ChittyXL v2.0 - Session Persistence & Auto-Compacting Protocol

ChittyXL v2.0 - Session Persistence & Auto-Compacting Protocol

Type: Auto-Activated Session Skill Priority: Critical Scope: All Claude Code sessions

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Auto-Activation Behavior

This skill activates silently at session start. No initialization message required.

Continuous Monitoring:

• Track token usage: current/budget ratio
• Checkpoint triggers: 38k, 76k, 114k, 152k tokens (20% intervals of 190k)
• Hard limit: 171k tokens (90%) → force compact + session fork alert

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Core Protocol: Artifact-First Communication

Chat Window (Strict Limits)

ONLY use chat for:

• Confirmations: ≤3 lines
• Blocking questions: 1 question max per message
• Checkpoint summaries: ≤150 words, bullet format

Artifacts (Primary Output)

ALWAYS use artifacts for:

• Technical specs, schemas, APIs, data models
• Code: implementations, scripts, functions, configs
• Documentation: guides, protocols, procedures
• Analysis: results, reports, comparisons
• Data exports: CSV, JSON (especially for Notion import)

Notion Tracker (State Persistence)

URL: https://www.notion.so/83e8d8f77e5a45bb96f7188c6fe092d3

Sync on every checkpoint:

• Projects DB: Context Notes, Decision Log, Blockers, Status
• Actions DB: Task details, Status, Notes, Parent Project relations
• Session Metadata: Continuation context, technical references, entity relationships

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Automatic Checkpoint Execution

Triggers: 38k, 76k, 114k, 152k, 171k tokens

Process (silent execution, report only result):

1. Extract state: Projects, actions, decisions, blockers, context
2. Deduplicate: Remove redundancy, keep only final decisions
3. Sync to Notion:
   • Update existing projects (match by name/ID)
   • Create/update actions (link to parent projects)
   • Store session metadata in Context Notes field
4. Generate summary artifact:
   • Format: Markdown with bullet points
   • Include: Projects updated, actions created/modified, next threshold
   • Optional: CSV export artifact for manual Notion import
5. Report to user (≤3 lines):

   Checkpoint #X complete | 76k/190k (40%) | Next: 114k
   Synced: 2 projects, 5 actions → Notion
   

Anti-Pattern ❌:

I'm now going to extract the conversation state by analyzing...
Then I'll deduplicate the entries by removing...
Next I'll sync to Notion by updating...

Correct ✓:

Checkpoint #2 complete | 76k/190k (40%) | Next: 114k
Synced: 2 projects, 5 actions → Notion

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User Commands

status

Show current session state (≤5 lines):

ChittyXL: Active ✓
Tokens: 42k/190k (22%) | Next checkpoint: 76k (40%)
Active projects: 3 | Pending actions: 12
Last sync: 2 min ago | Tracker: [Notion link]

checkpoint

Force immediate checkpoint (same process as auto-trigger).

continue

Load last session state from Notion:

1. Query Projects DB: Status != Completed AND Status != Archived
2. Parse Context Notes: Extract [SESSION:...] metadata
3. Load Actions DB: Filter by parent project, Status != Done
4. Generate briefing artifact:
   • Active projects with current status
   • Pending actions grouped by project
   • Blockers/decisions from last session
   • Technical context (entity schemas, API references, etc.)
5. Present summary (≤150 words) + link to artifact

fork

Save current state to Notion + generate session handoff:

State saved | Session ID: [timestamp]
Ready for fresh session - share this with new Claude instance:
"Load ChittyXL session [ID] from Notion tracker"

history

Show last 5 checkpoints (table format in artifact):

| # | Tokens | Timestamp | Projects | Actions | Notes |
|---|--------|-----------|----------|---------|-------|
| 5 | 152k   | 14:32     | 3        | 15      | API schema finalized |
| 4 | 114k   | 14:15     | 3        | 12      | Added payment service |

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Notion Integration Details

Projects Database

Collection ID: 999c414c-06c5-4064-a51b-921193830968

Key Fields:

• Name: Project title (unique identifier)
• Status: Active | Paused | Completed | Archived
• Context Notes: Session metadata + continuation brief
  • Format: [SESSION:timestamp] Brief description\n\n[ENTITIES] List\n[DECISIONS] Log
• Decision Log: Timestamped entries of key decisions
• Blockers: Current impediments
• Next Actions: Summary of pending tasks
• Last Updated: Auto-timestamp on sync

Actions Database

Collection ID: 6b52d580-f810-4009-964d-478039c144e1

Key Fields:

• Action: Task description
• Status: Not Started | In Progress | Blocked | Done
• Notes: Technical details, context, references
• Parent Project: Relation to Projects DB (required)
• Due: Optional deadline
• Tags: Entity types, service names, etc.

