docs/SESSION_ID_ARCHITECTURE.md
Claude-mem uses two distinct session IDs to track conversations and memory:
contentSessionId - The user's Claude Code conversation session IDmemorySessionId - The SDK agent's internal session ID for resume functionality┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Hook creates session │
│ createSDKSession(contentSessionId, project, prompt) │
│ │
│ Database state: │
│ ├─ content_session_id: "user-session-123" │
│ └─ memory_session_id: NULL (not yet captured) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 2. SDKAgent starts, checks hasRealMemorySessionId │
│ const hasReal = !!memorySessionId │
│ → FALSE (it's NULL) │
│ → Resume NOT used (fresh SDK session) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 3. First SDK message arrives with session_id │
│ ensureMemorySessionIdRegistered(sessionDbId, "sdk-gen-abc123") │
│ │
│ Database state: │
│ ├─ content_session_id: "user-session-123" │
│ └─ memory_session_id: "sdk-gen-abc123" (real!) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 4. Subsequent prompts may use resume │
│ const shouldResume = │
│ !!memorySessionId && lastPromptNumber > 1 && !forceInit│
│ → TRUE only for continuation prompts in the same runtime │
│ → Resume parameter: { resume: "sdk-gen-abc123" } │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
CRITICAL: Observations are stored with the real memorySessionId, NOT contentSessionId.
// SessionStore.ts
storeObservation(memorySessionId, project, observation, ...);
This means:
observations.memory_session_idmemorySessionIdsdk_sessions.memory_session_idObservation storage is blocked until a real memorySessionId is registered in sdk_sessions.
This is why SDKAgent persists the SDK-returned session_id immediately through
ensureMemorySessionIdRegistered(...) before any observation insert can succeed.
const hasRealMemorySessionId = !!session.memorySessionId;
memorySessionId is falsy → Not yet capturedmemorySessionId is truthy → Real SDK session capturedNEVER use contentSessionId for resume:
// ❌ FORBIDDEN - Would resume user's session instead of memory session!
query({ resume: contentSessionId })
// ✅ CORRECT - Only resume for a continuation prompt in a valid runtime
query({
...(
!!memorySessionId &&
lastPromptNumber > 1 &&
!forceInit &&
{ resume: memorySessionId }
)
})
memorySessionId is necessary but not sufficient.
Worker restart and crash-recovery paths may still carry a persisted ID while forcing a fresh INIT run.
contentSessionId maps to exactly one database sessionmemorySessionId (initially NULL, then captured)sdk_sessions.memory_session_idsdk_sessions.memory_session_id is NULL (no observations can be stored yet)sdk_sessions.memory_session_id is set to the real valuememory_session_idcontent_session_id, but observation rows themselves stay keyed by memory_session_idThe test suite validates all critical invariants:
tests/session_id_usage_validation.test.ts
hasRealMemorySessionId logicmemorySessionId values after registrationcontentSessionId and stale INIT sessions from being used for resume# Run all session ID tests
bun test tests/session_id_usage_validation.test.ts
# Run all tests
bun test
# Run with verbose output
bun test --verbose
// WRONG - Don't store observations before memorySessionId is available
storeObservation(session.contentSessionId, ...)
// WRONG - memorySessionId alone is not enough
if (session.memorySessionId) {
query({ resume: session.memorySessionId })
}
// WRONG - Can be NULL before SDK session is captured
const resumeId = session.memorySessionId
// Only store after a real memorySessionId has been captured or synthesized
storeObservation(session.memorySessionId, project, obs, ...)
const hasRealMemorySessionId = !!session.memorySessionId;
query({
prompt: messageGenerator,
options: {
...(
hasRealMemorySessionId &&
session.lastPromptNumber > 1 &&
!session.forceInit &&
{ resume: session.memorySessionId }
),
// ... other options
}
})
-- See both session IDs
SELECT
id,
content_session_id,
memory_session_id,
CASE
WHEN memory_session_id IS NULL THEN 'NOT_CAPTURED'
ELSE 'CAPTURED'
END as state
FROM sdk_sessions
WHERE content_session_id = 'your-session-id';
-- Should return 0 rows if FK integrity is maintained
SELECT o.*
FROM observations o
LEFT JOIN sdk_sessions s ON o.memory_session_id = s.memory_session_id
WHERE s.id IS NULL;
-- See which observations belong to a session
SELECT
o.id,
o.title,
o.memory_session_id,
s.content_session_id,
s.memory_session_id as session_memory_id
FROM observations o
JOIN sdk_sessions s ON o.memory_session_id = s.memory_session_id
WHERE s.content_session_id = 'your-session-id';
src/services/worker/SDKAgent.ts (lines 72-94)src/services/sqlite/SessionStore.tstests/session_id_usage_validation.test.tstests/session_id_refactor.test.ts