homelab/.planning/phases/01-session-process-foundation/01-01-SUMMARY.md

---
phase: 01-session-process-foundation
plan: 01
subsystem: infra
tags: [python, sessions, filesystem, telegram-bot]

# Dependency graph
requires: []
provides:
  - SessionManager class for session lifecycle management
  - Persona library with 4 default templates (default, brainstorm, planner, research)
  - Session directory structure with metadata and persona configuration
  - Session switching and active session tracking
affects: [02-process-management, 03-telegram-integration]

# Tech tracking
tech-stack:
  added: []
  patterns:
    - Path-based session isolation via directory per session
    - JSON metadata persistence for session state
    - Persona library pattern for behavior templates

key-files:
  created:
    - telegram/session_manager.py
    - telegram/__init__.py
    - telegram/personas/default.json
    - telegram/personas/brainstorm.json
    - telegram/personas/planner.json
    - telegram/personas/research.json
  modified: []

key-decisions:
  - "Sessions created as 'idle', become 'active' only on explicit switch"
  - "Persona library uses JSON schema with name, description, system_prompt, settings"
  - "Base directory defaults to ~/homelab/telegram/sessions/"

patterns-established:
  - "Session lifecycle: idle → active → suspended"
  - "Persona inheritance: copy from library to session directory on create"
  - "Metadata read on demand (no caching) to avoid stale state"

# Metrics
duration: 3min
completed: 2026-02-04
---

# Phase 01 Plan 01: Session Manager & Persona Library Summary

**Session lifecycle management with filesystem-backed state and persona template library for multi-context Claude Code conversations**

## Performance

- **Duration:** 3 min
- **Started:** 2026-02-04T17:31:09Z
- **Completed:** 2026-02-04T17:34:10Z
- **Tasks:** 2
- **Files modified:** 7

## Accomplishments
- SessionManager class with complete session CRUD operations
- Session directory structure with metadata.json and persona.json per session
- Persona library with 4 distinct behavioral templates
- Session validation, switching, and active session tracking
- Fully isolated session directories ready for Claude Code subprocess

## Task Commits

Each task was committed atomically:

1. **Task 1: Create SessionManager module** - `447855c` (feat)
2. **Task 2: Create persona library with default templates** - `ba8acf0` (feat)

## Files Created/Modified
- `telegram/session_manager.py` - SessionManager class with session lifecycle management
- `telegram/__init__.py` - Python package initialization
- `telegram/personas/default.json` - General-purpose homelab assistant persona
- `telegram/personas/brainstorm.json` - Creative ideation mode persona
- `telegram/personas/planner.json` - Structured planning mode persona
- `telegram/personas/research.json` - Deep investigation mode persona

## Decisions Made

**1. Sessions created as 'idle', activated explicitly**
- Rationale: Creating a session doesn't mean it's immediately in use. User must explicitly switch to it, making the active session unambiguous.

**2. Persona library uses simple JSON schema**
- Schema includes: name, description, system_prompt, settings (model, max_turns)
- Rationale: Simple schema is easy to extend later, but provides essential fields for subprocess module to configure Claude Code CLI.

**3. Base directory defaults to ~/homelab/telegram/sessions/**
- Rationale: Bot runs from homelab directory, sessions should be colocated with bot code for easy access.

**4. Metadata read from disk on every access**
- No in-memory caching of session metadata
- Rationale: Avoids stale state issues if multiple processes interact with sessions, keeps implementation simple.

## Deviations from Plan

### Auto-fixed Issues

**1. [Rule 3 - Blocking] Added telegram/__init__.py to make package importable**
- **Found during:** Task 1 verification
- **Issue:** telegram/ directory wasn't a Python package, causing ModuleNotFoundError
- **Fix:** Created telegram/__init__.py with package docstring
- **Files modified:** telegram/__init__.py
- **Verification:** Import succeeded in verification script
- **Committed in:** 447855c (Task 1 commit)

**2. [Rule 3 - Blocking] Fixed SessionManager paths to use homelab directory**
- **Found during:** Task 2 verification
- **Issue:** SessionManager used Path.home() which pointed to /home/mikkel/, but personas were in /home/mikkel/homelab/telegram/
- **Fix:** Changed base_dir and personas_dir initialization to use Path.home() / "homelab" / "telegram"
- **Files modified:** telegram/session_manager.py
- **Verification:** Session creation with persona succeeded
- **Committed in:** ba8acf0 (Task 2 commit)

---

**Total deviations:** 2 auto-fixed (2 blocking)
**Impact on plan:** Both auto-fixes were necessary to make the module functional. No scope changes.

## Issues Encountered
None - straightforward filesystem operations and JSON serialization.

## User Setup Required
None - no external service configuration required.

## Next Phase Readiness

**Ready:**
- Session management foundation complete
- Persona library provides template system for subprocess configuration
- Session directory structure ready for Claude Code .claude/ data

**For Phase 02 (Process Management):**
- SessionManager provides get_session_dir() for subprocess working directory
- Session metadata tracks PID and status (idle/active/suspended)
- Persona settings available for subprocess to configure Claude Code CLI flags

**No blockers or concerns.**

---
*Phase: 01-session-process-foundation*
*Completed: 2026-02-04*