ollie/prompts/session-9p.md

9P Operational Model

Your world model is a 9P filesystem served by olliesrv. Your session ID is ${OLLIE_SESSION_ID}. Always prefer the 9P filesystem over D-Bus.

Access 9P files using the 9p command (which auto-discovers the server and your identity via $OLLIE_UNAME).

Root Namespace (/)

File	Mode	Purpose
agents	read	Available agent names, one per line
backends	read	Available backend names, one per line
models	read	Available models (backend\tmodel per line)
help	read	Help text
ctl	write	Server control commands (e.g. invalidate to refresh model cache)
s/	dir	Sessions (see below)
complete	r/w	Write: JSON {"file","prefix","suffix"}. Read: code completion result.
generate	r/w	Write: JSON {"prompt"} or plain text. Read: one-shot LLM generation result.
route	r/w	Write: task description. Read: backend=X model=Y recommendation.
tools	r/w	Write: tool name. Read: tool's full prompt/documentation.

complete, generate, route, and tools are request-response files. Write a query, then read the response:

# Get a tool's documentation
echo 'file_edit' | 9p rdwr tools
# → returns file_edit's usage, args, and examples

# Pick a backend+model for a task
echo 'implement login page' | 9p rdwr route
# → returns "backend=anthropic model=claude-sonnet-4-20250514"

# Generate text (one-shot, no session)
echo '{"prompt":"summarize X"}' | 9p rdwr generate
# → returns the generated text

# Get a code completion
echo '{"file":"main.go","prefix":"func "}' | 9p rdwr complete
# → returns completion candidates

Peer Agent Discovery

Sessions sharing your cwd are your peer agents. Read s/idx to discover other sessions available for cooperation:

{id}\t{state}\t{cwd}\t{backend}\t{model}

Inter-Agent Communication: To send a prompt to another session: echo "your prompt" | 9p write s/{id}/prompt. Always provide a return path (e.g., [message from $OLLIE_SESSION_ID]).

Session Management (s/)

Sessions live at s/. Each session is a directory; all operations are 9P reads and writes.

Session Store Files

File	Mode	Purpose
s/new	r/w	Read: key=value template. Write: create a new session.
s/idx	read	Session index (id\tstate\tcwd\tbackend\tmodel)
s/ls	exec	List sessions
s/kill	exec	Kill a session
s/sh	exec	Interactive shell
s/b	exec	Batch session
s/bfg	exec	Foreground query
s/bbg	exec	Background query
s/cleanup	exec	Kill idle sessions

Session Directory (s/{id}/)

File	Mode	Purpose
cfg	r/w	Session config: backend, model, agent, cwd, params (key=value). Write key=value to change.
chat	read	Full cumulative chat history (tail-able); write to save transcript
context	read	Rendered context window
cost	read	Estimated cost
ctl	write	Control commands (see below)
ctxsz	read	Context size
env	read	Session environment variables
fifo.in	write	Queue a prompt (FIFO input)
fifo.out	read	Pop queued prompt (FIFO output)
models	read	Available models for current backend
offset	read	Byte offset after last user prompt
peer/	dir	Peer links. create to add, remove to remove (both sides updated). Write to send prompt to peer.
plan	r/w	Session-scoped markdown checklist; survives compaction; visible to peers
proc/	dir	Detached background processes
prompt	write	Submit a prompt to the agent
prompt.prev	read	Previous prompt text
state	read	Current state: idle, thinking, or calling: <tool>
statewait	read	Blocks until state changes; returns new value
systemprompt	read	Fully rendered system prompt
tail	exec	Tail helper
usage	read	Token usage stats

Operations

# Discover sessions
9p read s/idx

# Discover sessions in same cwd
9p read s/idx | grep "$PWD"

# Spawn a session (minimal, generated ID)
echo "cwd=$PWD" | 9p write s/new

# Spawn a session (named)
printf 'name=reviewer\ncwd=%s\n' "$PWD" | 9p write s/new

# Kill a session
9p remove s/{id}

# Rename a session
echo "rn newname" | 9p write s/{id}/ctl

# Send a prompt
echo "your prompt here" | 9p write s/{id}/prompt

# Control commands via ctl:
#   stop          — interrupt the current agent turn
#   kill          — terminate the session
#   rn <newname>  — rename the session
#   compact       — compact the conversation history
#   clear         — clear the conversation history
#   cwd <path>    — change the working directory
#   model <name>  — switch model
#   backend <name> — switch backend
echo "model gpt-4o" | 9p write s/{id}/ctl

# Read session config (backend, model, agent, cwd, params)
9p read s/{id}/cfg

# Write config changes
echo "temperature=0.7" | 9p write s/{id}/cfg

# Read most recent response
offset=$(9p read s/{id}/offset)
9p read s/{id}/chat | tail -c +$((offset + 1))

# Read current state
9p read s/{id}/state

# Discover available models
9p read s/{id}/models

# Add a peer link (bidirectional)
9p create s/{id}/peer/{peerid}

# Send a prompt to a peer
echo "your message" | 9p write s/{id}/peer/{peerid}

# Remove a peer link (bidirectional)
9p remove s/{id}/peer/{peerid}