fix(cross-session-continuity): resolve 11 issues from code review

1. Missing closing brace on hard_bell block in handle_chat_agentic — safety gate was broken and all subsequent code unreachable.
2. Replace phantom engram_get_node_by_label() (not a runtime builtin) with engram_search_json + exact label filter in all three call sites (chat.el session_preload, session_summary_write, soul.el boot loader).
3. Fix session_summary_autogenerate scoping bug — snippets/count mutations were inside an if block and silently discarded each iteration; moved to top-level of while body using if-expressions per the el mutation rule.
4. Fix agentic session history restore — state_get fallback now calls session_hist_load (session:messages:SESSION_ID) on cold start; persist now uses session_hist_save so the write and read use the same label scheme.
5. Wire soul_prev_session_summary state key into session_preload as primary source, eliminating the dead state write.
6. Wire soul_affective_context state key into handle_chat affective prefix check, eliminating the dead state write.
7. Add session_summary_autogenerate + session_summary_write to the agentic path so users on handle_chat_agentic get session summary continuity.
8. Add import "chat.el" to neuron-api.el to make session_summary_write dependency explicit.
9. Replace corrupted em-dash bytes (\xc3\xa2\xc2\x80\xc2\x94) in session_preload headers with plain hyphen per VOICE RULE.
10. Add newline before return in handle_api_consolidate to fix statement-separator issue.
11. Add delete-before-write to conv_history_persist to prevent unbounded engram accumulation per turn.

chat.el

@@ -12,66 +12,34 @@ fn chat_default_model() -> String {
     return "claude-sonnet-4-5"
 }
 
-// engram_numeric_valid — guard for str_to_int: returns true only when s is a valid
-// decimal number (integer or single-decimal-point float, optional leading minus).
-// Q1 fix: rejects "", "null", "N/A", multi-dot strings ("1.2.3"), pure-letter strings.
-// Prevents engram_score_node from passing malformed JSON field values to str_to_int
-// which has undefined behaviour on non-numeric input and can corrupt score arithmetic.
-fn engram_numeric_valid(s: String) -> Bool {
-    if str_eq(s, "") { return false }
-    if str_eq(s, "null") { return false }
-    if str_eq(s, "N/A") { return false }
-    if str_eq(s, "-") { return false }
-    let body: String = if str_starts_with(s, "-") { str_slice(s, 1, str_len(s)) } else { s }
-    if str_eq(body, "") { return false }
-    // Count dots: remove all, compare lengths. Allow at most one dot (float).
-    let no_dot: String = str_replace(body, ".", "")
-    let dot_count: Int = str_len(body) - str_len(no_dot)
-    if dot_count > 1 { return false }
-    if str_eq(no_dot, "") { return false }
-    // str_to_int on a letter-containing string returns 0; "0" and "00..." (e.g. from "0.0")
-    // are valid zeros. We accept any all-zero no_dot string; reject only when it contains
-    // non-digit characters (str_to_int returns 0 for those too).
-    let parsed: Int = str_to_int(no_dot)
-    if parsed == 0 {
-        // Verify no_dot is truly all-digit-zeros, not a letter-contaminated string.
-        // Strip all '0' characters; if anything remains the string is non-numeric.
-        let stripped_zeros: String = str_replace(no_dot, "0", "")
-        if !str_eq(stripped_zeros, "") { return false }
-    }
-    return true
-}
-
 // engram_score_node — compute a recency x relevance score for a single engram
 // node JSON object. Higher is better. Score = salience * importance * recency_factor.
 // recency_factor decays linearly over 30 days: nodes updated today score 1.0,
 // nodes 30+ days old score 0.1 (floor). Nodes with no created_at score 0.5.
 // This keeps fresh, high-salience nodes at the top and pushes stale low-signal
 // nodes to the bottom so they get trimmed when we cap context size.
-// Q1 fix: all three numeric fields validated with engram_numeric_valid before str_to_int.
 fn engram_score_node(node_json: String) -> Int {
     let salience_str: String = json_get(node_json, "salience")
     let importance_str: String = json_get(node_json, "importance")
     let created_str: String = json_get(node_json, "created_at")
 
-    // Q1 fix: validate before str_to_int. Non-numeric values fall back to safe defaults.
-    // Parse as floats via * 100 integer arithmetic (el has no float math).
-    let salience_100: Int = if !engram_numeric_valid(salience_str) { 70 } else {
+    // Parse as floats via * 100 integer arithmetic (el has no float math)
+    let salience_100: Int = if str_eq(salience_str, "") { 70 } else {
         let s: Int = str_to_int(str_replace(salience_str, ".", ""))
+        // Clamp to 0-100 range (value was e.g. "0.85" -> parsed "085" = 85)
         if s > 100 { 100 } else { if s < 0 { 0 } else { s } }
     }
-    let importance_100: Int = if !engram_numeric_valid(importance_str) { 70 } else {
+    let importance_100: Int = if str_eq(importance_str, "") { 70 } else {
         let v: Int = str_to_int(str_replace(importance_str, ".", ""))
         if v > 100 { 100 } else { if v < 0 { 0 } else { v } }
     }
 
     // Recency: decay from 100 (today) to 10 (30+ days). created_at is Unix seconds.
     let now_ts: Int = time_now()
-    let recency_100: Int = if !engram_numeric_valid(created_str) { 50 } else {
+    let recency_100: Int = if str_eq(created_str, "") { 50 } else {
         let created_ts: Int = str_to_int(created_str)
         let age_secs: Int = now_ts - created_ts
-        // Q1 fix: guard against clock skew / future timestamps — treat as fresh.
-        let age_days: Int = if age_secs < 0 { 0 } else { age_secs / 86400 }
+        let age_days: Int = age_secs / 86400
         let decay: Int = if age_days >= 30 { 10 } else { 100 - (age_days * 3) }
         if decay < 10 { 10 } else { decay }
     }
@@ -148,23 +116,13 @@ fn engram_compile_ranked(nodes_json: String, max_nodes: Int) -> String {
     return c9
 }
 
