# Cortex UI — Help & Reference

*This file is loaded into Inara's context at Tier 2+ so she can help Scott navigate the interface. It is also displayed in the web UI via the **?** button.*

*Last updated: 2026-03-17*

---

## Header Controls

| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Sessions** | Open the sessions panel — list, resume, or start sessions |
| **Files** | Open the identity file editor (SOUL, MEMORY, etc.) |
| **⚙ N** | Open the Settings panel (N = current context tier) |
| **?** | Open this help panel |

The **⚙ Settings** panel contains all configuration options:

| Section | Controls |
|---|---|
| **Context Tier** | T1 – T4 context depth |
| **Memory Layers** | Toggle Long / Mid / Short memory on/off |
| **Distill Memory** | Manually trigger short / mid / long / all distillation |
| **Backend** | Active LLM backend — click to toggle claude ↔ gemini |
| **Display** | Aa/A+/A− font size cycle · ☾/☀ theme toggle |

All header settings (theme, font size, tier, memory layers) persist in `localStorage` across page refreshes.

---

## Chat

- **Send:** `Ctrl+Enter` by default. Click `⌃↵` in the input controls to toggle to plain `Enter` mode.
- **Stop:** Click **Stop** to cancel an in-progress response at any time.
- **Edit a message:** Hover over any message → click **edit**. `Ctrl+Enter` saves, `Esc` cancels.
- **Delete a message:** Hover over any message → click **del**. Removes from session history.
- **Copy a response:** Hover over any assistant message → click **copy**.
- **New line while typing:** `Shift+Enter` (in `Ctrl+Enter` mode) or `Shift+Enter` / Enter (in Enter mode).

---

## Sessions

Sessions are named conversation threads that persist across page refreshes.

- Click **Sessions** → **+ New** to start a fresh session.
- Click any listed session to resume it — full history loads instantly.
- Sessions from Nextcloud Talk appear as `nct_*` prefixed IDs.
- A blue **●** badge appears on the Sessions button when Talk activity arrives in a session you're not currently viewing.

---

## Notes

Notes are injected into a session without triggering an LLM response.

- Click **Note** to toggle note mode. The input border changes colour.
- **Private note** (amber border) — visible only in the UI, never sent to the LLM.
- **Context note** (teal border) — persisted to session history so the LLM sees it on the next turn. Useful for nudging context without a full message.
- Click the `private / public` label to switch between note types.

---

## Backends

- **Claude CLI** and **Gemini CLI** are both available. One is primary, the other is fallback.
- Click **⚙** → **Backend** to toggle between `claude` and `gemini` as the primary.
- If the primary fails or times out, the fallback is used automatically. A **⚡** notice appears in the chat when this happens.
- Timeouts: Claude 60s, Gemini 120s.

---

## Nextcloud Talk Bot

Inara is registered as a bot in Nextcloud Talk.

- Messages sent in enabled Talk conversations are received by Cortex, processed, and replied to by Inara.
- The webhook returns `200 OK` immediately; the LLM call and reply happen asynchronously.
- Real-time updates stream to the web UI via SSE — you see Talk messages and responses appear live.
- To enable the bot in a conversation: open Talk conversation settings → Bots → enable Inara.

---

## Files (Identity Editor)

The **Files** button opens an editor for Inara's identity and memory files:

| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `SOUL.md` | Core personality, values, and voice |
| `IDENTITY.md` | Role, capabilities, and context |
| `USER.md` | Scott's profile, preferences, and history |
| `PROTOCOLS.md` | Behavioural rules and communication protocols |
| `CONTEXT_TIERS.md` | Defines what gets loaded at each context tier |
| `MEMORY_LONG.md` | Permanent curated long-term memory |
| `MEMORY_MID.md` | Rolling mid-term digest (LLM-distilled) |
| `MEMORY_SHORT.md` | Recent session rollup (auto-aggregated) |
| `HELP.md` | This file |

Toggle **preview** / **edit** to switch between rendered markdown and raw text. **Ctrl+S** saves, **Esc** closes.

