obelisk/references/schema.md

Obelisk -- Schema and API Reference

Advanced reference for the obelisk database. Read this when search(), context(), or sql() are not enough.

---

1. Database Schema

Database location: ~/.claude/obelisk.sqlite

sessions

One row per Claude Code session.

CREATE TABLE sessions (
  id            TEXT PRIMARY KEY,   -- session UUID (matches JSONL filename)
  title         TEXT,               -- AI-generated session title (may be NULL)
  project       TEXT,               -- project slug (hyphenated path, e.g. "Users-tomiya-Code-quiet-zero")
  project_path  TEXT,               -- reconstructed filesystem path (e.g. "/Users/tomiya/Code/quiet-zero")
  started_at    TEXT,               -- ISO 8601 timestamp of first message
  ended_at      TEXT,               -- ISO 8601 timestamp of last message
  git_branch    TEXT,               -- git branch active during session (if any)
  version       TEXT,               -- Claude Code version string
  message_count INTEGER DEFAULT 0,  -- total user + assistant messages
  jsonl_path    TEXT                -- absolute path to source JSONL file
);

messages

Every user and assistant message. Core table for all queries.

CREATE TABLE messages (
  uuid          TEXT PRIMARY KEY,   -- message UUID
  session_id    TEXT,               -- FK -> sessions.id
  type          TEXT,               -- "user" or "assistant"
  parent_uuid   TEXT,               -- UUID of parent message (conversation tree)
  timestamp     TEXT,               -- ISO 8601
  role          TEXT,               -- "user" or "assistant" (from message payload)
  text          TEXT,               -- extracted text content (thinking + text blocks, truncated to 10k chars)
  model         TEXT,               -- model name (e.g. "claude-opus-4-6-20250529"), NULL for user messages
  is_sidechain  INTEGER DEFAULT 0,  -- 1 if this message is on a sidechain (retry/branch)
  agent_id      TEXT,               -- subagent or workflow agent UUID (NULL for main conversation)
  input_tokens  INTEGER,            -- token usage (assistant messages only)
  output_tokens INTEGER,            -- token usage (assistant messages only)
  cwd           TEXT,               -- working directory at message time (may differ from session project_path)
  skill         TEXT,               -- skill that generated this response (e.g. "obelisk"), NULL if none
  turn_duration_ms INTEGER          -- wall-clock duration of the turn ending at this message (from system turn_duration event)
);

Indexes: idx_messages_session(session_id), idx_messages_agent(agent_id), idx_messages_ts(session_id, timestamp).

messages_fts

FTS5 virtual table for full-text search over message text.

CREATE VIRTUAL TABLE messages_fts USING fts5(
  uuid UNINDEXED,        -- not searchable, carried for JOINs
  session_id UNINDEXED,  -- not searchable, carried for filtering
  text,                  -- the searchable column
  content=messages,      -- content-sync with messages table
  content_rowid=rowid
);

Queried via MATCH syntax. Rebuilt on each index pass.

tool_calls

Every tool invocation by the assistant. One row per tool_use content block.

CREATE TABLE tool_calls (
  id            TEXT PRIMARY KEY,   -- tool_use ID (from API response)
  message_uuid  TEXT,               -- FK -> messages.uuid (the assistant message containing this call)
  session_id    TEXT,               -- FK -> sessions.id (denormalized for fast queries)
  name          TEXT,               -- tool name: "Read", "Edit", "Write", "Bash", "WebSearch", etc.
  input_json    TEXT,               -- JSON-serialized tool input (truncated to 10k chars)
  file_path     TEXT                -- extracted file_path for Read/Edit/Write/NotebookEdit (NULL otherwise)
);

Indexes: idx_tc_session_name(session_id, name), idx_tc_file(file_path).

tool_results

The result returned for each tool call. Appears in the next user message.

CREATE TABLE tool_results (
  tool_use_id   TEXT PRIMARY KEY,   -- FK -> tool_calls.id
  message_uuid  TEXT,               -- FK -> messages.uuid (the user message carrying this result)
  session_id    TEXT,               -- FK -> sessions.id (denormalized)
  content       TEXT,               -- result text (truncated to 10k chars)
  file_path     TEXT,               -- file path from toolUseResult metadata (if any)
  is_error      INTEGER DEFAULT 0   -- 1 if the tool call returned an error (from API is_error field)
);

subagents

Metadata for subagent spawns (non-workflow agents).