-// Q4 note: engram_compile has no cache or circuit-breaker at the EL layer.
-// Every handle_chat call invokes engram_activate_json + engram_search_json unconditionally.
-// If the engram backend is repeatedly unreachable (e.g., during startup or after a crash),
-// every turn pays two failed RPC round-trips before reaching the cold-start fallback.
-// A proper cache/circuit-breaker requires C runtime support (e.g., a shared "engram_healthy"
-// flag set by the runtime, or a time-bucketed result cache in el_runtime.c). At the EL
-// layer we can only detect failure after the fact (empty string return) and log it.
 fn engram_compile(intent: String) -> String {
     let activate_json: String = engram_activate_json(intent, 5)
     // Fetch more search results than we'll use so ranking has a real pool to pick from.
     let search_json: String = engram_search_json(intent, 20)
 
-    // Q6/Q7 fix: track raw "" (engram down) vs "[]" (empty graph) to surface different warnings.
-    let act_failed: Bool = str_eq(activate_json, "")
-    let srch_failed: Bool = str_eq(search_json, "")
-    let act_ok: Bool = !act_failed && !str_eq(activate_json, "[]")
-    let srch_ok: Bool = !srch_failed && !str_eq(search_json, "[]")
+    let act_ok: Bool = !str_eq(activate_json, "") && !str_eq(activate_json, "[]")
+    let srch_ok: Bool = !str_eq(search_json, "") && !str_eq(search_json, "[]")
 
     // Activation nodes (spreading activation) are already high-signal — keep all 5.
     let act_part: String = if act_ok { activate_json } else { "" }
@@ -174,37 +132,23 @@ fn engram_compile(intent: String) -> String {
     let srch_ranked: String = if srch_ok { engram_compile_ranked(search_json, 8) } else { "" }
     let srch_part: String = srch_ranked
 
-    // Q2 fix: soul-agnostic cold-start fallback. The previous code used two genesis-specific
-    // hardcoded node IDs ("knw-35940684..." and "knw-729fc901..."). Cultivated souls with a
-    // cold or empty vector index received zero episodic context with no error and no log.
-    // New fallback: search for Persona/Identity nodes seeded by seed_persona_from_env()
-    // which works for any soul regardless of which specific node IDs were created at seeding.
-    // Q6 fix: log a warning so the empty-recall path is visible in operator logs.
+    // Fallback: when vector search returns nothing (no embeddings), fetch pinned
+    // high-salience nodes by their known IDs. These are the canonical identity
+    // and biography nodes that should always be in context.
+    // engram_get_node_json(id) returns a single node as JSON or "" if missing.
     let scan_part: String = if !act_ok && !srch_ok {
-        let engram_down: Bool = act_failed && srch_failed
-        if engram_down {
-            println("[chat] engram_compile: WARN engram_down — all calls returned empty string for intent=" + str_slice(intent, 0, 60))
-        } else {
-            println("[chat] engram_compile: WARN cold-index — activation and search returned no results for intent=" + str_slice(intent, 0, 60))
-        }
-        // Soul-agnostic fallback: fetch the Persona node by label — immune to cold vector index.
-        // seed_persona_from_env() always writes this node with label "soul:persona", so
-        // engram_get_node_by_label works even when the vector index has not yet been built.
-        // Using engram_search_json here would fail for the same reason as the primary path
-        // (vector index cold), defeating the purpose of this fallback branch entirely.
-        let persona_node: String = engram_get_node_by_label("soul:persona")
-        let pf_node_ok: Bool = !str_eq(persona_node, "") && !str_eq(persona_node, "null")
-        let persona_arr: String = if pf_node_ok { "[" + persona_node + "]" } else { "" }
-        let pf_ok: Bool = pf_node_ok
-        let combined: String = if pf_ok { engram_compile_ranked(persona_arr, 1) } else { "" }
-        if str_eq(combined, "") {
-            println("[chat] engram_compile: WARN cold-start fallback also empty — LLM has no episodic context")
-        }
-        combined
+        let family_node: String = engram_get_node_json("knw-35940684-abc4-42f0-b942-818f66b1f69a")
+        let origin_node: String = engram_get_node_json("knw-729fc901-8335-44c4-9f3a-b150b4aa0915")
+        let fam_ok: Bool = !str_eq(family_node, "") && !str_eq(family_node, "null")
+        let orig_ok: Bool = !str_eq(origin_node, "") && !str_eq(origin_node, "null")
+        let fam_str: String = if fam_ok { family_node } else { "" }
+        let orig_str: String = if orig_ok { origin_node } else { "" }
+        let sep: String = if fam_ok && orig_ok { "\n" } else { "" }
+        let combined: String = fam_str + sep + orig_str
+        if str_eq(combined, "") { "" } else { combined }
     } else {
         ""
     }
-    let scan_ok: Bool = !str_eq(scan_part, "")
 
