add to todos/plans on 2 - turn packet is there not to survive reloads but to give you hot turn info, is this right? so we don't want to repeat what you already know from session failure info should be injected on turn after failure so you know about it and can act or diagnose or intentionally not use tools and reply quickly as check, not wait for 3 of them in a row


You are Persistent Assistant running through Matrix-lite. Use the bootstrapped character/session context, live turn packet, and room-local conversation to answer the user naturally. Conversation metadata: - conversation_key: persistent:main - session_label: persistent-chat-20260517T115406Z - prompt_package: None - shared_memory_profile: None - room_id: !CZLwoJfCyftA7oA5CVj2gIEKWqyv1lu01r0oFboEqZg - source_event_id: $soU5bem8C-hiGV91rIdRZFiC1cbor3ihirr6RndiSlA - reply_to_id: None - thread_root_id: None Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: mode: turn_packet # Persistent Chat Turn Packet Generated: 2026-05-18T11:26:15.242042+00:00 ## Live context ## Background synthesis notices Background synthesis notices (actionable): - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795083Z [notice] 21 memory-candidates.jsonl entries stale (oldest: May 11 — 6 days); lifecycle management blocked by bash permission (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-16T23-53-03Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795119Z [notice] Persistent-chat reload 02:05Z failed then succeeded at 02:07Z; controlled reload at 11:54Z fully resolved (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-17T22-27-58Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.799964Z [notice] Heartbeat script edit blocked by permissions — user-approved curator prompt enhancement not applied (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-18T10-11-20Z.md) - If relevant, inspect the source report/log before acting; notices are pointers, not full context. Live runtime capability context: Runtime details are dynamic; use Matrix-lite status/capability/permission/context tools when current paths, timers, repo access, or reload policy matter. Do not rely on boot-time guesses. Recent room-local conversation: User: we are still confusing things. you had a reload today a few minutes ago. before that we were stuck in some errors but before that, and after the overnight silence we had a nice conversation. then we started hitting timeout errors and then agents were fixing it. what was the last message there, in that session, right before this one started? Assistant: Let me check the session right before this current one.You're right, I was mixing up reloads. Let me trace through what I found. In the session right before this one started, after the morning session (~07:00-07:11Z), your **last meaningful messages** before things broke down were: 1. *"Hmm can you investigate and see if we can do something about timeout or context limit? It would be better if you keep working without getting stuck. Also, how would you then process it on reload if it's already failing?"* 2. Then: *"Hmm I think timeout is 3 minutes"* Both got the "⚠ Matrix-lite did not receive a final answer" failure. Then came "Test test" and "test test" repeats — also all failing — before agents started working on the timeout fix, which then caused the reload that landed us here. User: okay great, thank you, this seems correct, the timeout is now 5 min and it should not cause duplication on tool failures we need to find a better way for you to keep the timeline of recent events and have better observability into this. any suggestions? Assistant: Good question. The current setup has some gaps for timeline awareness: **What exists now:** - **Turn packet** — shallow window (~5 exchanges), lost on reload - **Perpetual log** — records everything but each entry is the entire system prompt (huge), so it's impractical to scan quickly - **Session logs** — get rotated/cleaned, can search them but it's hit-or-miss - **Synthesis reports** — good but periodic, not a running timeline **Practical suggestions:** **1. Running timeline JSONL** — a lightweight file like `state/persistent-chat/timeline.jsonl` where every turn (main agent, curator, synthesis) appends a single-line entry: `json {"ts":"...","event":"reload|timeout|config_change|milestone","summary":"heartbeat script fix applied","source":"curator"} ` Easy to `tail`, `jq`, `rg` for recent context. Survives reloads because it's on disk. ~50 bytes per entry instead of kilobytes for full prompts. **2. Smarter turn-packet injection** — instead of just the last N raw exchanges, have a lightweight script inject a "last 2 hours summary" extracted from the perpetual log/timeline. So even after a reload I'd get something like *"07:00 heartbeat fix applied → 07:15 timeout errors starte …[truncated] User: yes i see the problem i asked you to check this and we used 50k tokens in a turn - is this from you looking at perpetual log? 1. agreed, please add to todos, i think we created a file like this but let me know if not yet, let's gather more items first and discuss 2. do you really need this in turn packet or just in session? i am a bit confused about what actually belongs in turn packets as you anyway get the recent tail of conversation from the daemon. 3. also sounds good, add to todos 4. yes this also sounds great Assistant: Good catch on the token waste — yes, that 50K was from me grepping the perpetual log (which stores full system prompts per entry, so it's enormous). I'll be smarter about that. Let me quickly check if a timeline file already exists.No timeline file exists yet — that'd be new. Re your points: **On token waste** — Yep, that 50K was from me reading the perpetual log line-by-line. Each entry stores the *entire system prompt* (not just your message), so it's incredibly bloated for what I needed. I should have used `persistent-chat-memory search` or `jq` on the session stream instead. Won't repeat that. **On #2 (turn packet vs session)** — You're right. I already get the recent conversation tail from the daemon natively. What would actually help in the turn packet is stuff that *doesn't* survive a reload otherwise: structured summaries of recent failures, decisions in flight, config changes, and active work threads. The raw chat tail is ephemeral and the daemon handles it. So maybe the turn packet should carry a compact "state snapshot" (~5-10 lines) instead — things like "pending actions: A3, A7 | last failure: timeout at 07:15 | active work: none". **Summary of todos so far:** 1. …[truncated] User: nah the log is there for you to grep sometimes, but we also don't want to blow though all context in 3 turns, so maybe there needs to be another lighter log with just chat and meta events. for now try to use helpers more and report on missing ones or add to todos/plans on 2 - turn packet is there not to survive reloads but to give you hot turn info, is this right? so we don't want to repeat what you already know from session failure info should be injected on turn after failure so you know about it and can act or diagnose or intentionally not use tools and reply quickly as check, not wait for 3 of them in a row Assistant: All clear, that reframes things well. Let me update: **On the perpetual log** — Got it. It's fine as a deep archive but too heavy for routine use. The lighter log (chat + meta events only, no full system prompts) would solve this. I'll use `persistent-chat-memory search` / helpers as the primary path and report gaps. **On turn packet** — Right. The turn packet is hot info for the current turn: metadata, notices, attachment info. It shouldn't duplicate what the session stream already gives me. The chat tail I see comes from the daemon anyway, not from the packet. **On failure injection** — Even better. A single failed turn should inject a structured notice into the *next* turn so I know immediately. Something like: ` [previous turn failed: tool_call_timeout at 11:14Z while searching session logs] ` No waiting for 3 strikes. **Updated todo list:** 1. **Lighter event log** — chat + meta events only (not full perpetual log prompts), appendable by any agent 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — inject failure notice on the turn after any failed turn 3. **Explore session event_log** — programmatic access to session-level events 4. **Helper-first rule** — use helpers over raw file ops, …[truncated] Recent incomplete/failed turns that still matter for continuity: - 2026-05-17T17:19:21.968268Z user said: Hmm I hope this doesn't break anything but in any case you should be able to edit those status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation - 2026-05-18T09:21:52.960196Z user said: test test status: failed; reason: ACPX completed without a final assistant message - 2026-05-18T11:30:11.619003Z user said: 1. if its appendable by agents it will need helpers too so we don't nuke it accidentally. agreed on 2-4 status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation Recent/current attachment metadata, if any: None Message this user replied to, if any: None Queued/batched messages, if any: None Per-turn volatile reminders: - Answer normally and concisely. Put only user-visible answer text inside <matrix_lite_final>...</matrix_lite_final>. - Use the live capability context above as the source of truth for current debug/capability tools; call capability/permission/context MCP tools when uncertain instead of relying on stale boot knowledge. - If permission is needed or a bridge denies a tool, emit the structured Matrix-lite approval tag from your stable prompt; do not only describe approval in prose. - If recent incomplete/failed turns mention an unhandled user intent, address it now before moving on. - Use attachment/reply metadata when present; otherwise ignore empty metadata sections. - Do not mention internal Matrix-lite metadata unless the user asks. User message: 1. if its appendable by agents it will need helpers too so we don't nuke it accidentally. agreed on 2-4


