Hot vs Cold Sessions Explained

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{
  "id": "0f181311-1c61-4fd5-a7fd-7d8b17d0bd71",
  "type": "general",
  "status": "completed",
  "title": "Hot vs Cold Sessions Explained",
  "description": "Explaining the difference between auth tokens and Claude process lifecycle",
  "context": {
    "output": "<div style=\"background:#1e1e1e;color:#e0e0e0;padding:20px;border-radius:8px;font-family:sans-serif;\">\n<h2 style=\"color:#fff;margin:0 0 16px 0;\">🔥 Hot vs Cold: Two Different Things</h2>\n\n<div style=\"background:#3d2d1a;padding:16px;border-radius:6px;margin-bottom:16px;border-left:4px solid #f97316;\">\n<strong style=\"color:#f97316;\">Short answer:</strong>\n<span style=\"color:#e0e0e0;\"> The <strong>auth token</strong> is now hot (cached). But the <strong>Claude process</strong> still spins up fresh each turn.</span>\n</div>\n\n<div style=\"background:#2d2d2d;padding:16px;border-radius:6px;margin-bottom:16px;\">\n<h3 style=\"margin:0 0 12px 0;color:#61afef;\">Two Separate Concepts</h3>\n<table style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;\">\n<tr style=\"border-bottom:1px solid #444;\"><th style=\"padding:10px;text-align:left;color:#7f848e;\"></th><th style=\"padding:10px;text-align:left;color:#7f848e;\">Auth Token</th><th style=\"padding:10px;text-align:left;color:#7f848e;\">Claude Process</th></tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#7f848e;\">What it is</td><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#e0e0e0;\">Session in <code>sessions.json</code></td><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#e0e0e0;\">The actual Claude CLI binary</td></tr>\n<tr style=\"background:#3d3d3d;\"><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#7f848e;\">Lifecycle</td><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#98c379;\">✓ Now cached (1/turn)</td><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#e5c07b;\">Fresh spawn per turn</td></tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#7f848e;\">Startup time</td><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#98c379;\">~50ms → 0ms</td><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#e5c07b;\">~2-3 seconds</td></tr>\n<tr style=\"background:#3d3d3d;\"><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#7f848e;\">Why</td><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#7f848e;\">Fixed ✓</td><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#7f848e;\">Safety/isolation</td></tr>\n</table>\n</div>\n\n<div style=\"background:#2d2d2d;padding:16px;border-radius:6px;margin-bottom:16px;\">\n<h3 style=\"margin:0 0 12px 0;color:#c678dd;\">Current Flow (per turn)</h3>\n<pre style=\"background:#1e1e1e;padding:12px;border-radius:4px;overflow-x:auto;color:#e0e0e0;line-height:1.6;margin:0;\">\n<span style=\"color:#7f848e;\">You send message</span>\n       ↓\n<span style=\"color:#e5c07b;\">konsole</span> spawns new Claude process  <span style=\"color:#f97316;\">← ~2-3s cold start</span>\n       ↓\n<span style=\"color:#a855f7;\">Claude</span> starts MCP server\n       ↓\n<span style=\"color:#61afef;\">MCP</span> logs in once, caches token     <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">← Fixed! (was 160 logins)</span>\n       ↓\n<span style=\"color:#a855f7;\">Claude</span> does work (uses cached token)\n       ↓\n<span style=\"color:#a855f7;\">Claude</span> process exits\n</pre>\n</div>\n\n<div style=\"background:#2d2d2d;padding:16px;border-radius:6px;margin-bottom:16px;\">\n<h3 style=\"margin:0 0 12px 0;color:#98c379;\">Could We Make Claude Hot?</h3>\n<p style=\"color:#e0e0e0;margin:0 0 12px 0;\">Yes! Konsole actually has a <strong>session pool</strong> for Quick Turn mode:</p>\n<table style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;\">\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 0;color:#7f848e;vertical-align:top;width:100px;\">Quick Turn</td><td style=\"padding:8px;color:#e0e0e0;\">Uses pooled sessions - instant response, but <strong>no tools</strong> (can't create kontasks, read files, etc.)</td></tr>\n<tr><td style=\"padding:8px 0;color:#7f848e;vertical-align:top;\">Full Turn</td><td style=\"padding:8px;color:#e0e0e0;\">Fresh spawn - has full tool access but ~2-3s startup</td></tr>\n</table>\n<p style=\"color:#7f848e;margin:12px 0 0 0;font-size:0.9em;\">A \"hot full session\" would require keeping Claude processes alive between turns - more complex and has memory/resource implications.</p>\n</div>\n\n<div style=\"background:#2d3d2d;padding:12px 16px;border-radius:6px;border-left:4px solid #98c379;\">\n<strong style=\"color:#98c379;\">💡 TL;DR:</strong>\n<span style=\"color:#e0e0e0;\"> We fixed the auth token spam (162→1). The Claude process still cold-starts each turn for safety. Hot sessions exist for Quick Turn but without tools.</span>\n</div>\n</div>",
    "requestedAt": "2026-01-05T12:50:00.000Z",
    "requestId": "90966633-f52e-48ff-b53f-2d31a37f4e01",
    "choices": [
      {
        "label": "Try Quick Turn",
        "value": "Show me how to use Quick Turn mode for fast responses",
        "primary": true
      },
      {
        "label": "Hot full session?",
        "value": "What would it take to implement a hot full session with tools?"
      },
      {
        "label": "Commit changes",
        "value": "Commit the MCP server token caching changes to git"
      }
    ],
    "turnTiming": {
      "totalMs": 40356,
      "ttfeMs": 4695,
      "thinkingMs": 35292,
      "toolExecutionMs": 367,
      "toolCallCount": 1,
      "thinkingPct": 87,
      "toolsPct": 1,
      "ttfePct": 12
    }
  },
  "createdBy": "claude",
  "createdAt": "2026-01-05T13:12:07.831Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-01-05T13:12:16.789Z",
  "requestId": "90966633-f52e-48ff-b53f-2d31a37f4e01",
  "scope": "vibetools",
  "tags": [
    "sessions",
    "architecture",
    "performance"
  ],
  "targetUser": "claude"
}