From cbe8c09068cee586b35a98e41e4df2d247805b7b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Will Anderson <will.anderson@neurontechnologies.ai>
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2026 13:15:33 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] feat(recall): context-dedup improvements
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- Cache bell node in engram_compile state (engram_compile_bell_node)
  so handle_chat reads cached value instead of duplicate bell query (Issue 2)
- Cache activation result (engram_compile_activation_json) for strengthen_chat_nodes
  reuse — eliminates third activation query per turn (Issue 7)
- Fix context cap to truncate at clean JSON object boundary (Issue 6)
---
 chat.el | 46 +++++++++++++++++++++++++---------------------
 1 file changed, 25 insertions(+), 21 deletions(-)

diff --git a/chat.el b/chat.el
index 1ae7598..7196af8 100644
--- a/chat.el
+++ b/chat.el
@@ -422,13 +422,26 @@ fn engram_compile(intent: String) -> String {
     let sep3: String = if (!str_eq(act_part, "") || !str_eq(srch_part, "") || !str_eq(scan_part, "")) && !str_eq(affective_part, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
     let ctx: String = act_part + sep1 + srch_part + sep2 + scan_part + sep3 + affective_part
 
+    // Cache bell and activation results for handle_chat reuse (Issues 2, 7).
+    state_set("engram_compile_bell_node", recent_bell)
+    state_set("engram_compile_activation_json", if act_ok { activate_json } else { "[]" })
+
     if str_eq(ctx, "") { return "" }
 
-    // Raise the cap slightly to match the ranked (higher-signal) output.
-    if str_len(ctx) > 6000 {
-        return str_slice(ctx, 0, 6000)
+    // Fix Issue 6: cap at a clean JSON object boundary.
+    let cap_len: Int = 6000
+    if str_len(ctx) <= cap_len { return ctx }
+    let cap_search: Int = cap_len - 1
+    let cap_min: Int = if cap_len > 500 { cap_len - 500 } else { 0 }
+    let cap_pos: Int = -1
+    let cap_si: Int = cap_search
+    while cap_si >= cap_min && cap_pos < 0 {
+        let cap_ch: String = str_slice(ctx, cap_si, cap_si + 1)
+        let cap_pos = if str_eq(cap_ch, "}") { cap_si } else { cap_pos }
+        let cap_si = if cap_pos < 0 { cap_si - 1 } else { cap_si }
     }
-    return ctx
+    if cap_pos > 0 { return str_slice(ctx, 0, cap_pos + 1) }
+    return str_slice(ctx, 0, cap_len)
 }
 
 fn json_safe(s: String) -> String {
@@ -623,21 +636,10 @@ fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
     // and tail-biased snipping from long assistant replies.
     let activation_seed: String = build_activation_seed(message, stored_hist, hist_len)
 
-    // Cross-session affective context: on session start (no history yet), check engram
-    // for recent distress signals within 72h and prepend a care directive if found.
+    // Fix Issue 2: reuse cached bell result from engram_compile — no second engram query.
     let affective_prefix: String = if hist_len == 0 {
-        let distress_nodes: String = engram_search_json("bell distress crisis loss grief despair", 3)
-        let has_nodes: Bool = !str_eq(distress_nodes, "") && !str_eq(distress_nodes, "[]")
-        let now_ts: Int = time_now()
-        let cutoff: Int = now_ts - 259200
-        let found_recent: Bool = if has_nodes {
-            let dn0: String = json_array_get(distress_nodes, 0)
-            let ts0_raw: String = json_get(dn0, "created_at")
-            let ts0_str: String = if str_eq(ts0_raw, "") { json_get(dn0, "updated_at") } else { ts0_raw }
-            let ts0: Int = if str_eq(ts0_str, "") { 0 } else { str_to_int(ts0_str) }
-            ts0 > cutoff
-        } else { false }
-        if found_recent {
+        let cached_bell: String = state_get("engram_compile_bell_node")
+        if !str_eq(cached_bell, "") {
             "[RECENT CONTEXT: User recently expressed significant distress. Monitor for indirect crisis signals and respond with care.]\n\n"
         } else { "" }
     } else { "" }
@@ -752,9 +754,11 @@ fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
     state_set("conv_history", final_hist)
     conv_history_persist(final_hist)
 
-    let activation_nodes: String = engram_activate_json(message, 2)
-    let act_ok: Bool = !str_eq(activation_nodes, "") && !str_eq(activation_nodes, "[]")
-    let act_out: String = if act_ok { activation_nodes } else { "[]" }
+    // Fix Issue 7: reuse activation JSON from engram_compile — no third activate query.
+    let cached_act: String = state_get("engram_compile_activation_json")
+    let act_out: String = if !str_eq(cached_act, "") && !str_eq(cached_act, "[]") {
+        cached_act
+    } else { "[]" }
     strengthen_chat_nodes(act_out)
 
     return "{\"response\":\"" + safe_response + "\",\"model\":\"" + model + "\",\"activation_nodes\":" + act_out + "}"