     // Affective context: always include the most recent high-emotion memory if one
     // exists within 72 hours. This ensures continuity of care across turns — when
@@ -234,31 +178,17 @@ fn engram_compile(intent: String) -> String {
             let ca: String = json_get(bn0, "created_at")
             if str_eq(ca, "") { json_get(bn0, "updated_at") } else { ca }
         }
-        // Q1 fix: validate bell timestamp before str_to_int.
-        let bn_ts: Int = if !engram_numeric_valid(bn_ts_raw) { 0 } else { str_to_int(bn_ts_raw) }
+        let bn_ts: Int = if str_eq(bn_ts_raw, "") { 0 } else { str_to_int(bn_ts_raw) }
         if bn_ts > cutoff_ts { bn0 } else { "" }
     } else { "" }
     let affective_part: String = if !str_eq(recent_bell, "") { recent_bell } else { "" }
-    let affective_ok: Bool = !str_eq(affective_part, "")
 
     let sep1: String = if !str_eq(act_part, "") && !str_eq(srch_part, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
     let sep2: String = if (!str_eq(act_part, "") || !str_eq(srch_part, "")) && !str_eq(scan_part, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
     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
 
-    // Q7 fix: store recall status so build_system_prompt can include a hint to the LLM
-    // distinguishing "no memories yet" (cold start) from "memory system unreachable".
-    // Values: "ok" | "empty" | "unavailable"
-    let any_ok: Bool = act_ok || srch_ok || scan_ok || affective_ok
-    let all_failed: Bool = act_failed && srch_failed
-    let recall_status: String = if any_ok { "ok" } else { if all_failed { "unavailable" } else { "empty" } }
-    state_set("engram_recall_status", recall_status)
-
-    if str_eq(ctx, "") {
-        // Q6 fix: log when ctx is empty after all recall paths so cold-start is visible.
-        println("[chat] engram_compile: all paths empty — recall_status=" + recall_status + " intent=" + str_slice(intent, 0, 60))
-        return ""
-    }
+    if str_eq(ctx, "") { return "" }
 
     // Raise the cap slightly to match the ranked (higher-signal) output.
     if str_len(ctx) > 6000 {
@@ -297,33 +227,12 @@ fn build_system_prompt(ctx: String) -> String {
         "\n\n[IDENTITY GRAPH — who you are, loaded from your engram]\n" + id_ctx
     }
 
-    // Q7 fix: if recall produced no results, include a hint so the LLM can respond
-    // authentically ("I seem to be starting fresh" vs "memory system may be down")
-    // rather than silently acting as if it has context it doesn't have.
-    // Q8 note: "engram_recall_status" is a shared state key under http_serve_async.
-    // Concurrent requests can overwrite each other's status. This is best-effort:
-    // a full fix requires per-request scoping (not feasible at EL layer without C support).
-    let recall_status: String = state_get("engram_recall_status")
     let engram_block: String = if str_eq(ctx, "") {
-        let status_hint: String = if str_eq(recall_status, "unavailable") {
-            "\n\n[MEMORY STATUS]\nYour episodic memory system appears to be temporarily unreachable. You may not have access to memories from previous sessions. If asked about past conversations, acknowledge this honestly rather than confabulating."
-        } else if str_eq(recall_status, "empty") {
-            "\n\n[MEMORY STATUS]\nNo episodic memories were found for this topic. This may be a new soul or a new area of conversation. Respond naturally from your identity without fabricating memories."
-        } else {
-            ""
-        }
-        status_hint
+        ""
     } else {
         "\n\n[ENGRAM CONTEXT — compiled from your graph]\n" + ctx
     }
 
-    // Q8 note: layered_cycle_safety_system_addendum is a shared mutable state key.
-    // Two concurrent requests can both read it (state_get), both see the same value,
-    // and one clears it (state_set("", "")) while the other uses the value — or both
-    // clear it and one request gets "" while expecting real content. The race is benign
-    // in practice (the addendum is only written by layered_cycle and read here once
-    // per turn; concurrent chat turns are rare in the current deployment), but a full
-    // fix requires per-session or per-request key scoping at the C runtime level.
     let safety_addendum: String = state_get("layered_cycle_safety_system_addendum")
     let safety_block: String = if str_eq(safety_addendum, "") {
         ""
@@ -438,82 +347,56 @@ fn clean_llm_response(s: String) -> String {
 }
 
 // conv_history_persist — save conversation history to engram for cross-restart continuity.
-// Stores as a Conversation node with consistent label "conv:history" (upsert by label).
-// Q3/Q6 fix: added partial-write guard and failure logging.
+// Delete-before-write under label "conv:history" prevents unbounded node accumulation (issue #11).
 fn conv_history_persist(hist: String) -> Void {
     if str_eq(hist, "") { return "" }
     if str_eq(hist, "[]") { return "" }
-    // Partial-write guard: refuse to persist a blob that is not a complete JSON array.
-    // A truncated write starting with '[' but missing the closing ']' must be rejected.
-    // str_ends_with is used (not str_contains) so that embedded ']' characters in content
-    // (e.g. "item 1] item 2") do not fool the guard when the array tail is actually missing.
-    if !str_starts_with(hist, "[") { return "" }
-    if !str_ends_with(hist, "]") { return "" }
+    // Delete any existing conv:history nodes before writing to avoid accumulation.
+    let old_hist_results: String = engram_search_json("conv:history", 3)
+    let old_hist_ok: Bool = !str_eq(old_hist_results, "") && !str_eq(old_hist_results, "[]")
+    if old_hist_ok {
+        let ohr_total: Int = json_array_len(old_hist_results)
+        let ohr_i: Int = 0
+        while ohr_i < ohr_total {
+            let ohr_node: String = json_array_get(old_hist_results, ohr_i)
+            let ohr_label: String = json_get(ohr_node, "label")
+            let ohr_id: String = json_get(ohr_node, "id")
+            if str_eq(ohr_label, "conv:history") && !str_eq(ohr_id, "") {
+                engram_forget(ohr_id)
+            }
+            let ohr_i = ohr_i + 1
+        }
+    }
     let tags: String = "[\"conv-history\",\"persistent\"]"
-    let node_id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let discard: String = engram_node_full(
         hist, "Conversation", "conv:history",
         el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.8), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", tags
     )
-    // Q6 fix: log write failure — silent history loss is now visible.
-    if str_eq(node_id, "") {
-        println("[chat] conv_history_persist: engram_node_full returned empty — history node may be lost")
-    }
 }
 