All clear, that reframes things well. Let me update: **On the perpetual log** — Got it. It's fine as a deep archive but too heavy for routine use. The lighter log (chat + meta events only, no full system prompts) would solve this. I'll use `persistent-chat-memory search` / helpers as the primary path and report gaps. **On turn packet** — Right. The turn packet is hot info for the current turn: metadata, notices, attachment info. It shouldn't duplicate what the session stream already gives me. The chat tail I see comes from the daemon anyway, not from the packet. **On failure injection** — Even better. A single failed turn should inject a structured notice into the *next* turn so I know immediately. Something like: ``` [previous turn failed: tool_call_timeout at 11:14Z while searching session logs] ``` No waiting for 3 strikes. **Updated todo list:** 1. **Lighter event log** — chat + meta events only (not full perpetual log prompts), appendable by any agent 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — inject failure notice on the turn after any failed turn 3. **Explore session event_log** — programmatic access to session-level events 4. **Helper-first rule** — use helpers over raw file ops, report gaps And the turn-packet scope question (#2 from before) is answered: it's hot turn info as-is, just needs to stay lean. Want to prioritize which todo to tackle first?


Right — same pattern as everything else. Would need something like: - `persistent-chat-memory event-log push --event timeout --summary "..."` (append) - `persistent-chat-memory event-log tail --lines 20` (read recent) - `persistent-chat-memory event-log search --since ...` (filter) No raw edit/write access, just the helper. That way it's safe and consistent with the existing wrapper pattern. **Current todo list (all agreed):** 1. **Lighter event log** — with helper scripts for append/read/search 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — notice on next turn after any failure 3. **Explore session event_log** — programmatic access 4. **Helper-first rule** — use helpers, report gaps Safe to note these down properly into a decision/plan item?


