0169: Conversation context can start fresh

Status: Accepted

Context

The default Clankie conversation has a stable identity and accumulates model context. Clearing the console only changes presentation. Creating a different conversation leaves the default routing target and its model context intact.

Decision

The shared conversation API exposes a revision-guarded reset operation, projected by clankie reset --conversation ID and TUI /reset. It preserves identity and durable memory while replacing the service-owned transcript and Pi session with fresh metadata. The previous directory remains in a sibling conversation-archives directory, outside live-history pruning.

Remote reset requires the device’s steer grant.

Reset refuses active turns, open side conversations, unsupported scopes, and an externally bound default seat. An external harness owns its own context; resetting its service projection cannot reset that context.

The store stages fresh metadata before renaming the live directory to its archive, then installs the staged directory. A failed installation restores the original directory. Startup completes an interrupted swap when the archive and pending metadata exist and the live directory is absent. Reset clears cached sessions, conversation goals, and watches through the existing cleanup hook. Advancing the retained cursor boundary forces old observers to recover.

Consequences

The root can start fresh without deleting history or changing webhook routing. Archives consume disk until explicitly removed. Persona, settings, and durable memory remain available to new sessions. Reset is distinct from screen clearing and from creating another conversation.