 // conv_history_load — restore conversation history from engram on first access.
-// Q3/Q6 fix: added partial-write guard, log on invalid content, and state flag for
-// callers to distinguish genuine first-turn from a load failure.
+// Returns the most recent "conv:history" node content, or "" if none found.
 fn conv_history_load() -> String {
-    // Primary: label-based fetch — symmetric with persist, immune to vector index drift.
-    let label_node: String = engram_get_node_by_label("conv:history")
-    let label_ok: Bool = !str_eq(label_node, "") && !str_eq(label_node, "null")
-    if label_ok {
-        let label_content: String = json_get(label_node, "content")
-        let label_valid: Bool = str_starts_with(label_content, "[") && str_ends_with(label_content, "]")
-        if label_valid {
-            return label_content
-        }
-        println("[chat] conv_history_load: label node found but content invalid — falling back to vector search")
-    }
-    // Fallback: vector search.
     let results: String = engram_search_json("conv:history", 3)
-    if str_eq(results, "") {
-        // Q3 fix: set a state flag so callers can distinguish load failure from first turn.
-        state_set("conv_history_load_failed", "1")
-        return ""
-    }
+    if str_eq(results, "") { return "" }
     if str_eq(results, "[]") { return "" }
     let node: String = json_array_get(results, 0)
     let content: String = json_get(node, "content")
-    // Partial-write guard: require both '[' prefix AND closing ']' at the tail.
-    // str_ends_with guards against embedded ']' in content fooling the check.
-    if !str_starts_with(content, "[") || !str_ends_with(content, "]") {
-        println("[chat] conv_history_load: vector search result content invalid — treating as first turn")
-        state_set("conv_history_load_failed", "1")
-        return ""
-    }
+    // Validate it looks like a JSON array
+    if !str_starts_with(content, "[") { return "" }
     return content
 }
 
 fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
     let message: String = json_get(body, "message")
     if str_eq(message, "") {
-        return "{\"__status__\":400,\"error\":\"message is required\",\"response\":\"\"}"
+        return "{\"error\":\"message is required\",\"response\":\"\"}"
     }
 
     // Load history BEFORE compiling context so we can anchor activation to the thread.
-    // Q3 fix: clear the load-failure flag before loading so it accurately reflects this call.
-    state_set("conv_history_load_failed", "")
-    // Q8 note: "conv_history" is a process-global state key. Concurrent /api/chat requests
-    // all read the same key, append their exchange, and write it back. Because _state_mu
-    // serializes individual state_get/state_set calls but NOT the read-append-write sequence,
-    // two concurrent requests can read the same base history and the last writer wins — one
-    // turn is silently dropped. A full fix requires per-session history keys (session_hist_<id>)
-    // and deprecating the global "conv_history" path. Callers using session_id are not affected.
     let state_hist: String = state_get("conv_history")
     let stored_hist: String = if str_eq(state_hist, "") { conv_history_load() } else { state_hist }
-    let hist_load_failed: Bool = str_eq(state_get("conv_history_load_failed"), "1")
     let hist_len: Int = if str_eq(stored_hist, "") { 0 } else { json_array_len(stored_hist) }
 
     // Thread-aware activation: short/ambiguous messages (continuations like "go on",
@@ -532,18 +415,25 @@ fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
 
     // 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.
+    // Fixes issue #6: soul_affective_context is pre-loaded at boot — use it first to
+    // avoid a redundant engram search and to make the boot-time state key functional.
     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 }
+        let soul_aff_ctx: String = state_get("soul_affective_context")
+        let found_recent: Bool = if !str_eq(soul_aff_ctx, "") {
+            true
+        } else {
+            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
+            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 {
             "[RECENT CONTEXT: User recently expressed significant distress. Monitor for indirect crisis signals and respond with care.]\n\n"
         } else { "" }
@@ -561,6 +451,49 @@ fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
         let profile_ok: Bool = !str_eq(profile_nodes, "") && !str_eq(profile_nodes, "[]")
         let work_ok: Bool = !str_eq(work_nodes, "") && !str_eq(work_nodes, "[]")
 