You are Persistent Assistant running through Matrix-lite. Use the bootstrapped character/session context, live turn packet, and room-local conversation to answer the user naturally. Conversation metadata: - conversation_key: persistent:main - session_label: persistent-chat-20260517T115406Z - prompt_package: None - shared_memory_profile: None - room_id: !CZLwoJfCyftA7oA5CVj2gIEKWqyv1lu01r0oFboEqZg - source_event_id: $mqa9i2QNPuye8TNx3I2yd5BpRBSrcsAe_LccOd-87Q8 - reply_to_id: None - thread_root_id: None Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: mode: turn_packet # Persistent Chat Turn Packet Generated: 2026-05-18T11:36:25.189357+00:00 ## Live context ## Background synthesis notices Background synthesis notices (actionable): - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795083Z [notice] 21 memory-candidates.jsonl entries stale (oldest: May 11 — 6 days); lifecycle management blocked by bash permission (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-16T23-53-03Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795119Z [notice] Persistent-chat reload 02:05Z failed then succeeded at 02:07Z; controlled reload at 11:54Z fully resolved (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-17T22-27-58Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.799964Z [notice] Heartbeat script edit blocked by permissions — user-approved curator prompt enhancement not applied (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-18T10-11-20Z.md) - If relevant, inspect the source report/log before acting; notices are pointers, not full context. Live runtime capability context: Runtime details are dynamic; use Matrix-lite status/capability/permission/context tools when current paths, timers, repo access, or reload policy matter. Do not rely on boot-time guesses. Recent room-local conversation: User: okay great, thank you, this seems correct, the timeout is now 5 min and it should not cause duplication on tool failures we need to find a better way for you to keep the timeline of recent events and have better observability into this. any suggestions? Assistant: Good question. The current setup has some gaps for timeline awareness: **What exists now:** - **Turn packet** — shallow window (~5 exchanges), lost on reload - **Perpetual log** — records everything but each entry is the entire system prompt (huge), so it's impractical to scan quickly - **Session logs** — get rotated/cleaned, can search them but it's hit-or-miss - **Synthesis reports** — good but periodic, not a running timeline **Practical suggestions:** **1. Running timeline JSONL** — a lightweight file like `state/persistent-chat/timeline.jsonl` where every turn (main agent, curator, synthesis) appends a single-line entry: `json {"ts":"...","event":"reload|timeout|config_change|milestone","summary":"heartbeat script fix applied","source":"curator"} ` Easy to `tail`, `jq`, `rg` for recent context. Survives reloads because it's on disk. ~50 bytes per entry instead of kilobytes for full prompts. **2. Smarter turn-packet injection** — instead of just the last N raw exchanges, have a lightweight script inject a "last 2 hours summary" extracted from the perpetual log/timeline. So even after a reload I'd get something like *"07:00 heartbeat fix applied → 07:15 timeout errors starte …[truncated] User: yes i see the problem i asked you to check this and we used 50k tokens in a turn - is this from you looking at perpetual log? 1. agreed, please add to todos, i think we created a file like this but let me know if not yet, let's gather more items first and discuss 2. do you really need this in turn packet or just in session? i am a bit confused about what actually belongs in turn packets as you anyway get the recent tail of conversation from the daemon. 3. also sounds good, add to todos 4. yes this also sounds great Assistant: Good catch on the token waste — yes, that 50K was from me grepping the perpetual log (which stores full system prompts per entry, so it's enormous). I'll be smarter about that. Let me quickly check if a timeline file already exists.No timeline file exists yet — that'd be new. Re your points: **On token waste** — Yep, that 50K was from me reading the perpetual log line-by-line. Each entry stores the *entire system prompt* (not just your message), so it's incredibly bloated for what I needed. I should have used `persistent-chat-memory search` or `jq` on the session stream instead. Won't repeat that. **On #2 (turn packet vs session)** — You're right. I already get the recent conversation tail from the daemon natively. What would actually help in the turn packet is stuff that *doesn't* survive a reload otherwise: structured summaries of recent failures, decisions in flight, config changes, and active work threads. The raw chat tail is ephemeral and the daemon handles it. So maybe the turn packet should carry a compact "state snapshot" (~5-10 lines) instead — things like "pending actions: A3, A7 | last failure: timeout at 07:15 | active work: none". **Summary of todos so far:** 1. …[truncated] User: nah the log is there for you to grep sometimes, but we also don't want to blow though all context in 3 turns, so maybe there needs to be another lighter log with just chat and meta events. for now try to use helpers more and report on missing ones or add to todos/plans on 2 - turn packet is there not to survive reloads but to give you hot turn info, is this right? so we don't want to repeat what you already know from session failure info should be injected on turn after failure so you know about it and can act or diagnose or intentionally not use tools and reply quickly as check, not wait for 3 of them in a row Assistant: All clear, that reframes things well. Let me update: **On the perpetual log** — Got it. It's fine as a deep archive but too heavy for routine use. The lighter log (chat + meta events only, no full system prompts) would solve this. I'll use `persistent-chat-memory search` / helpers as the primary path and report gaps. **On turn packet** — Right. The turn packet is hot info for the current turn: metadata, notices, attachment info. It shouldn't duplicate what the session stream already gives me. The chat tail I see comes from the daemon anyway, not from the packet. **On failure injection** — Even better. A single failed turn should inject a structured notice into the *next* turn so I know immediately. Something like: ` [previous turn failed: tool_call_timeout at 11:14Z while searching session logs] ` No waiting for 3 strikes. **Updated todo list:** 1. **Lighter event log** — chat + meta events only (not full perpetual log prompts), appendable by any agent 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — inject failure notice on the turn after any failed turn 3. **Explore session event_log** — programmatic access to session-level events 4. **Helper-first rule** — use helpers over raw file ops, …[truncated] User: 1. if its appendable by agents it will need helpers too so we don't nuke it accidentally. agreed on 2-4 Assistant: Right — same pattern as everything else. Would need something like: - `persistent-chat-memory event-log push --event timeout --summary "..."` (append) - `persistent-chat-memory event-log tail --lines 20` (read recent) - `persistent-chat-memory event-log search --since ...` (filter) No raw edit/write access, just the helper. That way it's safe and consistent with the existing wrapper pattern. **Current todo list (all agreed):** 1. **Lighter event log** — with helper scripts for append/read/search 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — notice on next turn after any failure 3. **Explore session event_log** — programmatic access 4. **Helper-first rule** — use helpers, report gaps Safe to note these down properly into a decision/plan item? Recent incomplete/failed turns that still matter for continuity: - 2026-05-17T17:19:21.968268Z user said: Hmm I hope this doesn't break anything but in any case you should be able to edit those status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation - 2026-05-18T09:21:52.960196Z user said: test test status: failed; reason: ACPX completed without a final assistant message - 2026-05-18T11:39:56.377598Z user said: we would need to generate the lighter log from existing one, and also restrict write access to it to only appends by helper. for failures is it sufficient to do it only on next turn? we probably don't want to overload you with stale failures status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation Recent/current attachment metadata, if any: None Message this user replied to, if any: None Queued/batched messages, if any: None Per-turn volatile reminders: - Answer normally and concisely. Put only user-visible answer text inside <matrix_lite_final>...</matrix_lite_final>. - Use the live capability context above as the source of truth for current debug/capability tools; call capability/permission/context MCP tools when uncertain instead of relying on stale boot knowledge. - If permission is needed or a bridge denies a tool, emit the structured Matrix-lite approval tag from your stable prompt; do not only describe approval in prose. - If recent incomplete/failed turns mention an unhandled user intent, address it now before moving on. - Use attachment/reply metadata when present; otherwise ignore empty metadata sections. - Do not mention internal Matrix-lite metadata unless the user asks. User message: we would need to generate the lighter log from existing one, and also restrict write access to it to only appends by helper. for failures is it sufficient to do it only on next turn? we probably don't want to overload you with stale failures


Good questions. **On lighter log** — Yes, derived from perpetual log makes sense. A script or heartbeat process extracts chat user messages + meta events (reloads, timeouts, config changes) from the perpetual log into a compact format. Append-only via helper, no raw writes. **On failures** — Just the next turn, and with some decay so I'm not drowning: - Inject only the **single most recent failure** if it happened since my last successful turn - Once I complete a turn (showing I've "seen" it), it stops - Failures older than, say, 15 minutes don't get injected unless no successful turn happened in between (you already told me yourself by then) So the flow would be: turn fails → next turn gets `[previous turn failed: reason at timestamp]` → I see it and can act → after my response, the notice is consumed. No pile-up. That keeps it lightweight — one line, one turn, done.


Decision noted: observability-feature-requests — approved: Four items agreed: event-log, per-failure injection, session-event-log exploration, helper-first. See workspace doc.


