Chronicle Remote Summarizer

How It Works

Chronicle provides import-and-summarize --quiet which:

1. Creates temporary session with negative ID (e.g., -3)
2. Generates AI summary using Gemini
3. Auto-cleanup: Deletes temporary session and files
4. Outputs clean JSON to stdout (no status messages with --quiet)

No pollution between systems - the remote session stays on the remote system, only the summary is transferred.

Recommended Workflow: One-Line Command

Prerequisites:

• SSH access from local machine to remote machine
• Chronicle installed on both systems
• Gemini API key configured on local machine (chronicle config ai.gemini_api_key YOUR_KEY)
• Optional: Remote system configured in Chronicle config (automates hostname/path)

Step 1: Configure Remote System (One-Time Setup)

# Configure FreeBSD remote system
chronicle config remote_systems.freebsd.hostname "chandlerhardy-dev.aws0.pla-net.cc"
chronicle config remote_systems.freebsd.chronicle_path "/home/chandlerhardy/.local/bin/chronicle"

# Verify configuration
chronicle config --list | grep freebsd

Step 2: Use the Skill

When Claude uses this skill and finds remote system configuration, it will automatically construct the command:

ssh chandlerhardy-dev.aws0.pla-net.cc "/home/chandlerhardy/.local/bin/chronicle export-session 7" | chronicle import-and-summarize --quiet 2>&1 | grep -A 999999 '^{$' | ssh chandlerhardy-dev.aws0.pla-net.cc "/home/chandlerhardy/.local/bin/chronicle import-summary"

If no config found, Claude will ask for the hostname and construct the command interactively:

Command (Manual):

ssh <remote-host> "chronicle export-session <id>" | chronicle import-and-summarize --quiet 2>&1 | grep -A 999999 '^{$' | ssh <remote-host> "chronicle import-summary"

Example:

ssh freebsd "chronicle export-session 7" | chronicle import-and-summarize --quiet 2>&1 | grep -A 999999 '^{$' | ssh freebsd "chronicle import-summary"

Note: The grep -A 999999 '^{$' filters out Google library warnings that can leak through even with --quiet and 2>/dev/null.

What this does:

1. Remote → Local: Export session 7 as JSON
2. Local: Import, summarize with Gemini, auto-cleanup temporary session
3. Local → Remote: Send summary JSON back
4. Remote: Update session 7 with the summary

Why --quiet works:

• Suppresses ALL status messages from summarizer
• Outputs ONLY clean JSON to stdout (essential for piping)
• No need to manually extract JSON from verbose output
• 2>/dev/null suppresses Google library warnings (harmless)

Time: Typically 30-60 seconds for large sessions (depends on transcript size)

Alternative: Manual 3-Step Workflow

If SSH pipes hang or you need to inspect intermediate files:

Step 1: Export session from remote

ssh <remote-host> "chronicle export-session <id>" > /tmp/session_<id>.json

Example:

ssh freebsd "chronicle export-session 7" > /tmp/session_7.json

Step 2: Summarize locally (transient)

cat /tmp/session_<id>.json | chronicle import-and-summarize --quiet 2>/dev/null > /tmp/summary.json

Example:

cat /tmp/session_7.json | chronicle import-and-summarize --quiet 2>/dev/null > /tmp/summary.json

What happens:

• Creates temporary session (negative ID like -3)
• Generates summary with Gemini
• Auto-cleanup: Deletes temporary session and transcript files
• Outputs summary JSON to /tmp/summary.json

Step 3: Send summary back to remote

cat /tmp/summary.json | ssh <remote-host> "chronicle import-summary"

Example:

cat /tmp/summary.json | ssh freebsd "chronicle import-summary"

Result:

• ✅ Summary stored in remote database linked to original session
• ✅ Local system stays clean (temporary session auto-deleted)
• ✅ No data pollution between systems

What Actually Happens (Under the Hood)

On import-and-summarize --quiet:

1. Import: Reads session JSON from stdin
2. Create Temporary Session:
   • Assigns negative ID (e.g., -1, -2, -3)
   • Stores transcript in ~/.ai-session/sessions/session_-3.cleaned
   • Creates database entry with is_session=True
3. Summarize:
   • Runs summarize_session_chunked() with Gemini API
   • Processes large transcripts in chunks (10,000 lines per chunk)
   • Updates session with AI-generated summary
4. Output JSON:

   {
     "version": "1.0",
     "original_id": 7,
     "summary": "AI-generated summary...",
     "summary_generated": true,
     "keywords": ["feature", "implementation", "testing"]
   }
   

5. Auto-Cleanup:
   • Deletes transcript file (session_-3.cleaned)
   • Deletes database entry (temporary session)
   • Only the summary JSON remains (piped to stdout)

On import-summary (remote side):

1. Read JSON: Reads summary from stdin
2. Find Session: Looks up session by original_id (e.g., 7)
3. Update: Sets response_summary, summary_generated=True, keywords
4. Done: Session 7 now has the AI summary

Session Examples

Tested with:

• Session 1: 16.3 minutes, system test
• Session 2: 66.7 minutes, large session
• Session 4: 23KB JSON export

All sessions work perfectly with this workflow.