---

## Context & Memory ( ⚙ panel )

### Context Tiers

Controls how much context is prepended to each LLM call:

| Tier | Loads | ~Tokens |
|---|---|---|
| **T1** | SOUL + IDENTITY + USER summary | ~1,500 |
| **T2** | + USER full + PROTOCOLS + HELP + memory layers | ~5,000 |
| **T3** | + last 2 raw session logs | ~15,000 |
| **T4** | + last 7 raw session logs | ~50,000 |

Default is T2. Use T1 for small/local models. Use T3–T4 for complex multi-session tasks.

### Memory Layers

Three independently toggleable memory files, loaded **Long → Mid → Short** (short sits closest to the conversation turn for better LLM recall):

| Layer | File | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| **Long** | `MEMORY_LONG.md` | Permanent facts — origin, key decisions, Scott's profile highlights |
| **Mid** | `MEMORY_MID.md` | Rolling digest of recent weeks — LLM-distilled from Short |
| **Short** | `MEMORY_SHORT.md` | Recent session rollup — auto-aggregated from session log files |

Toggle any layer off to save tokens for a focused conversation where history isn't needed.

### Memory Distillation (manual)

Distillation builds up the memory layers from raw session logs. Currently **manual** — trigger via the ⚙ panel:

| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| **short** | Rolls recent session log files → `MEMORY_SHORT.md` (fast, no LLM) |
| **mid** | LLM summarizes `MEMORY_SHORT.md` → `MEMORY_MID.md` |
| **long** | LLM integrates `MEMORY_MID.md` → `MEMORY_LONG.md` |
| **all** | Runs short → mid → long in sequence |

**Recommended workflow:**
- Run **short** after any productive session to capture it.
- Run **mid** weekly to distil short → mid.
- Run **long** monthly to absorb mid into permanent memory.

Token budgets for each layer are set in `.env` (`MEMORY_BUDGET_LONG`, `MEMORY_BUDGET_MID`, `MEMORY_BUDGET_SHORT`).

---

## Keyboard Shortcuts

| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| `Ctrl+Enter` | Send message (default mode) |
| `Enter` | Send (when in Enter mode) |
| `Shift+Enter` | New line in message input |
| `Ctrl+Enter` | Save inline message edit |
| `Esc` | Cancel inline edit |
| `Ctrl+S` | Save file (Files modal) |
| `Esc` | Close any open modal |

---

## API Reference

For direct access or scripting:

| Method | Endpoint | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `POST` | `/chat` | Send a message — returns SSE stream |
| `GET` | `/backend` | Get current primary/fallback backends |
| `POST` | `/backend` | Set primary backend (`{"primary": "claude"}`) |
| `GET` | `/sessions` | List all sessions |
| `GET` | `/history/{id}` | Get session message history |
| `PUT` | `/history/{id}` | Replace full session history |
| `GET` | `/events` | SSE stream for real-time Talk activity |
| `POST` | `/note` | Inject a context note into a session |
| `GET` | `/files` | List identity files |
| `GET` | `/files/{name}` | Read a file |
| `PUT` | `/files/{name}` | Write a file |
| `POST` | `/distill/short` | Aggregate session logs → MEMORY_SHORT |
| `POST` | `/distill/mid` | Summarize short → MEMORY_MID (LLM) |
| `POST` | `/distill/long` | Integrate mid → MEMORY_LONG (LLM) |
| `POST` | `/distill/all` | Run all three distillation steps |
| `GET` | `/distill/status` | Show scheduler status and next run times |
| `GET` | `/health` | Health check — returns `{"status": "ok"}` |

Chat request body (`POST /chat`):
```json
{
  "message": "string",
  "session_id": "string | null",
  "tier": 1,
  "model": "claude | gemini | null",
  "include_long": true,
  "include_mid": true,
  "include_short": true
}
```

---

## In Progress / Planned

- **Auto memory distillation (long)** — short and mid run automatically; long-term integration is off by default (set `AUTO_DISTILL_LONG=true` in `.env` to enable)
- **Ollama local model backend** — direct Ollama API support (no CLI wrapper)
- **OAuth token auto-refresh notifications** — ✓ implemented: amber banner shown when Claude CLI token is within 24h of expiry (check `GET /auth/status`)
- **Multi-user support** — per-user identity/memory files; currently single-user (Scott)

---

*Cortex is Scott's personal AI orchestration system. Inara is its primary resident agent.*
*Built on FastAPI + Claude CLI + Gemini CLI. Named after Firefly.*