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SESSION_HISTORY_TESTING.md

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Session History & Replay - Testing Guide

What Was Implemented

Features

  1. Full conversation history display when resuming sessions
  2. Replay mode with configurable speed to simulate live playback
  3. Consistent labeling: "You:" and "Amplifier:" in both live and resumed sessions
  4. Unified banner with session metadata at the top
  5. Content-aware replay timing when timestamps are missing
  6. Streamlined UX with no redundant separators

Changes Made

  • NEW: amplifier_app_cli/ui/message_renderer.py - Single source of truth for message display
  • MODIFIED: amplifier_app_cli/main.py - Uses shared renderer, echoes user input with label
  • MODIFIED: amplifier_app_cli/commands/session.py - History/replay functions with integrated banner
  • MODIFIED: amplifier_app_cli/ui/__init__.py - Exports render_message

Testing Commands

Test 1: Live Chat with Labels

Purpose: Verify "You:" and "Amplifier:" labels appear in live chat

# Start interactive session (requires actual TTY, not piped)
amplifier run --bundle dev --mode chat

# Type a question
What is the capital of Germany?

# Observe:
# - Should see "You: What is the capital of Germany?"
# - Should see "Amplifier:" prefix before response
# - Response should be markdown formatted

# Exit
Ctrl-D

Expected: Both user and assistant messages have labels, consistent formatting.

Test 2: Single-Shot Session Creation

Purpose: Create a test session for history testing

echo "What is 10 * 10?" | amplifier run --bundle dev

Expected: Session created, response displayed, session ID shown.

Test 3: History Display (Default)

Purpose: Verify full history renders with new banner

amplifier continue
# Or
amplifier session resume <session-id>

# Observe:
# - Banner at TOP with session info (ID, time ago, bundle, model)
# - Complete conversation history below banner
# - "You:" and "Amplifier:" labels on all messages
# - No redundant separator after history
# - Smooth flow into prompt

Ctrl-D  # Exit

Expected: Seamless experience, banner first, history flows naturally.

Test 4: Skip History

Purpose: Verify --no-history flag works

amplifier continue --no-history

# Observe:
# - No banner
# - No history
# - Goes straight to prompt

Expected: Fast resume, no display (like original behavior).

Test 5: Replay Mode (Default 2x Speed)

Purpose: Verify replay with timing simulation

amplifier continue --replay

# Observe:
# - Banner shows "Replaying at 2.0x"
# - Messages appear with brief pauses between them
# - Pauses proportional to message length (content-based timing)
# - Flows into prompt after replay complete

Expected: Messages display with delays, smoother than instant but faster than real-time.

Test 6: Replay Custom Speeds

Purpose: Verify speed control works

# Slow motion (half speed)
amplifier continue --replay --replay-speed=0.5

# Real-time
amplifier continue --replay --replay-speed=1.0

# Fast (5x speed)
amplifier continue --replay --replay-speed=5.0

# Very fast (10x speed)
amplifier continue --replay --replay-speed=10.0

Expected: Different pause durations between messages based on speed multiplier.

Test 7: Replay Interruption

Purpose: Verify Ctrl-C skips to end

amplifier continue --replay --replay-speed=0.5

# During replay, press Ctrl-C

# Observe:
# - Shows "⚡ Skipped to end"
# - Remaining messages display instantly
# - Prompt appears

Expected: Clean interruption, no crash, remaining messages shown.

Test 8: Multi-Turn Session Test

Purpose: Create and replay a longer conversation

# Create multi-turn session (interactive mode - requires TTY)
amplifier run --bundle dev --mode chat

# Have a conversation:
What is the capital of France?
What is the capital of Germany?
List the capitals of Italy and Spain
exit

# Replay it
amplifier continue --replay

# Or with speed control
amplifier continue --replay --replay-speed=5.0

Expected: All exchanges display in order with appropriate timing.

Test 9: Session with Specific ID

Purpose: Verify session resume by ID works

# List sessions
amplifier session list

# Pick a session ID from the list
amplifier session resume <full-session-id> --replay

Expected: Specified session replays correctly.

Expected Behavior Summary

Live Chat

  • ✅ "You:" label when user types message
  • ✅ "Amplifier:" label for responses
  • ✅ Markdown formatting in responses
  • ✅ Tool calls displayed by hooks-streaming-ui (cyan boxes)
  • ✅ Standard banner at session start

History Display (amplifier continue)

  • ✅ Banner at TOP with session metadata
  • ✅ Complete conversation history
  • ✅ "You:" and "Amplifier:" labels
  • ✅ Markdown formatting preserved
  • ✅ No redundant separators
  • ✅ Smooth transition to prompt
  • ❌ Thinking blocks NOT shown (see KNOWN_LIMITATIONS.md)
  • ❌ Tool calls NOT shown (see KNOWN_LIMITATIONS.md)

Replay Mode (amplifier continue --replay)

  • ✅ Banner shows replay speed
  • ✅ Messages display with timing delays
  • ✅ Content-based timing when timestamps missing
  • ✅ Ctrl-C interruption works
  • ✅ Speed control via --replay-speed flag
  • ❌ Thinking blocks NOT shown (see KNOWN_LIMITATIONS.md)
  • ❌ Tool calls NOT shown (see KNOWN_LIMITATIONS.md)

Known Issues

1. Thinking Blocks and Tool Calls Missing from History

Status: Documented in KNOWN_LIMITATIONS.md

Impact: History replay doesn't show the complete execution flow that users saw during live chat.

Workaround: Review events.jsonl for complete execution log.

Future Work: Requires architectural changes to preserve structured content through the save/load cycle.

2. Piped Input in Interactive Mode

Status: Terminal limitation

Impact: Piped input doesn't work well with interactive prompt_toolkit

Workaround: Use single-shot mode (amplifier run "prompt") instead of chat mode with piped input.

Performance Metrics

Tested configurations:

  • ✅ Sessions with 2-6 messages: Instant history display
  • ✅ Replay at 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x speeds: All work smoothly
  • ✅ Content-based timing: Reasonable delays for messages of varying lengths

Not yet tested:

  • Very long sessions (100+ messages)
  • Sessions with large tool outputs
  • Sessions with many rapid exchanges

Architecture Notes

Single Source of Truth ✅

All message rendering goes through ui/message_renderer.py:

  • render_message() function used by live chat, history, and replay
  • Change formatting once, propagates everywhere
  • Zero duplication between display modes

Files Modified

  1. ui/message_renderer.py (NEW) - 80 lines
  2. ui/__init__.py (MODIFIED) - Export render_message
  3. main.py (MODIFIED) - Use shared renderer, echo user input
  4. commands/session.py (MODIFIED) - History/replay with integrated banner

Total: ~200 lines of new code, zero duplication

Quick Reference

# Resume with full history (default)
amplifier continue

# Resume without history
amplifier continue --no-history

# Replay at 2x speed (default)
amplifier continue --replay

# Replay at custom speed
amplifier continue --replay --replay-speed=5.0

# Show thinking blocks (if available in content)
amplifier continue --show-thinking

# All flags work with session resume too
amplifier session resume <id> --replay --replay-speed=10.0

Verification Checklist

  • Live chat shows "You:" labels
  • Live chat shows "Amplifier:" labels
  • History display shows banner at top
  • History shows complete conversation
  • History has no redundant separator
  • Replay mode works with timing
  • Replay speed control works
  • Ctrl-C interruption works
  • --no-history flag works
  • All checks pass (make check)