CREATE TABLE subagents (
  agent_id          TEXT PRIMARY KEY,   -- subagent UUID
  session_id        TEXT,               -- FK -> sessions.id (parent session)
  parent_tool_use_id TEXT,              -- tool_use ID that spawned this agent
  agent_type        TEXT,               -- e.g. "code-review", "research"
  description       TEXT,               -- task description given to the subagent
  duration_ms       INTEGER,            -- wall-clock duration (computed from message timestamps)
  total_tokens      INTEGER             -- sum of input_tokens + output_tokens across all agent messages
);

Index: idx_sa_session(session_id).

workflows

Workflow execution records. A workflow orchestrates multiple agents.

CREATE TABLE workflows (
  run_id        TEXT PRIMARY KEY,   -- workflow run UUID
  session_id    TEXT,               -- FK -> sessions.id (parent session)
  task_id       TEXT,               -- task identifier (if any)
  script        TEXT,               -- workflow script content (truncated)
  result_json   TEXT,               -- JSON-serialized workflow result
  timestamp     TEXT,               -- ISO 8601 execution time
  agent_count   INTEGER DEFAULT 0   -- number of agents in this workflow
);

Index: idx_wf_session(session_id).

workflow_agents

Individual agents within a workflow run.

CREATE TABLE workflow_agents (
  agent_id      TEXT PRIMARY KEY,   -- agent UUID
  run_id        TEXT,               -- FK -> workflows.run_id
  session_id    TEXT,               -- FK -> sessions.id
  agent_type    TEXT,               -- agent type label
  description   TEXT                -- task description
);

Index: idx_wa_run(run_id).

index_state

Tracks incremental indexing progress per JSONL file.

CREATE TABLE index_state (
  jsonl_path      TEXT PRIMARY KEY,   -- absolute path to JSONL file
  mtime           REAL,               -- file mtime at last index (milliseconds)
  lines_processed INTEGER             -- number of lines already processed
);

Key Relationships

sessions.id        <--  messages.session_id
sessions.id        <--  tool_calls.session_id
sessions.id        <--  tool_results.session_id
sessions.id        <--  subagents.session_id
sessions.id        <--  workflows.session_id
messages.uuid      <--  tool_calls.message_uuid
messages.uuid      <--  tool_results.message_uuid
messages.agent_id  -->  subagents.agent_id      (for subagent messages)
messages.agent_id  -->  workflow_agents.agent_id (for workflow agent messages)
tool_calls.id      <--  tool_results.tool_use_id
workflows.run_id   <--  workflow_agents.run_id

---

2. Query API Reference

All functions are available as globals inside --query scripts. Scripts run in an async IIFE with a 30-second timeout.

Simple Layer

search(text, opts?)

Full-text search across all message text using FTS5.

Param	Type	Description
text	string	FTS5 query (terms, phrases, prefix)
opts.limit	number	Max results (default 20)
opts.sessionId	string	Restrict to one session
opts.project	string	Restrict to a project slug
opts.after	string	ISO 8601 lower bound on timestamp
opts.before	string	ISO 8601 upper bound on timestamp
opts.cwd	string	Filter by working directory (supports LIKE)

Returns: Array<{ message, session, rank, context }> where context is the 6 nearest messages by timestamp. rank is the FTS5 relevance score (negative; closer to 0 = more relevant).

const hits = search('MCTS exploration');
return hits.map(h => ({ title: h.session.title, text: h.message.text?.slice(0, 200) }));

context(uuid)

Full context around a single message: parent chain, session metadata, subagent/workflow info.

Param	Type	Description
uuid	string	Message UUID

Returns: { message, parentChain, session, subagent, workflow } or null.

const c = context('abc-123-def');
return { chain_length: c.parentChain.length, session_title: c.session?.title };

sql(query, ...params)

Raw SQL with parameterized bindings. Returns an array of row objects.

Param	Type	Description
query	string	SQL SELECT statement
...params	any	Bind parameters (positional ?)

Returns: Array<Object> -- each row as { column: value }.

const rows = sql('SELECT id, title FROM sessions WHERE project = ? ORDER BY ended_at DESC LIMIT 5', 'Users-tomiya-Code-quiet-zero');
return rows;

Advanced Layer

trace(uuid)

Walk the parent_uuid chain from a message up to the conversation root.

Returns: Array<message> ordered root-first.

const chain = trace('some-uuid');
return chain.map(m => ({ role: m.role, text: m.text?.slice(0, 100) }));

thread(sessionId)

All messages in a session, ordered by timestamp.

Returns: Array<message>.

const msgs = thread('session-uuid');
return { count: msgs.length, first: msgs[0]?.text?.slice(0, 100) };

subagents(opts?)

All subagent spawns, with message counts. For backward compatibility, passing a string is treated as sessionId.

