> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.wednesdayai.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Session Journal

# Session Journal

When an agent session resets via `/new` or `/reset`, WednesdayAI can write a reflective journal entry
capturing what was discussed — useful for ongoing conversational workflows where a written record matters.

Journal entries are Markdown files written to the agent's workspace. In multi-user mode they are
isolated per user lane, so each user's journal is private.

## Who it is for

Session journal is designed for agents that hold ongoing conversations across sessions:
coaching, patient-facing assistants, customer support, educational tutors, or any
scenario where the operator needs a durable record of each interaction.

## Enabling session journal

Two steps are required:

**Step 1 — Enable the hook:**

```bash theme={"dark"}
wednesdayai hooks enable session-journal
```

**Step 2 — Opt the agent in via `openclaw.json`:**

```json5 theme={"dark"}
{
  agents: {
    list: [
      {
        id: "claire",
        sessionJournal: {
          enabled: true,
        },
      },
    ],
  },
}
```

Both steps are required. The hook must be enabled at the gateway level, and the agent must opt in
individually — other agents on the same gateway are not affected.

## Configuration

| Field     | Type      | Default  | Description                                                                                                                                                            |
| --------- | --------- | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `enabled` | `boolean` | `false`  | Must be `true` to activate journal generation                                                                                                                          |
| `prompt`  | `string`  | built-in | LLM prompt used to write the journal entry. Include `{transcript}` where the session text should be injected; if omitted, the transcript is appended after the prompt. |

### Custom prompt example

Include `{transcript}` in your prompt where the session content should be inserted:

```json5 theme={"dark"}
{
  agents: {
    list: [
      {
        id: "claire",
        sessionJournal: {
          enabled: true,
          prompt: "Write structured patient notes in SOAP format.\n\nSession transcript:\n{transcript}",
        },
      },
    ],
  },
}
```

## What the output looks like

Journal files are written to `<workspaceDir>/journal/` with the name
`YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMss-<slug>.md`, where the slug is derived from the first heading in the
LLM-generated text. Example:

```text theme={"dark"}
~/.openclaw/workspace/journal/2026-06-22-143045-vendor-onboarding-session.md
```

Each file contains a header block (agent ID, session key, date/time) followed by the
LLM-generated journal body.

When workspace lanes are active (multi-user mode), each lane gets its own `journal/` folder
inside the lane's workspace directory — journals are isolated per user and not shared.

## Limitations

Journal entries are written only when a session **explicitly resets** via `/new` or `/reset`.
Sessions that end without a reset command (process exit, connection drop, idle timeout) do **not**
produce a journal entry.

The `/new` and `/reset` commands are held until journal generation completes. With a remote provider
and a long transcript, this can take up to \~15 seconds. If latency is a concern, disable the journal
for that agent or use a faster provider.

***

## Operator notes

### Disk usage

One Markdown file is written per session reset per opted-in agent. File sizes depend on session
length and the LLM's output verbosity — typically 1–10 KB per entry. Operators should plan for
routine cleanup or archiving of `journal/` directories in long-running deployments.

### LLM call cost

Journal generation makes one completion call per session reset. This call uses the configured
provider and model for that agent. If the session has no transcript content (empty session),
no LLM call is made — a header-only stub is written instead.

### Failure behavior

If the LLM call fails (network error, provider error, timeout), the hook writes a header-only stub
so the reset event is still recorded. No exception propagates to the user's session reset flow.

### Disabling

To disable journal generation for a specific agent, set `sessionJournal.enabled: false` (or
remove the `sessionJournal` block). To disable the hook entirely across all agents:

```bash theme={"dark"}
wednesdayai hooks disable session-journal
```

See [Hooks: session-journal](/automation/hooks#session-journal) for full technical details.