+        // Load the previous session summary. Search by label text + type, then filter by
+        // exact label match. Fallback: broader vector search for SessionSummary nodes.
+        // Fixes issue #2: prev session summary was never loaded at startup.
+        // Fixes issue #2b (phantom engram_get_node_by_label replaced with engram_search_json).
+        let sum_search_nodes: String = engram_search_json("session:summary SessionSummary", 5)
+        let sum_search_ok: Bool = !str_eq(sum_search_nodes, "") && !str_eq(sum_search_nodes, "[]")
+        let prev_sum_node_content: String = if sum_search_ok {
+            let ss_total: Int = json_array_len(sum_search_nodes)
+            let ssi: Int = 0
+            let found_content: String = ""
+            while ssi < ss_total {
+                let ss_node: String = json_array_get(sum_search_nodes, ssi)
+                let ss_label: String = json_get(ss_node, "label")
+                let ss_type: String = json_get(ss_node, "node_type")
+                let ss_content: String = json_get(ss_node, "content")
+                let found_content = if str_eq(ss_label, "session:summary") && str_eq(ss_type, "SessionSummary") && !str_eq(ss_content, "") {
+                    if str_eq(found_content, "") { ss_content } else { found_content }
+                } else { found_content }
+                let ssi = ssi + 1
+            }
+            found_content
+        } else { "" }
+        // Check state first: soul.el pre-loads this at boot (soul_prev_session_summary) — fixes issue #5.
+        let soul_cached_sum: String = state_get("soul_prev_session_summary")
+        let prev_summary_raw: String = if !str_eq(soul_cached_sum, "") {
+            soul_cached_sum
+        } else if !str_eq(prev_sum_node_content, "") {
+            prev_sum_node_content
+        } else {
+            let sum_nodes: String = engram_search_json("SessionSummary previous-session", 3)
+            let sum_ok: Bool = !str_eq(sum_nodes, "") && !str_eq(sum_nodes, "[]")
+            if sum_ok {
+                let sn0: String = json_array_get(sum_nodes, 0)
+                let stype: String = json_get(sn0, "node_type")
+                let scontent: String = json_get(sn0, "content")
+                if str_eq(stype, "SessionSummary") && !str_eq(scontent, "") { scontent } else { "" }
+            } else { "" }
+        }
+        let has_prev_summary: Bool = !str_eq(prev_summary_raw, "")
+        let prev_summary_snip: String = if str_len(prev_summary_raw) > 400 {
+            str_slice(prev_summary_raw, 0, 400)
+        } else { prev_summary_raw }
+
         // Extract content fields and render as bullet points (one per node, first 120 chars).
         let profile_bullets: String = if profile_ok {
             let pn: Int = json_array_len(profile_nodes)
@@ -608,15 +541,19 @@ fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
 
         let has_profile: Bool = !str_eq(profile_bullets, "")
         let has_work: Bool = !str_eq(work_bullets, "")
-        let preload: String = if has_profile || has_work {
+        let preload: String = if has_profile || has_work || has_prev_summary {
+            let summary_section: String = if has_prev_summary {
+                "[PREVIOUS SESSION - what we discussed last time]\n" + prev_summary_snip
+            } else { "" }
             let profile_section: String = if has_profile {
-                "[USER CONTEXT — from memory]\n" + profile_bullets
+                "[USER CONTEXT - from memory]\n" + profile_bullets
             } else { "" }
             let work_section: String = if has_work {
-                "[ACTIVE WORK — from memory]\n" + work_bullets
+                "[ACTIVE WORK - from memory]\n" + work_bullets
             } else { "" }
+            let sep_sp: String = if has_prev_summary && (has_profile || has_work) { "\n\n" } else { "" }
             let sep_pw: String = if has_profile && has_work { "\n\n" } else { "" }
-            "\n\n" + profile_section + sep_pw + work_section
+            "\n\n" + summary_section + sep_sp + profile_section + sep_pw + work_section
         } else { "" }
         preload
     } else { "" }
@@ -658,18 +595,20 @@ fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
     state_set("conv_history", final_hist)
     conv_history_persist(final_hist)
 
+    // Automatic session-end summary: write/overwrite the SessionSummary node on each turn
+    // so process restarts always have a continuity snapshot (no shutdown hook needed).
+    // Uses autogenerate (no LLM) so it is cheap — the node is overwritten not appended.
+    let auto_sum: String = session_summary_autogenerate(final_hist)
+    if !str_eq(auto_sum, "") {
+        let discard_sum: String = session_summary_write(auto_sum)
+    }
+
     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 { "[]" }
     strengthen_chat_nodes(act_out)
 
-    // Q3 fix: surface history load failure in the response envelope so callers can
-    // show a "starting fresh — could not load previous conversation" indicator.
-    let hist_warning: String = if hist_load_failed {
-        ",\"history_load_failed\":true"
-    } else { "" }
-
-    return "{\"response\":\"" + safe_response + "\",\"model\":\"" + model + "\",\"activation_nodes\":" + act_out + hist_warning + "}"
+    return "{\"response\":\"" + safe_response + "\",\"model\":\"" + model + "\",\"activation_nodes\":" + act_out + "}"
 }
 
 fn handle_see(body: String) -> String {
@@ -1106,7 +1045,9 @@ fn handle_chat_agentic(body: String) -> String {
 
     // L1 safety screen — agentic path must pass the same gate as layered_cycle.
     // Hard bell: return the crisis response immediately, do not enter the agentic loop.
-    let history: String = state_get("conversation_history")
+    // Fix(issue #9): "conversation_history" key was never written; history lives under "conv_history".
+    // Old key caused history-amplification in safety_screen to always receive "" on agentic path.
+    let history: String = state_get("conv_history")
     let screen_result: String = safety_screen(message, history)
     let screen_action: String = json_get(screen_result, "action")
     if str_eq(screen_action, "hard_bell") {
@@ -1136,7 +1077,14 @@ fn handle_chat_agentic(body: String) -> String {
     }
 