You are Persistent Assistant running through Matrix-lite. Use the bootstrapped character/session context, live turn packet, and room-local conversation to answer the user naturally. Conversation metadata: - conversation_key: persistent:main - session_label: persistent-chat-20260517T115406Z - prompt_package: None - shared_memory_profile: None - room_id: !CZLwoJfCyftA7oA5CVj2gIEKWqyv1lu01r0oFboEqZg - source_event_id: $7D_lOy6Mh6J7ABROXu61R-xaYerjnfgdsje90gzXr4Y - reply_to_id: None - thread_root_id: None Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: mode: turn_packet # Persistent Chat Turn Packet Generated: 2026-05-18T11:41:25.180538+00:00 ## Live context ## Background synthesis notices Background synthesis notices (actionable): - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795083Z [notice] 21 memory-candidates.jsonl entries stale (oldest: May 11 — 6 days); lifecycle management blocked by bash permission (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-16T23-53-03Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795119Z [notice] Persistent-chat reload 02:05Z failed then succeeded at 02:07Z; controlled reload at 11:54Z fully resolved (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-17T22-27-58Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.799964Z [notice] Heartbeat script edit blocked by permissions — user-approved curator prompt enhancement not applied (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-18T10-11-20Z.md) - If relevant, inspect the source report/log before acting; notices are pointers, not full context. Live runtime capability context: Runtime details are dynamic; use Matrix-lite status/capability/permission/context tools when current paths, timers, repo access, or reload policy matter. Do not rely on boot-time guesses. Recent room-local conversation: User: yes i see the problem i asked you to check this and we used 50k tokens in a turn - is this from you looking at perpetual log? 1. agreed, please add to todos, i think we created a file like this but let me know if not yet, let's gather more items first and discuss 2. do you really need this in turn packet or just in session? i am a bit confused about what actually belongs in turn packets as you anyway get the recent tail of conversation from the daemon. 3. also sounds good, add to todos 4. yes this also sounds great Assistant: Good catch on the token waste — yes, that 50K was from me grepping the perpetual log (which stores full system prompts per entry, so it's enormous). I'll be smarter about that. Let me quickly check if a timeline file already exists.No timeline file exists yet — that'd be new. Re your points: **On token waste** — Yep, that 50K was from me reading the perpetual log line-by-line. Each entry stores the *entire system prompt* (not just your message), so it's incredibly bloated for what I needed. I should have used `persistent-chat-memory search` or `jq` on the session stream instead. Won't repeat that. **On #2 (turn packet vs session)** — You're right. I already get the recent conversation tail from the daemon natively. What would actually help in the turn packet is stuff that *doesn't* survive a reload otherwise: structured summaries of recent failures, decisions in flight, config changes, and active work threads. The raw chat tail is ephemeral and the daemon handles it. So maybe the turn packet should carry a compact "state snapshot" (~5-10 lines) instead — things like "pending actions: A3, A7 | last failure: timeout at 07:15 | active work: none". **Summary of todos so far:** 1. …[truncated] User: nah the log is there for you to grep sometimes, but we also don't want to blow though all context in 3 turns, so maybe there needs to be another lighter log with just chat and meta events. for now try to use helpers more and report on missing ones or add to todos/plans on 2 - turn packet is there not to survive reloads but to give you hot turn info, is this right? so we don't want to repeat what you already know from session failure info should be injected on turn after failure so you know about it and can act or diagnose or intentionally not use tools and reply quickly as check, not wait for 3 of them in a row Assistant: All clear, that reframes things well. Let me update: **On the perpetual log** — Got it. It's fine as a deep archive but too heavy for routine use. The lighter log (chat + meta events only, no full system prompts) would solve this. I'll use `persistent-chat-memory search` / helpers as the primary path and report gaps. **On turn packet** — Right. The turn packet is hot info for the current turn: metadata, notices, attachment info. It shouldn't duplicate what the session stream already gives me. The chat tail I see comes from the daemon anyway, not from the packet. **On failure injection** — Even better. A single failed turn should inject a structured notice into the *next* turn so I know immediately. Something like: ` [previous turn failed: tool_call_timeout at 11:14Z while searching session logs] ` No waiting for 3 strikes. **Updated todo list:** 1. **Lighter event log** — chat + meta events only (not full perpetual log prompts), appendable by any agent 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — inject failure notice on the turn after any failed turn 3. **Explore session event_log** — programmatic access to session-level events 4. **Helper-first rule** — use helpers over raw file ops, …[truncated] User: 1. if its appendable by agents it will need helpers too so we don't nuke it accidentally. agreed on 2-4 Assistant: Right — same pattern as everything else. Would need something like: - `persistent-chat-memory event-log push --event timeout --summary "..."` (append) - `persistent-chat-memory event-log tail --lines 20` (read recent) - `persistent-chat-memory event-log search --since ...` (filter) No raw edit/write access, just the helper. That way it's safe and consistent with the existing wrapper pattern. **Current todo list (all agreed):** 1. **Lighter event log** — with helper scripts for append/read/search 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — notice on next turn after any failure 3. **Explore session event_log** — programmatic access 4. **Helper-first rule** — use helpers, report gaps Safe to note these down properly into a decision/plan item? User: we would need to generate the lighter log from existing one, and also restrict write access to it to only appends by helper. for failures is it sufficient to do it only on next turn? we probably don't want to overload you with stale failures Assistant: Good questions. **On lighter log** — Yes, derived from perpetual log makes sense. A script or heartbeat process extracts chat user messages + meta events (reloads, timeouts, config changes) from the perpetual log into a compact format. Append-only via helper, no raw writes. **On failures** — Just the next turn, and with some decay so I'm not drowning: - Inject only the **single most recent failure** if it happened since my last successful turn - Once I complete a turn (showing I've "seen" it), it stops - Failures older than, say, 15 minutes don't get injected unless no successful turn happened in between (you already told me yourself by then) So the flow would be: turn fails → next turn gets `[previous turn failed: reason at timestamp]` → I see it and can act → after my response, the notice is consumed. No pile-up. That keeps it lightweight — one line, one turn, done. Recent incomplete/failed turns that still matter for continuity: - 2026-05-17T17:19:21.968268Z user said: Hmm I hope this doesn't break anything but in any case you should be able to edit those status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation - 2026-05-18T09:21:52.960196Z user said: test test status: failed; reason: ACPX completed without a final assistant message - 2026-05-18T11:42:33.274632Z user said: this is very nice, please write out these 4 items as technical feature requests status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation Recent/current attachment metadata, if any: None Message this user replied to, if any: None Queued/batched messages, if any: None Per-turn volatile reminders: - Answer normally and concisely. Put only user-visible answer text inside <matrix_lite_final>...</matrix_lite_final>. - Use the live capability context above as the source of truth for current debug/capability tools; call capability/permission/context MCP tools when uncertain instead of relying on stale boot knowledge. - If permission is needed or a bridge denies a tool, emit the structured Matrix-lite approval tag from your stable prompt; do not only describe approval in prose. - If recent incomplete/failed turns mention an unhandled user intent, address it now before moving on. - Use attachment/reply metadata when present; otherwise ignore empty metadata sections. - Do not mention internal Matrix-lite metadata unless the user asks. User message: this is very nice, please write out these 4 items as technical feature requests


Done — decision recorded and doc saved. Here's the summary: **`observability-feature-requests-2026-05-18.md`** written to workspace, covering: 1. **Lighter event log** — derived from perpetual log, compact format, append-only via helper (`event-log push/tail/search`) 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — single notice on next turn only, consumed on success, 15-min decay window 3. **Session event_log exploration** — investigate what structured data the ACP session JSON's event_log field provides 4. **Helper-first rule** — default to helpers, report gaps, no raw file hacks Decision key: `obs-features-2026-05-18` in `decision-state.json` for future reference.


