# Conversation 33d69723-0655-4184-ba3b-fc06dd6b6afd

- Source: `cursor`
- User: `pascal`
- System: `Pascals-MBP.local`
- Started: `2026-02-19T23:01:03.096000Z`
- CWD: `/Users/pascal/Code/business/convx`

## User

how about a tig style UX for the TUI? 


Can you check how TIG works and get that similar style? So by default the list (currently sidebar) shows all our histories. we can select one and when we do, a bottom or right pane opens with the content of the convo

## Agent

Exploring the convx TUI implementation and tig's layout so we can add a tig-style split view.

## Agent

Checking the TUI CSS and how the app is launched:

## Agent

Implementing a tig-style layout: list on top, detail pane below; selecting a session shows its content in the detail pane.

## Agent

Implementing the tig-style layout: list on top, detail pane below; Tab to switch focus.

## Agent

Removing the duplicate _show_preview call from on_mount.

## Agent

Checking whether Textual provides focus_next/focus_previous actions:

## Agent

Running the explore TUI to verify it works:

## Agent

Confirming bindings use `focus_next`/`focus_previous`. Running tests:

## Agent

Summary of the tig-style changes:

### Layout (tig-style)
- **Top pane**: Session list (all histories). Fixed at 40% height so the list stays compact and the content pane is visible.
- **Bottom pane**: Conversation content. Shows the selected session’s transcript; if none is selected or the list is empty, it shows: *"Select a session (↑↓ j k) to view conversation."*
- Search bar stays at the very top.

### Behavior
- **Default focus** is the session list (not search), so you can move with **j** / **k** or arrows and the bottom pane updates as you change selection.
- **Tab** / **Shift+Tab** move focus between search → list → content pane (like tig’s Tab between views).
- **l** focuses the list from anywhere (like tig’s “maximize log view”).
- **g** / **G**, **j** / **k**, **Escape** (clear search), **q** (quit) unchanged.

### Files touched
- **`src/convx_ai/tui.py`**: Vertical layout (list then content), `_show_preview(None)` for empty state, list gets focus on mount, Tab/Shift+Tab and **l** bindings.
- **`src/convx_ai/explore.css`**: List uses `height: 40%`, content pane `height: 1fr` for the vertical split.
- **`docs/explore.md`**: Updated for the new layout and keys.

Run `uv run convx explore` to use the new tig-style list-on-top, content-below layout.

## User

how come I dont see that UI anymore

## Agent

Checking how the explore command runs and what could prevent the UI from showing:

## Agent

Re-applying the tig-style layout: the repo has the old sidebar layout (Horizontal, list left / preview right). Restoring the list-on-top, content-below layout.

## Agent

Restoring the tig-style UI (list on top, content pane below). The repo had reverted to the old sidebar layout.

## Agent

The tig-style layout was reverted in your tree; it’s restored now.

You should see again:
- **Top**: search bar, then the **session list** (about 40% height)
- **Bottom**: **conversation content** for the selected session (or “Select a session (↑↓ j k) to view conversation.” when none is selected)
- **Focus** starts on the list; **Tab** / **Shift+Tab** move between search → list → content; **l** focuses the list.

Run `uv run convx explore` again to use it. If the TUI still doesn’t appear, say what you see (e.g. a one-line message and exit, or a blank screen).

## User

can we make the slug human readable and not clip off? we have space, let's use it (when it's there)

## Agent

Checking how the session line and slug are formatted:

## Agent

Making slugs human-readable (hyphens → spaces) and removing the 50-character truncation so we use available width.

## Agent

Ensuring the list can use full width so long titles aren't clipped by the widget. Checking whether the sessions list has a width constraint:

## Agent

Allowing horizontal scroll so very long titles remain visible when they exceed the pane width:

## Agent

Here’s what changed:

1. **Human-readable slugs** – Slugs are shown with hyphens replaced by spaces (e.g. `how-do-you-set-an-env-variable-across-all-makefile` → `how do you set an env variable across all makefile`).

2. **No fixed truncation** – The old `[:50]` limit was removed so the full title is shown and can use the width of the list pane.

3. **Horizontal scroll** – `overflow-x: auto` was added to the session list so if a title is wider than the pane you can scroll horizontally instead of it being cut off.

So titles are easier to read and use the available space; when they’re longer than the pane you can scroll to see the rest.

## User

and given export/ also exports to various subprojects, we should in the tig also have a column which shows the folder / directory the convo belongs to.

## Agent

Checking how session paths are stored and how we derive the directory:

## Agent

Checking path layout for backup vs sync to determine the directory segment:

## Agent

Adding a `folder` field (subpath under `history/user/source`) and displaying it in the TUI.