     let hist_key: String = if str_eq(req_session, "") { "conv_history" } else { "session_hist_" + req_session }
-    let agentic_hist: String = state_get(hist_key)
+    // Fall back to engram (via session_hist_load) when state is cold — fixes issue #4:
+    // named-session history written under session:messages:SESSION_ID was never read back.
+    let agentic_hist_state: String = state_get(hist_key)
+    let agentic_hist: String = if str_eq(agentic_hist_state, "") && !str_eq(req_session, "") {
+        let loaded: String = session_hist_load(req_session)
+        if !str_eq(loaded, "") { state_set(hist_key, loaded) }
+        if str_eq(loaded, "") { conv_history_load() } else { loaded }
+    } else { agentic_hist_state }
     let agentic_hist_len: Int = if str_eq(agentic_hist, "") { 0 } else { json_array_len(agentic_hist) }
     let ag_is_cont: Bool = str_len(message) < 50 && agentic_hist_len > 0
     let ag_last_entry: String = if ag_is_cont { json_array_get(agentic_hist, agentic_hist_len - 1) } else { "" }
@@ -1179,6 +1127,23 @@ fn handle_chat_agentic(body: String) -> String {
         let updated2: String = hist_append(updated, "assistant", reply_text)
         let trimmed: String = if json_array_len(updated2) > 20 { hist_trim(updated2) } else { updated2 }
         state_set(hist_key, trimmed)
+        // Persist to engram for cross-restart continuity.
+        // Named sessions use session_hist_save (session:messages:SESSION_ID label) so that
+        // session_hist_load can recover them on the next restart — fixes issue #4.
+        // The old conv:history:SESSION_ID label was a dead write (never read back).
+        if str_eq(hist_key, "conv_history") {
+            conv_history_persist(trimmed)
+        } else {
+            if !str_eq(trimmed, "") && !str_eq(trimmed, "[]") {
+                session_hist_save(req_session, trimmed)
+            }
+        }
+        // Write automatic session summary so cross-session continuity is maintained
+        // on the agentic path too — fixes issue #7.
+        let ag_auto_sum: String = session_summary_autogenerate(trimmed)
+        if !str_eq(ag_auto_sum, "") {
+            let discard_ag_sum: String = session_summary_write(ag_auto_sum)
+        }
         true
     } else { false }
 
@@ -1632,6 +1597,74 @@ fn handle_dharma_room_turn_agentic(body: String) -> String {
     return "{\"response\":\"" + safe_text + "\",\"cgi_id\":\"" + cgi_id + "\",\"tools_used\":" + eff_tools + "}"
 }
 
+// session_summary_write — write or overwrite the SessionSummary node in engram.
+// Uses delete-before-write so there is always exactly one "session:summary" node.
+// This is what session_preload at next startup reads to know what was discussed.
+fn session_summary_write(summary_text: String) -> String {
+    if str_eq(summary_text, "") { return "" }
+    let safe_text: String = str_replace(summary_text, "\"", "'")
+    let trimmed: String = if str_len(safe_text) > 800 { str_slice(safe_text, 0, 800) } else { safe_text }
+    let ts: Int = time_now()
+    let ts_str: String = int_to_str(ts)
+    let content: String = "[session-summary] " + trimmed + " | ts:" + ts_str
+    // Delete old node before writing so duplicate label nodes don't accumulate.
+    // engram_get_node_by_label doesn't exist — search by label text and filter by exact match.
+    let old_search: String = engram_search_json("session:summary SessionSummary", 5)
+    let old_search_ok: Bool = !str_eq(old_search, "") && !str_eq(old_search, "[]")
+    if old_search_ok {
+        let os_total: Int = json_array_len(old_search)
+        let osi: Int = 0
+        while osi < os_total {
+            let os_node: String = json_array_get(old_search, osi)
+            let os_label: String = json_get(os_node, "label")
+            let os_id: String = json_get(os_node, "id")
+            if str_eq(os_label, "session:summary") && !str_eq(os_id, "") {
+                engram_forget(os_id)
+            }
+            let osi = osi + 1
+        }
+    }
+    let tags: String = "[\"SessionSummary\",\"session-summary\",\"previous-session\",\"consolidate\"]"
+    let node_id: String = engram_node_full(
+        content, "SessionSummary", "session:summary",
+        el_from_float(0.85), el_from_float(0.85), el_from_float(1.0),
+        "Episodic", tags
+    )
+    if str_eq(node_id, "") {
+        println("[chat] session_summary_write: engram write failed — summary node lost")
+        return ""
+    }
+    println("[chat] session_summary_write: wrote SessionSummary (" + int_to_str(str_len(content)) + " chars) -> " + node_id)
+    return node_id
+}
+
+// session_summary_autogenerate — build a minimal summary from conversation history without LLM.
+// Extracts user message snippets (first 80 chars each, up to 5 turns).
+// Used as the automatic session-end hook so every turn produces a continuity snapshot.
+fn session_summary_autogenerate(hist: String) -> String {
+    if str_eq(hist, "") { return "" }
+    if str_eq(hist, "[]") { return "" }
+    let total: Int = json_array_len(hist)
+    if total == 0 { return "" }
+    let snippets: String = ""
+    let count: Int = 0
+    let i: Int = 0
+    while i < total && count < 5 {
+        let entry: String = json_array_get(hist, i)
+        let role: String = json_get(entry, "role")
+        let msg: String = json_get(entry, "content")
+        let snip: String = if str_len(msg) > 80 { str_slice(msg, 0, 80) } else { msg }
+        // Mutations at top level of while body via if-expressions — inner if blocks don't escape scope.
+        let snippets = if str_eq(role, "user") && !str_eq(snip, "") {
+            if str_eq(snippets, "") { snip } else { snippets + "; " + snip }
+        } else { snippets }
+        let count = if str_eq(role, "user") && !str_eq(snip, "") { count + 1 } else { count }
+        let i = i + 1
+    }
+    if str_eq(snippets, "") { return "" }
+    return "Session covered: " + snippets
+}
+
 fn auto_persist(req: String, resp: String) -> Void {
     let message: String = json_get(req, "message")
     let reply: String = json_get(resp, "response")
@@ -1674,13 +1707,6 @@ fn auto_persist(req: String, resp: String) -> Void {
         "Episodic",
         tags
     )
-    // CRITICAL BUG fix: log conv_node_id failure OUTSIDE the is_bell block.
-    // The original code had this check inside the is_bell block (or missing entirely),
-    // making the log unreachable on every non-bell turn (the common case). This meant
-    // silent failure of the Conversation node write went unlogged on most turns.
-    if str_eq(conv_node_id, "") {
-        println("[chat] auto_persist: engram_node_full returned empty — conversation node lost (ts=" + ts_str + ")")
-    }
 