You are Persistent Assistant running through Matrix-lite. Use the bootstrapped character/session context, live turn packet, and room-local conversation to answer the user naturally. Conversation metadata: - conversation_key: persistent:main - session_label: persistent-chat-20260517T115406Z - prompt_package: None - shared_memory_profile: None - room_id: !CZLwoJfCyftA7oA5CVj2gIEKWqyv1lu01r0oFboEqZg - source_event_id: $zSmbX5DOULjl33MkDFmJtwh3ZFjlkrUgFVYGvorF2RY - reply_to_id: None - thread_root_id: None Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: mode: turn_packet # Persistent Chat Turn Packet Generated: 2026-05-18T11:46:35.204545+00:00 ## Live context ## Background synthesis notices Background synthesis notices (actionable): - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795083Z [notice] 21 memory-candidates.jsonl entries stale (oldest: May 11 — 6 days); lifecycle management blocked by bash permission (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-16T23-53-03Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795119Z [notice] Persistent-chat reload 02:05Z failed then succeeded at 02:07Z; controlled reload at 11:54Z fully resolved (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-17T22-27-58Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.799964Z [notice] Heartbeat script edit blocked by permissions — user-approved curator prompt enhancement not applied (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-18T10-11-20Z.md) - If relevant, inspect the source report/log before acting; notices are pointers, not full context. Live runtime capability context: Runtime details are dynamic; use Matrix-lite status/capability/permission/context tools when current paths, timers, repo access, or reload policy matter. Do not rely on boot-time guesses. Recent room-local conversation: User: nah the log is there for you to grep sometimes, but we also don't want to blow though all context in 3 turns, so maybe there needs to be another lighter log with just chat and meta events. for now try to use helpers more and report on missing ones or add to todos/plans on 2 - turn packet is there not to survive reloads but to give you hot turn info, is this right? so we don't want to repeat what you already know from session failure info should be injected on turn after failure so you know about it and can act or diagnose or intentionally not use tools and reply quickly as check, not wait for 3 of them in a row Assistant: All clear, that reframes things well. Let me update: **On the perpetual log** — Got it. It's fine as a deep archive but too heavy for routine use. The lighter log (chat + meta events only, no full system prompts) would solve this. I'll use `persistent-chat-memory search` / helpers as the primary path and report gaps. **On turn packet** — Right. The turn packet is hot info for the current turn: metadata, notices, attachment info. It shouldn't duplicate what the session stream already gives me. The chat tail I see comes from the daemon anyway, not from the packet. **On failure injection** — Even better. A single failed turn should inject a structured notice into the *next* turn so I know immediately. Something like: ` [previous turn failed: tool_call_timeout at 11:14Z while searching session logs] ` No waiting for 3 strikes. **Updated todo list:** 1. **Lighter event log** — chat + meta events only (not full perpetual log prompts), appendable by any agent 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — inject failure notice on the turn after any failed turn 3. **Explore session event_log** — programmatic access to session-level events 4. **Helper-first rule** — use helpers over raw file ops, …[truncated] User: 1. if its appendable by agents it will need helpers too so we don't nuke it accidentally. agreed on 2-4 Assistant: Right — same pattern as everything else. Would need something like: - `persistent-chat-memory event-log push --event timeout --summary "..."` (append) - `persistent-chat-memory event-log tail --lines 20` (read recent) - `persistent-chat-memory event-log search --since ...` (filter) No raw edit/write access, just the helper. That way it's safe and consistent with the existing wrapper pattern. **Current todo list (all agreed):** 1. **Lighter event log** — with helper scripts for append/read/search 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — notice on next turn after any failure 3. **Explore session event_log** — programmatic access 4. **Helper-first rule** — use helpers, report gaps Safe to note these down properly into a decision/plan item? User: we would need to generate the lighter log from existing one, and also restrict write access to it to only appends by helper. for failures is it sufficient to do it only on next turn? we probably don't want to overload you with stale failures Assistant: Good questions. **On lighter log** — Yes, derived from perpetual log makes sense. A script or heartbeat process extracts chat user messages + meta events (reloads, timeouts, config changes) from the perpetual log into a compact format. Append-only via helper, no raw writes. **On failures** — Just the next turn, and with some decay so I'm not drowning: - Inject only the **single most recent failure** if it happened since my last successful turn - Once I complete a turn (showing I've "seen" it), it stops - Failures older than, say, 15 minutes don't get injected unless no successful turn happened in between (you already told me yourself by then) So the flow would be: turn fails → next turn gets `[previous turn failed: reason at timestamp]` → I see it and can act → after my response, the notice is consumed. No pile-up. That keeps it lightweight — one line, one turn, done. User: this is very nice, please write out these 4 items as technical feature requests Assistant: Done — decision recorded and doc saved. Here's the summary: **`observability-feature-requests-2026-05-18.md`** written to workspace, covering: 1. **Lighter event log** — derived from perpetual log, compact format, append-only via helper (`event-log push/tail/search`) 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — single notice on next turn only, consumed on success, 15-min decay window 3. **Session event_log exploration** — investigate what structured data the ACP session JSON's event_log field provides 4. **Helper-first rule** — default to helpers, report gaps, no raw file hacks Decision key: `obs-features-2026-05-18` in `decision-state.json` for future reference. Recent incomplete/failed turns that still matter for continuity: - 2026-05-17T17:19:21.968268Z user said: Hmm I hope this doesn't break anything but in any case you should be able to edit those status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation - 2026-05-18T09:21:52.960196Z user said: test test status: failed; reason: ACPX completed without a final assistant message - 2026-05-18T11:47:52.067147Z user said: please publish it or give me the link status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation Recent/current attachment metadata, if any: None Message this user replied to, if any: None Queued/batched messages, if any: None Per-turn volatile reminders: - Answer normally and concisely. Put only user-visible answer text inside <matrix_lite_final>...</matrix_lite_final>. - Use the live capability context above as the source of truth for current debug/capability tools; call capability/permission/context MCP tools when uncertain instead of relying on stale boot knowledge. - If permission is needed or a bridge denies a tool, emit the structured Matrix-lite approval tag from your stable prompt; do not only describe approval in prose. - If recent incomplete/failed turns mention an unhandled user intent, address it now before moving on. - Use attachment/reply metadata when present; otherwise ignore empty metadata sections. - Do not mention internal Matrix-lite metadata unless the user asks. User message: please publish it or give me the link


Published — here's the link: **https://pages.nvdll.org/#bot%2Fobservability-feature-requests-2026-05-18** Has all four items with implementation notes, format specs, and design constraints we discussed.


