AI sessions

Sessions and the isolated copy

AI → Sessions panel... opens a cockpit that lists, one card per session, every AI CLI terminal open in any LightNote window — with a coloured status dot, the CLI name, the window and badges for whatever needs attention (scheduled sends, isolated copy). Double-click focuses the terminal; the card's ⋯ menu (or right-click) offers Review that session's changes (opens the review screen with the base set to the checkpoint created when the session started — see Review changes) and Schedule a send. It's the way to keep an eye on several "vibe coding" sessions at once without getting lost between windows.

When you open an AI CLI as a terminal inside a Git repository, LightNote automatically saves a checkpoint (labelled "Session …"), so you can later see and revert exactly what that session changed. The feature can be turned off in Settings → General → Features.

Isolated copy (worktree): in Git folders, the AI can work in a separate copy of your files (its own branch); you turn this on per folder in Workspace Settings → Integrations. Off (the default), it works directly on your files, with the checkpoint to undo. With the copy, what the AI changes does not show up in your files until you bring it in: a strip at the top of the session's terminal says so and counts the pending files, and the status bar shows AI copy while the copy exists. Bring into my files… applies the AI's changes as uncommitted changes (what you changed in the same files is kept; if both of you touched the same part, nothing is changed and you can take your version to the AI to resolve). Update the copy… takes to the copy what changed in your files, including what you have not committed yet — the copy is born that way, and when you open a session on an outdated copy LightNote offers to update it. When a session ends with pending work, it asks whether you want to review, bring in or discard it; and when you open the folder later, a strip in the window reminds you of what was left. Discard the copy… deletes the copy and the branch, saying first how many files will be lost.

Idle, context and hibernate

Idle-session notice. When an AI CLI goes idle (it finished or is waiting for you), LightNote shows a notification; clicking it opens the review of that session's changes. So you can start the task and step away. It can be turned off in Settings → Terminal.

Workspace context file. When you open an AI CLI in a folder without a context file (CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md), LightNote offers to generate one — and you can do it anytime from AI → Generate workspace context file.... A good context file describes the workspace's structure and conventions and helps the AI make fewer mistakes, without you re-explaining everything each session. If an AI provider is configured, it generates the content; otherwise you get a skeleton to fill in.

Hibernating idle sessions. An idle AI CLI keeps holding memory (the conversation and the model client). Under Settings → Terminal you can set a silence period after which LightNote ends the process and resumes it by itself when you return to that tab — the terminal history stays on screen. It ships on, at 30 minutes — three idle Claude Code sessions held over 1 GB when measured — and only applies to sessions in an isolated copy whose CLIs know how to resume the folder's conversation (today Claude Code and Antigravity), because otherwise resuming would bring back another session's conversation. A session with a scheduled send never hibernates. And what comes back is the conversation, not the tool's screen: text you typed but did not send is lost.

Activity and search by meaning

Activity tab. The table shows what is running now; the Activity tab keeps the history: every time an agent finished its turn, started in an isolated copy or hibernated, with the date and a snippet of the last reply. Unread entries appear in bold and count toward the bell of the Activities panel in the status bar — so whoever stepped away from the computer sees what they missed, since notifications are fleeting. Opening the tab marks everything as read; a double click takes you back to the session. The end of a session is recorded too — including when the CLI exits on its own — so a session that died while you were away leaves a trace instead of simply vanishing. If the event's session is no longer open, double-clicking says so instead of doing nothing.

Search by meaning. When the search finds no literal match, a Search by meaning option appears next to the result: instead of matching words, LightNote looks for the notes that talk about the same thing — handy when you remember the idea but not the wording you used. There is also a ~ toggle next to the others to go straight there. In this mode, regex, whole word, case, the file filter and Replace disappear: none of them applies to a similarity search. The feature needs semantic boost (embeddings) in Settings → General → Features; without it, the button takes you to the screen that turns it on. The first time in each folder, LightNote tells you how many chunks it will index and asks for confirmation — that indexing is billed by your provider and happens only once; after that, each search costs only the query.

Computing the vectors on your computer. Embeddings don't have to come from a paid provider: in the Set up AI wizard, the Search by meaning path asks where to compute them — in the cloud, through a connected AI that computes embeddings, or on your computer, for free and without anything leaving the machine. Indexing on the computer costs no money, but it takes time; the notice for the first indexing says how long, instead of quoting a price. See Search by meaning in the cloud or on the computer.

Indexing in plain sight. While indexing, the Search tab shows the waiting bar and the step — Counting what there is to index…, Preparing the documents…, Indexing 40 of 120 files… — with Stop beside it; the same task appears in the Activities panel, and stopping it in one place stops it in the other. The first-time count runs without freezing the window, and what has already been indexed remains valid.

When something goes wrong, the screen says what. A key rejected by the provider tells you to check Settings; an internal error says the previous index remains valid; a folder with no notes or documents says so instead of showing an empty list. A document that could not be read (corrupted, not enough memory to open it, or in a format whose reader failed) does not bring indexing down: it is left out, and the tab says N documents could not be read — see which. The link opens the list with the reason on each line; the technical detail appears in the tooltip when you rest the mouse on the line. See which in the Activities panel opens the list in the window that has that folder open (or in the window you clicked), without changing the folder the Search tab searches. The list only exists while the app is open: after a restart, the tab says it is no longer available, and a new search by meaning in that folder counts again.