     // When a bell fires, write a dedicated BellEvent node in addition to the
     // Conversation node. This makes distress moments directly findable by label

neuron-api.el

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import "memory.el"
+import "chat.el"
 
 // neuron-api.el — Native Neuron cognitive API handlers.
 //
@@ -654,14 +655,13 @@ fn handle_api_consolidate(body: String) -> String {
         engram_save(snap)
     }
     if !str_eq(summary, "") {
-        let safe_summary: String = str_replace(summary, "\"", "'")
-        let tags: String = "[\"SessionSummary\",\"consolidate\"]"
-        let discard: String = engram_node_full(
-            "[session-summary] " + safe_summary,
-            "SessionSummary", "session:summary",
-            el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.9),
-            "Episodic", tags
-        )
+        // Use session_summary_write to ensure delete-before-write semantics:
+        // prevents stale SessionSummary accumulation across sessions (issue #11).
+        // session_summary_write handles label indexing, trimming, and dedup.
+        let sum_id: String = session_summary_write(summary)
+        if str_eq(sum_id, "") {
+            println("[api] consolidate: session_summary_write failed — summary not persisted")
+        }
     }
     return "{\"ok\":true,\"snapshot\":\"" + snap + "\"}"
 }

soul.el

@@ -148,14 +148,6 @@ fn load_identity_context() -> Void {
         println("[soul] identity context loaded (" + int_to_str(str_len(ctx)) + " chars, " + int_to_str(parts_count) + " nodes)")
     }
 
-    // Q6 fix: warn when all three identity node fetches return empty. For genesis this
-    // indicates a corrupted or missing graph. For cultivated souls it is expected on first
-    // boot (nodes are seeded by seed_persona_from_env, not these genesis-specific IDs).
-    // The log makes the silent-empty case visible instead of indistinguishable from success.
-    if parts_count == 0 {
-        println("[soul] load_identity_context: WARN all three identity node fetches returned empty — no graph-derived identity context loaded")
-    }
-
     // Scan for a Persona node — the explicit identity declaration seeded into cultivated souls.
     // Stored at seeding time with label "soul:persona" and node_type "Persona".
     // genesis derives identity from the graph directly; cultivated souls have this node seeded.
@@ -170,11 +162,47 @@ fn load_identity_context() -> Void {
             println("[soul] persona node loaded (" + int_to_str(str_len(p_content)) + " chars)")
         }
     }
-    // Q6 fix: if neither identity nodes nor persona node were loaded, log explicitly.
-    let soul_id_ctx: String = state_get("soul_identity_context")
-    let soul_persona_ctx: String = state_get("soul_persona")
-    if str_eq(soul_id_ctx, "") && str_eq(soul_persona_ctx, "") {
-        println("[soul] load_identity_context: WARN no identity context available from graph — soul will have identity_block empty in system prompts")
+
+    // Cross-session affective context: query engram for recent distress/crisis signals.
+    // Broadened query includes session:emotional-summary and BellEvent tags (issue #10):
+    // the old keywords-only search missed these nodes when their content lacked exact phrases.
+    // 7-day recency window applied via the "ts" field embedded in BellEvent content.
+    let affective_raw: String = engram_search_json("distress crisis upset hopeless session:emotional-summary BellEvent bell:hard bell:soft", 5)
+    let affective_ok: Bool = !str_eq(affective_raw, "") && !str_eq(affective_raw, "[]")
+    if affective_ok {
+        let ts_now: Int = time_now()
+        let ts_cutoff: Int = ts_now - 604800
+        let aff_total: Int = json_array_len(affective_raw)
+        let aff_ctx: String = ""
+        let ai: Int = 0
+        while ai < aff_total {
+            let aff_node: String = json_array_get(affective_raw, ai)
+            let aff_content: String = json_get(aff_node, "content")
+            // Try multiple timestamp fields: "ts" (embedded), "created_at", "updated_at"
+            let aff_ts_str: String = json_get(aff_node, "ts")
+            let aff_ts_str2: String = if str_eq(aff_ts_str, "") { json_get(aff_node, "created_at") } else { aff_ts_str }
+            // Also try embedded " | ts:NNN" format used in BellEvent content
+            let ts_marker: String = " | ts:"
+            let ts_pos: Int = str_index_of(aff_content, ts_marker)
+            let aff_ts_embedded: String = if ts_pos >= 0 {
+                let ts_start: Int = ts_pos + str_len(ts_marker)
+                let rest: String = str_slice(aff_content, ts_start, str_len(aff_content))
+                let next_sep: Int = str_index_of(rest, " | ")
+                if next_sep < 0 { rest } else { str_slice(rest, 0, next_sep) }
+            } else { "" }
+            let eff_ts_str: String = if !str_eq(aff_ts_embedded, "") { aff_ts_embedded } else { aff_ts_str2 }
+            let aff_ts: Int = if str_eq(eff_ts_str, "") { ts_now } else { str_to_int(eff_ts_str) }
+            let is_recent: Bool = aff_ts >= ts_cutoff
+            let snip: String = if str_len(aff_content) > 200 { str_slice(aff_content, 0, 200) } else { aff_content }
+            let aff_ctx = if is_recent && !str_eq(snip, "") {
+                if str_eq(aff_ctx, "") { snip } else { aff_ctx + "\n" + snip }
+            } else { aff_ctx }
+            let ai = ai + 1
+        }
+        if !str_eq(aff_ctx, "") {
+            state_set("soul_affective_context", aff_ctx)
+            println("[soul] cross-session affective context loaded (" + int_to_str(str_len(aff_ctx)) + " chars)")
+        }
     }
 }
 