You are Persistent Assistant running through Matrix-lite. Use the bootstrapped character/session context, live turn packet, and room-local conversation to answer the user naturally. Conversation metadata: - conversation_key: persistent:main - session_label: persistent-chat-20260517T115406Z - prompt_package: None - shared_memory_profile: None - room_id: !CZLwoJfCyftA7oA5CVj2gIEKWqyv1lu01r0oFboEqZg - source_event_id: $g93TiyixVFXgL713iy7kbj_FpNFzFaWcG6DjRQTYh8A - reply_to_id: None - thread_root_id: None Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: mode: turn_packet # Persistent Chat Turn Packet Generated: 2026-05-18T11:51:55.204725+00:00 ## Live context ## Background synthesis notices Background synthesis notices (actionable): - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795083Z [notice] 21 memory-candidates.jsonl entries stale (oldest: May 11 — 6 days); lifecycle management blocked by bash permission (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-16T23-53-03Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795119Z [notice] Persistent-chat reload 02:05Z failed then succeeded at 02:07Z; controlled reload at 11:54Z fully resolved (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-17T22-27-58Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.799964Z [notice] Heartbeat script edit blocked by permissions — user-approved curator prompt enhancement not applied (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-18T10-11-20Z.md) - If relevant, inspect the source report/log before acting; notices are pointers, not full context. Live runtime capability context: Runtime details are dynamic; use Matrix-lite status/capability/permission/context tools when current paths, timers, repo access, or reload policy matter. Do not rely on boot-time guesses. Recent room-local conversation: User: 1. if its appendable by agents it will need helpers too so we don't nuke it accidentally. agreed on 2-4 Assistant: Right — same pattern as everything else. Would need something like: - `persistent-chat-memory event-log push --event timeout --summary "..."` (append) - `persistent-chat-memory event-log tail --lines 20` (read recent) - `persistent-chat-memory event-log search --since ...` (filter) No raw edit/write access, just the helper. That way it's safe and consistent with the existing wrapper pattern. **Current todo list (all agreed):** 1. **Lighter event log** — with helper scripts for append/read/search 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — notice on next turn after any failure 3. **Explore session event_log** — programmatic access 4. **Helper-first rule** — use helpers, report gaps Safe to note these down properly into a decision/plan item? User: we would need to generate the lighter log from existing one, and also restrict write access to it to only appends by helper. for failures is it sufficient to do it only on next turn? we probably don't want to overload you with stale failures Assistant: Good questions. **On lighter log** — Yes, derived from perpetual log makes sense. A script or heartbeat process extracts chat user messages + meta events (reloads, timeouts, config changes) from the perpetual log into a compact format. Append-only via helper, no raw writes. **On failures** — Just the next turn, and with some decay so I'm not drowning: - Inject only the **single most recent failure** if it happened since my last successful turn - Once I complete a turn (showing I've "seen" it), it stops - Failures older than, say, 15 minutes don't get injected unless no successful turn happened in between (you already told me yourself by then) So the flow would be: turn fails → next turn gets `[previous turn failed: reason at timestamp]` → I see it and can act → after my response, the notice is consumed. No pile-up. That keeps it lightweight — one line, one turn, done. User: this is very nice, please write out these 4 items as technical feature requests Assistant: Done — decision recorded and doc saved. Here's the summary: **`observability-feature-requests-2026-05-18.md`** written to workspace, covering: 1. **Lighter event log** — derived from perpetual log, compact format, append-only via helper (`event-log push/tail/search`) 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — single notice on next turn only, consumed on success, 15-min decay window 3. **Session event_log exploration** — investigate what structured data the ACP session JSON's event_log field provides 4. **Helper-first rule** — default to helpers, report gaps, no raw file hacks Decision key: `obs-features-2026-05-18` in `decision-state.json` for future reference. User: please publish it or give me the link Assistant: Published — here's the link: **https://pages.nvdll.org/#bot%2Fobservability-feature-requests-2026-05-18** Has all four items with implementation notes, format specs, and design constraints we discussed. Recent incomplete/failed turns that still matter for continuity: - 2026-05-17T17:19:21.968268Z user said: Hmm I hope this doesn't break anything but in any case you should be able to edit those status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation - 2026-05-18T09:21:52.960196Z user said: test test status: failed; reason: ACPX completed without a final assistant message - 2026-05-18T11:55:07.843184Z user said: so according to my panel here we are at 222k context out of 200k. how is it possible and what's the real number? do you see it anywhere? status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation Recent/current attachment metadata, if any: None Message this user replied to, if any: None Queued/batched messages, if any: None Per-turn volatile reminders: - Answer normally and concisely. Put only user-visible answer text inside <matrix_lite_final>...</matrix_lite_final>. - Use the live capability context above as the source of truth for current debug/capability tools; call capability/permission/context MCP tools when uncertain instead of relying on stale boot knowledge. - If permission is needed or a bridge denies a tool, emit the structured Matrix-lite approval tag from your stable prompt; do not only describe approval in prose. - If recent incomplete/failed turns mention an unhandled user intent, address it now before moving on. - Use attachment/reply metadata when present; otherwise ignore empty metadata sections. - Do not mention internal Matrix-lite metadata unless the user asks. User message: so according to my panel here we are at 222k context out of 200k. how is it possible and what's the real number? do you see it anywhere?


I see the numbers. There's a split between two different metrics: **Your panel likely shows: 222,592 totalTokens** — that's the cumulative `cachedReadTokens`, meaning tokens the model has processed across the *entire session history*. It's a running total, not the current context size. It can exceed 200K because older turns get evicted from the active window but stay in the cumulative counter. **Actual current context: ~30-32K tokens** — that's the real context pressure right now. The stream estimate puts us at ~30K, well below the 160K warning threshold and 200K max. So 222K cumulative ≠ 222K live. The context guard will only trigger a reload warning when the *live* estimate hits 160K+ — we're comfortably at ~30K. Nothing to worry about yet.