Param	Type	Description
opts.sessionId	string	Restrict to one session
opts.project	string	Filter by project slug (LIKE)
opts.limit	number	Max results (default 100)

Returns: Array<{ ...subagent_row, messageCount }>.

const subs = subagents({ project: '%quiet-zero%' });
return subs.map(s => ({ type: s.agent_type, desc: s.description, msgs: s.messageCount, tokens: s.total_tokens }));

workflows(opts?)

Workflow executions. For backward compatibility, passing a string is treated as sessionId.

Param	Type	Description
opts.sessionId	string	Restrict to one session
opts.project	string	Filter by project slug (LIKE)
opts.after	string	ISO 8601 lower bound on timestamp
opts.before	string	ISO 8601 upper bound on timestamp
opts.limit	number	Max results (default 100)

Returns: Array<workflow_row>.

const wfs = workflows({ project: '%quiet-zero%' });
return wfs.map(w => ({ run: w.run_id, agents: w.agent_count, time: w.timestamp }));

workflowTree(runId)

Full execution tree for a workflow: the workflow record plus all its agents and their messages.

Returns: { ...workflow_row, agents: Array<{ ...agent_row, messages: Array<message> }> } or null.

const tree = workflowTree('run-uuid');
return tree?.agents.map(a => ({ type: a.agent_type, msgs: a.messages.length }));

fileHistory(filePath, opts?)

All tool calls that touched a specific file, across every session.

Param	Type	Description
filePath	string	Absolute file path (required)
opts.after	string	ISO 8601 lower bound
opts.before	string	ISO 8601 upper bound
opts.limit	number	Max results (default 200)

Returns: Array<{ toolCall, session, timestamp }>.

const edits = fileHistory('/Users/tomiya/Code/quiet-zero/src/mcts.ts', { after: '2026-05-28' });
return edits.map(e => ({ tool: e.toolCall.name, session: e.session.title, time: e.timestamp }));

failures(opts?)

Tool calls whose results contain error patterns (Error, ENOENT, failed, permission denied, etc.). Includes the 3 messages immediately after each failure for retry context. For backward compatibility, passing a string is treated as sessionId.

Param	Type	Description
opts.sessionId	string	Restrict to one session
opts.project	string	Filter by project slug (LIKE)
opts.after	string	ISO 8601 lower bound
opts.before	string	ISO 8601 upper bound
opts.limit	number	Max results (default 50)

Returns: Array<{ toolCall, result, session, nextMessages }>.

const fails = failures({ project: '%quiet-zero%', limit: 10 });
return fails.map(f => ({ tool: f.toolCall?.name, error: f.result.content?.slice(0, 200) }));

recent(n?)

Shorthand for sessions({ limit: n }). Last n sessions (default 10), ordered by ended_at descending.

Returns: Array<session_row>.

const last5 = recent(5);
return last5.map(s => ({ title: s.title, project: s.project_path, ended: s.ended_at }));

sessions(opts?)

Query sessions with filters. For backward compatibility, passing a number is treated as limit.

Param	Type	Description
opts.project	string	Filter by project slug (supports LIKE, e.g. '%quiet-zero%')
opts.after	string	ISO 8601 lower bound on started_at
opts.before	string	ISO 8601 upper bound on started_at
opts.limit	number	Max results (default 50)
opts.branch	string	Filter by git branch (exact match)
opts.sessionId	string	Restrict to one session
opts.sessions	string[]	Restrict to a set of session IDs

Returns: Array<session_row> ordered by ended_at descending.

const qz = sessions({ project: '%quiet-zero%', limit: 5 });
return qz.map(s => ({ title: s.title, branch: s.git_branch, ended: s.ended_at }));

---

3. Common Query Patterns

Find sessions about a topic

const hits = search('reinforcement learning');
const sessions = [...new Set(hits.map(h => h.session.id))];
return hits.slice(0, 10).map(h => ({
  session: h.session.title,
  snippet: h.message.text?.slice(0, 150),
}));

Trace a decision chain

// Find a message, then trace its full parent chain to understand how we got there
const hits = search('"switched to PPO"');
if (!hits.length) return 'not found';
const chain = trace(hits[0].message.uuid);
return chain.map(m => ({ role: m.role, text: m.text?.slice(0, 120), ts: m.timestamp }));

Find all edits to a file across sessions

const edits = fileHistory('/Users/tomiya/Code/quiet-zero/src/mcts.ts');
return edits.map(e => ({
  action: e.toolCall.name,
  session: e.session.title,
  time: e.timestamp,
}));

Find churned files (most-edited across all sessions)

const rows = sql(`
  SELECT file_path, COUNT(*) as edit_count, COUNT(DISTINCT session_id) as session_count
  FROM tool_calls
  WHERE file_path IS NOT NULL AND name IN ('Edit','Write')
  GROUP BY file_path
  ORDER BY edit_count DESC
  LIMIT 20
`);
return rows;