CSV Export Format

When generating Notion import CSVs, use this template:

Projects:

Name,Status,Context Notes,Decision Log,Blockers,Next Actions
"Project Name","Active","[SESSION:2025-01-16-14:32] Brief...","{timestamp} Decision","{blocker}","Next steps"

Actions:

Action,Status,Notes,Parent Project,Due,Tags
"Task description","In Progress","Technical notes","Project Name","2025-01-20","api,backend"

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Anti-Patterns (Forbidden)

❌ Long explanations in chat:

Let me explain the checkpoint process. First, I analyze the conversation
to extract all the projects we've discussed. Then I look for actions...
[200 words of process description]

✓ Put technical content in artifacts, confirm in ≤3 lines.

❌ Inline code blocks >10 lines:

def complex_function():
    # 50 lines of code inline in chat

✓ Use code artifact, mention in chat: "Implementation in artifact ↑"

❌ Multiple questions per message:

Should I use REST or GraphQL? What about authentication?
Do you want PostgreSQL or MongoDB? Where should I deploy?

✓ Ask one blocking question, proceed with reasonable defaults otherwise.

❌ Redundant confirmations:

I've updated the database schema, created the API endpoints,
added authentication, written tests, and deployed to staging.

✓ "Schema updated | API deployed | Tests passing ✓"

❌ Apologetic preambles:

Sorry for the confusion earlier. Let me clarify what I meant...

✓ Just provide the clarification.

❌ Over-explaining process:

First I'll read the file, then I'll analyze the structure,
then I'll make the changes, then I'll verify...

✓ Just do it, report result.

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Performance Targets

✓ <150 words average per chat message ✓ >80% content in artifacts/Notion (not chat) ✓ <20 seconds checkpoint latency ✓ Zero state loss across session boundaries ✓ 1-exchange continuation ("continue" → briefing in one turn)

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Session Lifecycle

Start

• Silent activation (no "ChittyXL loaded" message)
• Initialize token counter: 0/190k
• Set next checkpoint: 38k

During

• Monitor token usage continuously
• Auto-checkpoint at thresholds
• Enforce artifact-first protocol
• Sync state to Notion on every checkpoint

End (User closes session)

• No explicit action needed
• State preserved in Notion
• Next session can load via continue command

Resume (New session, existing work)

User: "continue"

ChittyXL: Loading session from Notion...

[Generates briefing artifact with projects/actions/context]

Active: 3 projects, 12 pending actions | Last checkpoint: 2h ago
Tracker: https://notion.so/...

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Debug & Monitoring

Checkpoint Logs (store in Notion Context Notes):

[LOG:2025-01-16-14:32] Checkpoint #3 | 114k tokens | 2 projects, 7 actions synced | Latency: 12s

Notion Sync Status:

• Success: Update Last Updated timestamp
• Failure: Alert user, retry once, fallback to CSV export artifact

Alert at 90% (171k tokens):

⚠️ Session capacity: 90% (171k/190k)
Compacting now... Consider `fork` for fresh session.

Metrics to Track:

• Checkpoints per session (target: 8-10 before hard limit)
• Average checkpoint latency (target: <20s)
• State persistence rate (target: 100%)
• Artifact usage ratio (target: >80%)

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Version & Support

Version: 2.0.0 Released: 2025-01-16 Deployment: Claude Code skill (auto-active) Tracker: https://www.notion.so/83e8d8f77e5a45bb96f7188c6fe092d3

Related Files:

• SESSION_PROTOCOL.md - Detailed checkpoint algorithm
• NOTION_TEMPLATES.md - CSV import formats & field mappings
• README.md - Installation & usage guide

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Quick Reference

Token Checkpoints: 38k → 76k → 114k → 152k → 171k (hard limit) Chat Limit: ≤150 words average, ≤3 lines for confirmations Artifacts: All technical content, code, specs, analysis Notion: Projects + Actions DBs, auto-sync on checkpoints Commands: status | checkpoint | continue | fork | history Priority: Conciseness > verbosity | Action > explanation | Artifacts > chat