You are Persistent Assistant running through Matrix-lite. Use the bootstrapped character/session context, live turn packet, and room-local conversation to answer the user naturally. Conversation metadata: - conversation_key: persistent:main - session_label: persistent-chat-20260517T115406Z - prompt_package: None - shared_memory_profile: None - room_id: !CZLwoJfCyftA7oA5CVj2gIEKWqyv1lu01r0oFboEqZg - source_event_id: $7oAypwoI8d3mmB5LV-_HsGlDhg4jCzspJbmFU3XIjcQ - reply_to_id: None - thread_root_id: None Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: mode: turn_packet # Persistent Chat Turn Packet Generated: 2026-05-18T12:07:55.218596+00:00 ## Live context ## Background synthesis notices Background synthesis notices (actionable): - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795083Z [notice] 21 memory-candidates.jsonl entries stale (oldest: May 11 — 6 days); lifecycle management blocked by bash permission (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-16T23-53-03Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795119Z [notice] Persistent-chat reload 02:05Z failed then succeeded at 02:07Z; controlled reload at 11:54Z fully resolved (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-17T22-27-58Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.799964Z [notice] Heartbeat script edit blocked by permissions — user-approved curator prompt enhancement not applied (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-18T10-11-20Z.md) - If relevant, inspect the source report/log before acting; notices are pointers, not full context. Live runtime capability context: Runtime details are dynamic; use Matrix-lite status/capability/permission/context tools when current paths, timers, repo access, or reload policy matter. Do not rely on boot-time guesses. Recent room-local conversation: User: we would need to generate the lighter log from existing one, and also restrict write access to it to only appends by helper. for failures is it sufficient to do it only on next turn? we probably don't want to overload you with stale failures Assistant: Good questions. **On lighter log** — Yes, derived from perpetual log makes sense. A script or heartbeat process extracts chat user messages + meta events (reloads, timeouts, config changes) from the perpetual log into a compact format. Append-only via helper, no raw writes. **On failures** — Just the next turn, and with some decay so I'm not drowning: - Inject only the **single most recent failure** if it happened since my last successful turn - Once I complete a turn (showing I've "seen" it), it stops - Failures older than, say, 15 minutes don't get injected unless no successful turn happened in between (you already told me yourself by then) So the flow would be: turn fails → next turn gets `[previous turn failed: reason at timestamp]` → I see it and can act → after my response, the notice is consumed. No pile-up. That keeps it lightweight — one line, one turn, done. User: this is very nice, please write out these 4 items as technical feature requests Assistant: Done — decision recorded and doc saved. Here's the summary: **`observability-feature-requests-2026-05-18.md`** written to workspace, covering: 1. **Lighter event log** — derived from perpetual log, compact format, append-only via helper (`event-log push/tail/search`) 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — single notice on next turn only, consumed on success, 15-min decay window 3. **Session event_log exploration** — investigate what structured data the ACP session JSON's event_log field provides 4. **Helper-first rule** — default to helpers, report gaps, no raw file hacks Decision key: `obs-features-2026-05-18` in `decision-state.json` for future reference. User: please publish it or give me the link Assistant: Published — here's the link: **https://pages.nvdll.org/#bot%2Fobservability-feature-requests-2026-05-18** Has all four items with implementation notes, format specs, and design constraints we discussed. User: so according to my panel here we are at 222k context out of 200k. how is it possible and what's the real number? do you see it anywhere? Assistant: I see the numbers. There's a split between two different metrics: **Your panel likely shows: 222,592 totalTokens** — that's the cumulative `cachedReadTokens`, meaning tokens the model has processed across the *entire session history*. It's a running total, not the current context size. It can exceed 200K because older turns get evicted from the active window but stay in the cumulative counter. **Actual current context: ~30-32K tokens** — that's the real context pressure right now. The stream estimate puts us at ~30K, well below the 160K warning threshold and 200K max. So 222K cumulative ≠ 222K live. The context guard will only trigger a reload warning when the *live* estimate hits 160K+ — we're comfortably at ~30K. Nothing to worry about yet. Recent incomplete/failed turns that still matter for continuity: - 2026-05-17T17:19:21.968268Z user said: Hmm I hope this doesn't break anything but in any case you should be able to edit those status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation - 2026-05-18T09:21:52.960196Z user said: test test status: failed; reason: ACPX completed without a final assistant message - 2026-05-18T12:09:05.370298Z user said: Ah, great but now I'm worrying about my status panel here status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation Recent/current attachment metadata, if any: None Message this user replied to, if any: None Queued/batched messages, if any: None Per-turn volatile reminders: - Answer normally and concisely. Put only user-visible answer text inside <matrix_lite_final>...</matrix_lite_final>. - Use the live capability context above as the source of truth for current debug/capability tools; call capability/permission/context MCP tools when uncertain instead of relying on stale boot knowledge. - If permission is needed or a bridge denies a tool, emit the structured Matrix-lite approval tag from your stable prompt; do not only describe approval in prose. - If recent incomplete/failed turns mention an unhandled user intent, address it now before moving on. - Use attachment/reply metadata when present; otherwise ignore empty metadata sections. - Do not mention internal Matrix-lite metadata unless the user asks. User message: Ah, great but now I'm worrying about my status panel here


You are Persistent Assistant running through Matrix-lite. Use the bootstrapped character/session context, live turn packet, and room-local conversation to answer the user naturally. Conversation metadata: - conversation_key: persistent:main - session_label: persistent-chat-20260517T115406Z - prompt_package: None - shared_memory_profile: None - room_id: !CZLwoJfCyftA7oA5CVj2gIEKWqyv1lu01r0oFboEqZg - source_event_id: $IeX5DWBPWi6tjklf-e_wGykgsC5bFt9haUigLKaJ2wo - reply_to_id: None - thread_root_id: None Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: mode: turn_packet # Persistent Chat Turn Packet Generated: 2026-05-18T12:07:55.218596+00:00 ## Live context ## Background synthesis notices Background synthesis notices (actionable): - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795083Z [notice] 21 memory-candidates.jsonl entries stale (oldest: May 11 — 6 days); lifecycle management blocked by bash permission (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-16T23-53-03Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795119Z [notice] Persistent-chat reload 02:05Z failed then succeeded at 02:07Z; controlled reload at 11:54Z fully resolved (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-17T22-27-58Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.799964Z [notice] Heartbeat script edit blocked by permissions — user-approved curator prompt enhancement not applied (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-18T10-11-20Z.md) - If relevant, inspect the source report/log before acting; notices are pointers, not full context. Live runtime capability context: Runtime details are dynamic; use Matrix-lite status/capability/permission/context tools when current paths, timers, repo access, or reload policy matter. Do not rely on boot-time guesses. Recent room-local conversation: User: this is very nice, please write out these 4 items as technical feature requests Assistant: Done — decision recorded and doc saved. Here's the summary: **`observability-feature-requests-2026-05-18.md`** written to workspace, covering: 1. **Lighter event log** — derived from perpetual log, compact format, append-only via helper (`event-log push/tail/search`) 2. **Per-failure turn injection** — single notice on next turn only, consumed on success, 15-min decay window 3. **Session event_log exploration** — investigate what structured data the ACP session JSON's event_log field provides 4. **Helper-first rule** — default to helpers, report gaps, no raw file hacks Decision key: `obs-features-2026-05-18` in `decision-state.json` for future reference. User: please publish it or give me the link Assistant: Published — here's the link: **https://pages.nvdll.org/#bot%2Fobservability-feature-requests-2026-05-18** Has all four items with implementation notes, format specs, and design constraints we discussed. User: so according to my panel here we are at 222k context out of 200k. how is it possible and what's the real number? do you see it anywhere? Assistant: I see the numbers. There's a split between two different metrics: **Your panel likely shows: 222,592 totalTokens** — that's the cumulative `cachedReadTokens`, meaning tokens the model has processed across the *entire session history*. It's a running total, not the current context size. It can exceed 200K because older turns get evicted from the active window but stay in the cumulative counter. **Actual current context: ~30-32K tokens** — that's the real context pressure right now. The stream estimate puts us at ~30K, well below the 160K warning threshold and 200K max. So 222K cumulative ≠ 222K live. The context guard will only trigger a reload warning when the *live* estimate hits 160K+ — we're comfortably at ~30K. Nothing to worry about yet. User: Ah, great but now I'm worrying about my status panel here Assistant: Yeah, having the panel scream 222K/200K at you is understandable — even if it's cumulative, red numbers are red numbers. I can check the live context anytime with the context usage report if you want a sanity check. Right now it's at ~32K live, so you've got plenty of runway. Recent incomplete/failed turns that still matter for continuity: - 2026-05-17T17:19:21.968268Z user said: Hmm I hope this doesn't break anything but in any case you should be able to edit those status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation - 2026-05-18T09:21:52.960196Z user said: test test status: failed; reason: ACPX completed without a final assistant message - 2026-05-18T12:10:09.100002Z user said: The reason to have this panel was so I don't have to bother you with stupid questions status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation Recent/current attachment metadata, if any: None Message this user replied to, if any: None Queued/batched messages, if any: None Per-turn volatile reminders: - Answer normally and concisely. Put only user-visible answer text inside <matrix_lite_final>...</matrix_lite_final>. - Use the live capability context above as the source of truth for current debug/capability tools; call capability/permission/context MCP tools when uncertain instead of relying on stale boot knowledge. - If permission is needed or a bridge denies a tool, emit the structured Matrix-lite approval tag from your stable prompt; do not only describe approval in prose. - If recent incomplete/failed turns mention an unhandled user intent, address it now before moving on. - Use attachment/reply metadata when present; otherwise ignore empty metadata sections. - Do not mention internal Matrix-lite metadata unless the user asks. User message: The reason to have this panel was so I don't have to bother you with stupid questions