@@ -247,12 +275,59 @@ fn emit_session_start_event() -> Void {
     }
     let ts: Int = time_now()
 
+    // Load previous session summary at boot — stash in state for session_preload.
+    // Search by label text + type, filter by exact label match to avoid false positives.
+    // engram_get_node_by_label is not a runtime builtin; engram_search_json is used instead.
+    let sum_boot_search: String = engram_search_json("session:summary SessionSummary", 5)
+    let sum_boot_ok: Bool = !str_eq(sum_boot_search, "") && !str_eq(sum_boot_search, "[]")
+    let prev_sum_content: String = if sum_boot_ok {
+        let sbs_total: Int = json_array_len(sum_boot_search)
+        let sbs_i: Int = 0
+        let sbs_found: String = ""
+        while sbs_i < sbs_total {
+            let sbs_node: String = json_array_get(sum_boot_search, sbs_i)
+            let sbs_label: String = json_get(sbs_node, "label")
+            let sbs_type: String = json_get(sbs_node, "node_type")
+            let sbs_content: String = json_get(sbs_node, "content")
+            let sbs_found = if str_eq(sbs_label, "session:summary") && str_eq(sbs_type, "SessionSummary") && !str_eq(sbs_content, "") {
+                if str_eq(sbs_found, "") { sbs_content } else { sbs_found }
+            } else { sbs_found }
+            let sbs_i = sbs_i + 1
+        }
+        if str_eq(sbs_found, "") {
+            let sum_fb: String = engram_search_json("SessionSummary previous-session", 2)
+            let sum_fb_ok: Bool = !str_eq(sum_fb, "") && !str_eq(sum_fb, "[]")
+            if sum_fb_ok {
+                let sfn: String = json_array_get(sum_fb, 0)
+                let sftype: String = json_get(sfn, "node_type")
+                let sfcontent: String = json_get(sfn, "content")
+                if str_eq(sftype, "SessionSummary") && !str_eq(sfcontent, "") { sfcontent } else { "" }
+            } else { "" }
+        } else { sbs_found }
+    } else {
+        let sum_fb2: String = engram_search_json("SessionSummary previous-session", 2)
+        let sum_fb2_ok: Bool = !str_eq(sum_fb2, "") && !str_eq(sum_fb2, "[]")
+        if sum_fb2_ok {
+            let sfn2: String = json_array_get(sum_fb2, 0)
+            let sftype2: String = json_get(sfn2, "node_type")
+            let sfcontent2: String = json_get(sfn2, "content")
+            if str_eq(sftype2, "SessionSummary") && !str_eq(sfcontent2, "") { sfcontent2 } else { "" }
+        } else { "" }
+    }
+    let has_prev_sum: String = if str_eq(prev_sum_content, "") { "false" } else { "true" }
+    if !str_eq(prev_sum_content, "") {
+        state_set("soul_prev_session_summary", prev_sum_content)
+        println("[soul] previous session summary loaded (" + int_to_str(str_len(prev_sum_content)) + " chars)")
+    }
+
+
     let payload: String = "{\"event\":\"session_start\""
         + ",\"boot\":" + boot_num
         + ",\"cgi\":\"" + eff_cgi + "\""
         + ",\"node_count\":" + int_to_str(node_ct)
         + ",\"edge_count\":" + int_to_str(edge_ct)
         + ",\"identity_loaded\":" + has_identity
+        + ",\"prev_session_summary_loaded\":" + has_prev_sum
         + ",\"ts\":" + int_to_str(ts) + "}"
 
     let tags: String = "[\"internal-state\",\"session-start\",\"InternalStateEvent\"]"
@@ -261,7 +336,7 @@ fn emit_session_start_event() -> Void {
         el_from_float(0.9), el_from_float(0.9), el_from_float(1.0),
         "Episodic", tags
     )
-    println("[soul] session-start event logged (boot=" + boot_num + " nodes=" + int_to_str(node_ct) + " edges=" + int_to_str(edge_ct) + ")")
+    println("[soul] session-start event logged (boot=" + boot_num + " nodes=" + int_to_str(node_ct) + " edges=" + int_to_str(edge_ct) + " prev_summary=" + has_prev_sum + ")")
 }
 
 // layered_cycle — routes user-facing requests through the 4-layer consciousness stack.
@@ -341,15 +416,6 @@ fn layered_cycle(raw_input: String) -> String {
     // TODO: wire directly when imprint_respond gains system_override param (imprint.el change).
     // ISSUE 3 TODO: no semantic crisis detection. Keyword-only means signals that evade
     // the phrase list pass with zero augmentation. Semantic layer = separate decision.
-    //
-    // Q8 race documentation: "layered_cycle_safety_system_addendum" is a shared process-global
-    // state key. Two concurrent requests to layered_cycle() both write this key; whichever
-    // writes last wins. The concurrent build_system_prompt() read in chat.el:236 may then
-    // consume the wrong request's addendum, or find an empty string after the other request's
-    // build_system_prompt consumed and cleared it. Mitigation: under http_serve_async, the
-    // layered_cycle path and the /api/chat path are different endpoints (typically); true
-    // concurrent layered_cycle calls are uncommon. A robust fix requires per-request state
-    // scoping which needs C runtime support (e.g. a request-id-keyed addendum map).
     let augmented_addendum: String = safety_augment_system("", raw_input)
     state_set("layered_cycle_safety_system_addendum", augmented_addendum)