Session History Enhanced

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name: session-history description: "Session history system for OpenClaw — persistent, browsable, resumable chat sessions with SQLite index, archive/restore, migration, paginated UI, and chat dropdown integration. Use when: (1) adding session archival/indexing to OpenClaw, (2) implementing session browsing/search in the dashboard, (3) adding session resume/rename/delete, (4) archiving active sessions from the dashboard, (5) adding pagination to session lists, or (6) integrating recent sessions into the chat dropdown."

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Session History

Transforms OpenClaw's single-slot session model into a multi-session history system with SQLite indexing, archive/restore, and full dashboard UI.

Architecture

~/.openclaw/agents/{agentId}/sessions/
├── sessions.json           # routing table (unchanged)
├── history.db              # SQLite index (auto-created)
├── {activeSessionId}.jsonl # active transcript
└── archive/
    └── {sessionId}.jsonl   # archived transcripts

Lifecycle:

On /new or session reset → old transcript moves to archive/, metadata indexed in SQLite

On archive (from UI) → session deactivated, transcript archived, indexed, removed from store

On resume → transcript moves back from archive/, SQLite status flips to active

Migration auto-runs on first access: indexes all orphaned .jsonl files

File Map

Backend (new files)

| File | Reference | Purpose | |------|-----------|---------| | src/config/sessions/history-db.ts | references/backend-history-db.ts.txt | SQLite CRUD operations | | src/config/sessions/history-migration.ts | references/backend-history-migration.ts.txt | One-time migration + initHistoryDbWithMigration | | src/gateway/session-archive.ts | references/backend-session-archive.ts.txt | Archive/restore logic |

Backend (modified files)

| File | Reference | Purpose | |------|-----------|---------| | src/gateway/protocol/schema/sessions.ts | references/backend-protocol-schemas.ts.txt | TypeBox schemas for new RPCs | | src/gateway/server-methods/sessions.ts | references/backend-rpc-handlers.ts.txt | 5 RPC handler implementations |

Frontend (modified files)

| File | Reference | Purpose | |------|-----------|---------| | ui/src/ui/controllers/sessions.ts | references/frontend-controllers-sessions.ts.txt | Full controller with archived session CRUD + pagination | | ui/src/ui/views/sessions.ts | references/frontend-views-sessions.ts.txt | Full view with Session History section, Archive button, pagination | | ui/src/ui/app-view-state.ts | references/frontend-state-changes.txt | State + app.ts + app-render.ts + app-chat.ts + app-settings.ts + app-render.helpers.ts wiring |

Installation

See references/INSTALL.md for step-by-step instructions.

RPC Endpoints

| Method | Params | Purpose | |--------|--------|---------| | sessions.archive | key | Archive active session — deactivates, moves transcript, indexes in SQLite, removes from store | | sessions.archived | agentId?, limit?, offset?, search?, status? | List archived sessions with pagination and search | | sessions.resume | sessionId, agentId? | Restore archived session to active | | sessions.rename | sessionId, displayName, agentId? | Update session display name | | sessions.deleteArchived | sessionId, agentId?, deleteTranscript? | Delete archived session + optional transcript |

UI Features

Sessions Page

Active Sessions grid — with Archive button (hidden for Main Session), History, Delete

Session History section — archived sessions with search, Resume/Rename/Delete buttons

Pagination — both sections have 10/20/25 page-size dropdown + Prev/Next

Chat Dropdown

Filters out cron/subagent/openai sessions (only user-facing sessions shown)

"Recent Sessions" with 10 most recent archived sessions

"📋 View All Sessions" link navigates to Sessions tab

Selecting an archived session auto-resumes it

Key Design Decisions

SQLite over JSON: Supports search, pagination, and indexing without loading everything into memory

Server-side pagination for archives: Pass limit/offset to sessions.archived RPC

Client-side pagination for live sessions: Slice the already-loaded array

sessionId-based dropdown values: Archived sessions all share the same sessionKey (agent:main:main), so the dropdown uses __archived__:{sessionId} as the option value

sessions.archive reuses sessions.delete param schema: Both need just { key }

Common Pitfalls

1. RPC handler signature: Must use ({ params, respond }) destructuring, not (request, respond) 2. assertValidParams: Takes 4 args: (params, validator, "method.name", respond) 3. Sessions directory: Use resolveSessionTranscriptsDirForAgent(agentId) — NOT resolveGatewaySessionStoreTarget(config) 4. Pagination on every load: All loadArchivedSessions calls must pass limit and offset 5. Page reset: Changing page size or search query must reset page to 1 6. Archived session dropdown filtering: Filter by sessionId, not sessionKey (all archived sessions share the same sessionKey)