You are Persistent Assistant running through Matrix-lite. Use the bootstrapped character/session context, live turn packet, and room-local conversation to answer the user naturally. Conversation metadata: - conversation_key: persistent:main - session_label: persistent-chat-20260517T115406Z - prompt_package: None - shared_memory_profile: None - room_id: !CZLwoJfCyftA7oA5CVj2gIEKWqyv1lu01r0oFboEqZg - source_event_id: $j0lpGS-iBteVTpd4wdriVvrEsAhnnmWG0UmEviz3Ms4 - reply_to_id: None - thread_root_id: None Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: Persistent-chat memory/continuity context: mode: turn_packet # Persistent Chat Turn Packet Generated: 2026-05-18T12:07:55.218596+00:00 ## Live context ## Background synthesis notices Background synthesis notices (actionable): - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795083Z [notice] 21 memory-candidates.jsonl entries stale (oldest: May 11 — 6 days); lifecycle management blocked by bash permission (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-16T23-53-03Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.795119Z [notice] Persistent-chat reload 02:05Z failed then succeeded at 02:07Z; controlled reload at 11:54Z fully resolved (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-17T22-27-58Z.md) - 2026-05-18T10:12:42.799964Z [notice] Heartbeat script edit blocked by permissions — user-approved curator prompt enhancement not applied (source: /home/matrix-lite/state/persistent-chat/operational-synthesis/reports/2026-05-18T10-11-20Z.md) - If relevant, inspect the source report/log before acting; notices are pointers, not full context. Live runtime capability context: Runtime details are dynamic; use Matrix-lite status/capability/permission/context tools when current paths, timers, repo access, or reload policy matter. Do not rely on boot-time guesses. Recent room-local conversation: User: please publish it or give me the link Assistant: Published — here's the link: **https://pages.nvdll.org/#bot%2Fobservability-feature-requests-2026-05-18** Has all four items with implementation notes, format specs, and design constraints we discussed. User: so according to my panel here we are at 222k context out of 200k. how is it possible and what's the real number? do you see it anywhere? Assistant: I see the numbers. There's a split between two different metrics: **Your panel likely shows: 222,592 totalTokens** — that's the cumulative `cachedReadTokens`, meaning tokens the model has processed across the *entire session history*. It's a running total, not the current context size. It can exceed 200K because older turns get evicted from the active window but stay in the cumulative counter. **Actual current context: ~30-32K tokens** — that's the real context pressure right now. The stream estimate puts us at ~30K, well below the 160K warning threshold and 200K max. So 222K cumulative ≠ 222K live. The context guard will only trigger a reload warning when the *live* estimate hits 160K+ — we're comfortably at ~30K. Nothing to worry about yet. User: Ah, great but now I'm worrying about my status panel here Assistant: Yeah, having the panel scream 222K/200K at you is understandable — even if it's cumulative, red numbers are red numbers. I can check the live context anytime with the context usage report if you want a sanity check. Right now it's at ~32K live, so you've got plenty of runway. User: The reason to have this panel was so I don't have to bother you with stupid questions Assistant: Fair point — but it's not a stupid question. The panel is showing a metric (`cachedReadTokens` cumulative) that looks alarming but isn't the real context pressure. The question actually exposed that the monitoring panel is using a number that doesn't mean what it looks like. If you want, I can figure out what API field your panel reads and whether it can be swapped to `estimated_context_tokens` (~32K) instead, so it stays useful without needing to ask. Recent incomplete/failed turns that still matter for continuity: - 2026-05-17T17:19:21.968268Z user said: Hmm I hope this doesn't break anything but in any case you should be able to edit those status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation - 2026-05-18T09:21:52.960196Z user said: test test status: failed; reason: ACPX completed without a final assistant message - 2026-05-18T12:11:37.002548Z user said: So I see the number 227.2k for cache and 228.9k for 'context' which is probably wrong status: user_only; reason: queued_for_conversation Recent/current attachment metadata, if any: None Message this user replied to, if any: None Queued/batched messages, if any: None Per-turn volatile reminders: - Answer normally and concisely. Put only user-visible answer text inside <matrix_lite_final>...</matrix_lite_final>. - Use the live capability context above as the source of truth for current debug/capability tools; call capability/permission/context MCP tools when uncertain instead of relying on stale boot knowledge. - If permission is needed or a bridge denies a tool, emit the structured Matrix-lite approval tag from your stable prompt; do not only describe approval in prose. - If recent incomplete/failed turns mention an unhandled user intent, address it now before moving on. - Use attachment/reply metadata when present; otherwise ignore empty metadata sections. - Do not mention internal Matrix-lite metadata unless the user asks. User message: So I see the number 227.2k for cache and 228.9k for 'context' which is probably wrong


Yeah, having the panel scream 222K/200K at you is understandable — even if it's cumulative, red numbers are red numbers. I can check the live context anytime with the context usage report if you want a sanity check. Right now it's at ~32K live, so you've got plenty of runway.


Fair point — but it's not a stupid question. The panel is showing a metric (`cachedReadTokens` cumulative) that looks alarming but isn't the real context pressure. The question actually exposed that the monitoring panel is using a number that doesn't mean what it looks like. If you want, I can figure out what API field your panel reads and whether it can be swapped to `estimated_context_tokens` (~32K) instead, so it stays useful without needing to ask.


Confirmed exactly. Your panel reads: - **Cache: 227,200** → `cachedReadTokens` (cumulative, fine) - **Context: 228,862** → `authoritative_usage.used` which includes all cached tokens as "used" Neither of those is the live context size. The **real** number is `estimated_context_tokens`: **~37K** — still well under the 160K warning threshold. So the panel isn't wrong per se, it's just showing the wrong metric for "how full is my context right now." If you can point it to `estimated_context_tokens` instead of the API's `used`/`totalTokens`, it'd actually be useful as a pressure gauge. But that's a config tweak on your end — the raw numbers are all there.