Token usage analysis

const rows = sql(`
  SELECT s.id, s.title,
    SUM(m.input_tokens) as total_in,
    SUM(m.output_tokens) as total_out,
    SUM(m.input_tokens) + SUM(m.output_tokens) as total
  FROM messages m JOIN sessions s ON s.id = m.session_id
  WHERE m.input_tokens IS NOT NULL
  GROUP BY s.id
  ORDER BY total DESC
  LIMIT 10
`);
return rows;

Find workflow results

const wfs = workflows();
for (const wf of wfs.slice(0, 3)) {
  const tree = workflowTree(wf.run_id);
  wf.agent_details = tree?.agents.map(a => ({
    type: a.agent_type, desc: a.description, msgs: a.messages.length,
  }));
}
return wfs.slice(0, 3);

Find error patterns

const fails = failures();
// Group by tool name
const byTool = {};
for (const f of fails) {
  const name = f.toolCall?.name || 'unknown';
  byTool[name] = (byTool[name] || 0) + 1;
}
return { total: fails.length, byTool };

Find what tools were used most

const rows = sql(`
  SELECT name, COUNT(*) as call_count, COUNT(DISTINCT session_id) as session_count
  FROM tool_calls
  GROUP BY name
  ORDER BY call_count DESC
`);
return rows;

Find sessions by time range

return sessions({ after: '2026-05-28T00:00:00Z', before: '2026-05-30T00:00:00Z' }).map(s => ({
  title: s.title, project: s.project_path, started: s.started_at, messages: s.message_count,
}));

Cross-reference subagent findings

// See what all subagents did in a session
const subs = subagents('session-uuid');
const details = subs.map(s => {
  const msgs = sql('SELECT text, role FROM messages WHERE agent_id = ? ORDER BY timestamp', s.agent_id);
  return { type: s.agent_type, desc: s.description, summary: msgs.slice(-1)[0]?.text?.slice(0, 300) };
});
return details;

Find all sessions for a project

return sessions({ project: '%quiet-zero%' }).map(s => ({
  title: s.title, started: s.started_at, ended: s.ended_at,
  messages: s.message_count, branch: s.git_branch,
}));

Reconstruct what happened in a session

// Full timeline: messages + tool calls interleaved
const msgs = thread('session-uuid');
return msgs.map(m => {
  const tools = sql('SELECT name, file_path FROM tool_calls WHERE message_uuid = ?', m.uuid);
  return {
    role: m.role, text: m.text?.slice(0, 100), ts: m.timestamp,
    tools: tools.length ? tools.map(t => `${t.name}(${t.file_path || ''})`) : undefined,
  };
});

---

4. Tips

When to use search() vs sql()

• search() -- when you are looking for messages containing specific words or phrases. Uses FTS5 under the hood, returns ranked results with surrounding context. Best for: "find where we discussed X", "when did I mention Y".
• sql() -- when you need structured queries: aggregations, JOINs, GROUP BY, date ranges, or anything involving tables other than messages. Best for: "how many edits to this file", "total tokens this week", "most-used tools".

FTS5 Match Syntax

The text argument to search() uses SQLite FTS5 query syntax:

Pattern	Meaning	Example
word	Match token	search('MCTS')
word1 word2	Implicit AND	search('MCTS exploration')
"exact phrase"	Phrase match	search('"Monte Carlo tree"')
word*	Prefix match	search('optim*') matches optimize, optimizer, optimization
word1 OR word2	Either term	search('PPO OR TRPO')
word1 NOT word2	Exclude	search('MCTS NOT debug')

Terms are case-insensitive. FTS5 tokenizes on whitespace and punctuation, so camelCase is indexed as two tokens (camel, case).

Performance

• FTS5 searches are fast (milliseconds) regardless of database size.
• sql() with indexes is fast. The indexed columns cover the common patterns: messages(session_id), messages(agent_id), messages(session_id, timestamp), tool_calls(session_id, name), tool_calls(file_path).
• JOINs across large sessions (1000+ messages) can be slow if you join messages with tool_calls and tool_results without filtering by session_id first. Always add a session_id filter when working within a session.
• Full table scans on tool_results (used by failures() with no session ID) can be slow on large databases because it pattern-matches every result row. Pass a sessionId when possible.
• Text fields are truncated to 10,000 characters at index time. If you need the full content of a long message or tool result, read the source JSONL directly (path available in sessions.jsonl_path).
• The database uses WAL mode and NORMAL synchronous, so reads never block writes during re-indexing.