Troubleshooting

SSH Pipes Hang

Symptom: Command hangs indefinitely

Solution: Use manual 3-step workflow instead:

# Step 1: Export to file
ssh freebsd "chronicle export-session 7" > /tmp/session.json

# Step 2: Process locally
cat /tmp/session.json | chronicle import-and-summarize --quiet > /tmp/summary.json

# Step 3: Send back
cat /tmp/summary.json | ssh freebsd "chronicle import-summary"

Gemini API Not Configured

Symptom: ImportError: google-generativeai package not installed

Solution: Configure Gemini API key on local machine:

chronicle config ai.gemini_api_key YOUR_API_KEY_HERE

Get free API key: https://ai.google.dev/

Session Not Found

Symptom: Session 7 not found

Solution: Check session exists on remote:

ssh freebsd "chronicle sessions --limit 20"

Summary Already Exists

Behavior: import-and-summarize will overwrite existing summaries

Note: This is by design - you can re-summarize sessions if needed.

Tips

• Use --quiet flag: Essential for piping - suppresses status messages
• Suppress stderr: Add 2>/dev/null to hide Google library warnings
• Check SSH paths: Remote Chronicle might be in ~/.local/bin/chronicle
• Inspect files: Use 3-step workflow to save intermediate JSON for debugging
• Large sessions: 10K+ line transcripts are chunked automatically (no action needed)
• Network failures: Use 3-step workflow for unreliable connections
• Batch processing: You can script this to process multiple sessions

How Claude Should Use This Skill

When invoked, Claude should:

1. Check for remote system config:

   chronicle config --list | grep remote_systems
   

2. If config exists (e.g., remote_systems.freebsd.hostname):

   • Read hostname: chronicle config remote_systems.freebsd.hostname
   • Read chronicle path: chronicle config remote_systems.freebsd.chronicle_path
   • Construct command automatically
   • Announce: "Found FreeBSD config, using: <hostname>"

3. If no config exists:

   • Ask user: "What's the hostname of your remote system?"
   • Ask: "What's the path to chronicle on the remote? (default: chronicle)"
   • Optionally suggest: "I can save this to config for future use"
   • Construct command with user-provided values

4. Run the command and monitor output

5. Confirm success or handle errors

Example Usage

User: "I have session 7 on my FreeBSD dev machine that needs summarization, but FreeBSD doesn't have Gemini API. Can you summarize it here on my Mac?"

Assistant (with config):

1. Checks config: chronicle config remote_systems.freebsd.hostname
2. Finds: chandlerhardy-dev.aws0.pla-net.cc
3. Announces: "Found FreeBSD config, using chandlerhardy-dev.aws0.pla-net.cc"
4. Runs the command:

   ssh chandlerhardy-dev.aws0.pla-net.cc "/home/chandlerhardy/.local/bin/chronicle export-session 7" | chronicle import-and-summarize --quiet 2>&1 | grep -A 999999 '^{$' | ssh chandlerhardy-dev.aws0.pla-net.cc "/home/chandlerhardy/.local/bin/chronicle import-summary"
   

5. Confirms: "Session 7 summarized successfully and summary imported back to FreeBSD"

Assistant (without config):

1. Checks config: chronicle config --list | grep remote_systems
2. No FreeBSD config found
3. Asks: "What's your FreeBSD hostname?"
4. User provides: chandlerhardy-dev.aws0.pla-net.cc
5. Asks: "What's the path to chronicle on FreeBSD? (press Enter for default 'chronicle')"
6. User provides: /home/chandlerhardy/.local/bin/chronicle
7. Suggests: "I can save this to config for future use. Would you like me to?"
8. Runs the command with provided values
9. If user agrees, saves config for next time

If one-liner hangs:

1. Falls back to 3-step workflow
2. Exports to /tmp/session_7.json
3. Processes locally → /tmp/summary.json
4. Imports summary back to remote
5. Confirms success

Advanced Usage

Batch Summarize Multiple Sessions

# List unsummarized sessions on remote
ssh freebsd "chronicle sessions --limit 50" | grep "No summary"

# For each session ID (7, 8, 9):
for id in 7 8 9; do
  echo "Summarizing session $id..."
  ssh freebsd "chronicle export-session $id" | \
    chronicle import-and-summarize --quiet 2>/dev/null | \
    ssh freebsd "chronicle import-summary"
done

Inspect Summary Before Importing

# Export and summarize
ssh freebsd "chronicle export-session 7" | \
  chronicle import-and-summarize --quiet 2>/dev/null > /tmp/summary.json

# Review summary
cat /tmp/summary.json | jq '.summary'

# If satisfied, import
cat /tmp/summary.json | ssh freebsd "chronicle import-summary"

Debug Verbose Output

If you need to see what's happening, remove --quiet:

ssh freebsd "chronicle export-session 7" | chronicle import-and-summarize
# Shows: "Importing session...", "Summarizing...", "Cleaning up...", then JSON

Note: Without --quiet, JSON is NOT at line 1, so it won't pipe cleanly to import-summary.

Related Commands

• chronicle export-session <id> - Export session as JSON
• chronicle import-session - Import session (permanent, gets new ID)
• chronicle import-and-summarize - Import + summarize + auto-cleanup (transient)
• chronicle import-summary - Update existing session with summary
• chronicle session <id> - View session details and summary

See Also

• REMOTE_SUMMARIZE_WORKFLOW.md - Full workflow documentation with examples
• tests/test_import_export.py - 17 tests covering all import/export scenarios
• chronicle-session-documenter - Document sessions to Obsidian vault after summarization