## Agent

Summary of changes:

**1. `search.py`**
- **`_folder_from_path(path)`** – Returns the path segment after `history/user/source` (the directory leading to the file). Flat exports get `""`; backup exports get the system + cwd path (e.g. `Pascals-MBP.local/Code/business/convx`).
- **`list_sessions`** and **`query_index`** – Each session dict now has a **`folder`** field.

**2. `tui.py`**
- **`_format_session`** – Renders a folder column when present. Layout:
  - **With folder:** `user  date  source  folder │ slug`
  - **No folder (flat):** `user  date  source  │ slug`

So for backup-style exports you see which subproject/directory each conversation belongs to; for flat syncs the folder column is omitted. Fuzzy search still uses the full line (including folder), so you can narrow by directory.

## User

looks rather broken .



let's use the trick that fish shell uses
I     ~/C/b/convx 

and compact intermediate folders (let's do first 3 letters) so the last folder is always visible but total width of column is controlled. because last folder is usually what matters

## Agent

Adding fish-style path compaction: abbreviate intermediate segments to 3 characters and keep the last segment full; truncate from the left with "..." when over max width.

## Agent

Summary of what changed:

**Fish-style folder compaction** (`_compact_folder` in `tui.py`):
- [SANITIZED]
- **Last segment** → kept in full (so the project name like `product-template` or `convx` is always shown).
- **Max width** → 36 characters for the folder. If the compacted path is longer, it’s truncated on the left with `...` so the end (and thus the last folder) stays visible.

Example:
- [SANITIZED]
  → `Pas/Cod/eve/exp/product-template`  
- If that still exceeded 36 chars you’d get something like:  
  `.../eve/exp/product-template`

So the folder column stays bounded while the last (most important) folder remains visible.

## User

let's default sort by date (newest first) not path/name.

## Agent

Checking where session order is determined and whether the TUI re-sorts:

## Agent

Checking how `updated_at` is set in the index — it may be missing or in a format that sorts incorrectly:

## User

sry accidental "agent" trigger

## Agent

No problem. If you want to change something in convx later, say what you’d like to do.

## User

pls build the sort

## Agent

Adding an explicit secondary sort so order is deterministic when dates match (newest first, then by path).

## Agent

Update made in `search.py` for `list_sessions`:

- **Primary:** sort by `date` descending (newest first).
- **Tiebreaker:** sort by `path` ascending (stable, deterministic order when dates match).

Implemented as two stable sorts: first by path, then by date (newest first), so the final order is by date with path breaking ties.

## User

the `updated_at` date seems to be based on the time of export, not time of conversation ... so that's useless. it's about when the user had the convo

## Agent

Checking where conversation time comes from and what's written to the index:

## Agent

Adding `started_at` from the session to the index and using it for sorting and display. Checking how adapters set `started_at`:

## Agent

Adding `started_at` to the index and using it for sort and display.

## Agent

Checking whether the stats command or other code expects `updated_at` in the index:

## Agent

Keeping cli stats as `updated_at` (last sync time). Running tests:

## Agent

Summary of changes:

**1. Engine (`engine.py`)**  
- Each index record now includes **`started_at`** from the session (when the conversation happened). **`updated_at`** is still set to export time and is unchanged.

**2. Search (`search.py`)**  
- **`list_sessions`**: Uses `started_at` for the `date` field (with fallback to `updated_at` for older index entries). Sort is by this date (newest first), so the list is ordered by conversation time.  
- **`ensure_index`** (tantivy): The stored `date` used for search results is now `started_at` when present, otherwise `updated_at`. So full-text search results also use conversation date.

**Behavior**  
- **New syncs**: All sessions get `started_at` from the adapter; list and search use conversation time.  
- **Existing index**: Sessions that haven’t been re-exported only have `updated_at`; we still use that so nothing breaks. After the next sync they get `started_at`.  
- **Stats** (`convx stats`): Still uses `updated_at` for “last updated” (last sync time).

Re-run `convx sync` (or `backup`) so the index is filled with `started_at`; then explore will sort and show by conversation date.

## User

still EVERYTHING for me is 2026-02-20...

## Agent

Checking how each adapter sets `started_at` — it may be defaulting to export/file time instead of the conversation's actual start:

## User

the columns are breaking out, this isn't good fixed column width

## Agent

Enforcing fixed column widths in the session list so columns don't bleed.

## Agent

Simplifying: _cell should truncate and pad to a fixed width.

## Agent

Summary of changes:

**Fixed column widths** (in `tui.py`):
- **user** 8 chars  
- **date** 10 chars (YYYY-MM-DD)  
- **source** 8 chars  
- **folder** 26 chars (fish-style path, truncated with `...` on the left if needed)  
- **slug** 44 chars (truncated with `...` on the right if needed)

A **`_cell(s, width)`** helper now:
- Shortens `s` to `width` (using `...` when truncating)
- Pads to exactly `width` with spaces

Each list line is now a fixed length (~102 characters plus the ` │ ` separator), so columns stay aligned and no longer spill into each other.
