Search Conversations

Search Claude Conversations

Purpose: Search through Claude Code conversation history stored in the local vibe-check database

Database Location

To find the database location, run:

vibe-check status

The default location is: ~/.vibe-check/vibe_check.db

Note: If the status shows no PID, vibe-check is not running and the database may be stale. Start it with vibe-check start.

Important: Use Read-Only Mode

To avoid database locks when the monitor is running, always use read-only mode:

sqlite3 "file:/path/to/vibe_check.db?mode=ro" "SELECT ..."

Search Queries

Search Messages by Content

SELECT
    event_session_id,
    event_type,
    SUBSTR(event_message, 1, 150) as message_preview,
    inserted_at,
    git_remote_url,
    file_name
FROM conversation_events
WHERE event_message LIKE '%{search_term}%'
    AND event_message IS NOT NULL
ORDER BY inserted_at DESC
LIMIT 20;

Search by Repository

SELECT
    event_session_id,
    event_type,
    SUBSTR(event_message, 1, 150) as message_preview,
    inserted_at,
    file_name
FROM conversation_events
WHERE git_remote_url LIKE '%{repo_name}%'
ORDER BY inserted_at DESC
LIMIT 20;

Search by Date Range

SELECT
    event_session_id,
    event_type,
    SUBSTR(event_message, 1, 150) as message_preview,
    inserted_at,
    git_remote_url
FROM conversation_events
WHERE DATE(inserted_at) BETWEEN '{start_date}' AND '{end_date}'
    AND event_message IS NOT NULL
ORDER BY inserted_at DESC
LIMIT 50;

Search by Session ID

SELECT
    event_type,
    event_message,
    inserted_at,
    line_number
FROM conversation_events
WHERE event_session_id = '{session_id}'
ORDER BY line_number ASC;

Find Sessions About a Topic

SELECT
    event_session_id,
    COUNT(*) as mentions,
    MIN(inserted_at) as first_mention,
    MAX(inserted_at) as last_mention,
    MAX(git_remote_url) as repository
FROM conversation_events
WHERE event_message LIKE '%{topic}%'
GROUP BY event_session_id
ORDER BY mentions DESC
LIMIT 10;

Usage Flow

When user requests a search:

1. Extract search criteria from user's question:

   • Search term/keyword
   • Date range (if specified)
   • Repository (if specified)
   • Session ID (if specified)

2. Construct appropriate query based on criteria

3. Execute query using Bash with sqlite3

4. Format results in readable form:

   • Show context (date, repo, session)
   • Limit message previews to ~150 chars
   • Provide session IDs for deeper exploration
   • Provide URL to explore session in browser: https://vibecheck.wanderingstan.com/messages?session_id=SESSION_ID

5. Offer follow-up actions:

   • "View full session"
   • "Narrow search"
   • "Export results"

Example Interactions

Example 1: Keyword Search

User: "search my conversations for 'authentication'"

Claude:
Found 12 messages mentioning 'authentication':

Session a4b2c (2026-01-10, vibe-check repo) https://vibecheck.wanderingstan.com/messages?session_id=a4b2c :
  [user]: "How do I implement authentication in..."
  [assistant]: "For authentication, you should consider..."

Session f7d3e (2026-01-05, my-app repo) https://vibecheck.wanderingstan.com/messages?session_id=f7d3e :
  [assistant]: "The authentication flow uses JWT tokens..."

Would you like to:
- View full session details
- Search for related terms
- Export results

Example 2: Recent Work

User: "what did I work on yesterday?"

Claude: [Searches for date = yesterday]

Yesterday (2026-01-12) you had 3 sessions:
1. Session abc123 (vibe-check): Worked on database skills - https://vibecheck.wanderingstan.com/messages?session_id=abc123
2. Session def456 (my-app): Fixed authentication bug - https://vibecheck.wanderingstan.com/messages?session_id=def456
3. Session ghi789 (website): Updated landing page - https://vibecheck.wanderingstan.com/messages?session_id=ghi789

Which session would you like to explore?

Advanced Features

Get Full Conversation Context

When user wants to see full session:

SELECT
    event_type,
    event_message,
    inserted_at,
    JSON_EXTRACT(event_data, '$.message.content[0].type') as content_type
FROM conversation_events
WHERE event_session_id = '{session_id}'
ORDER BY line_number ASC;

Find Similar Sessions

Based on git repo and search term:

SELECT
    event_session_id,
    COUNT(*) as relevance_score,
    MIN(inserted_at) as session_date,
    git_remote_url
FROM conversation_events
WHERE git_remote_url = '{current_repo}'
    AND event_message LIKE '%{search_term}%'
GROUP BY event_session_id
ORDER BY relevance_score DESC
LIMIT 5;

Error Handling

• If no results found, suggest:
  • Broader search terms
  • Different date range
  • Checking if monitor captured that period
• If database not accessible, guide user to check installation