How do I install the Chat Search skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add tonydzi/chat-search in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Chat Search safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Chat Search?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Chat Search free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under MIT.

Who published Chat Search?

tonydzi (@tonydzi) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Chat Search by tonydzi — Agent Skill

Name: Chat Search
Author: tonydzi

Chat Search

Search inside past agent sessions and continue the one that matters with a single command. Uses a separate episodic session index, so raw chat noise never pollutes the curated RAG. Triggers: "/chat-search", "which chat discussed X", "did we already research X", "search old chats".

tonydzi Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

/chat-search — the book of chats (search inside old sessions)

A thin wrapper over $IMPORTS_ROOT/chat_search.py. Do NOT reimplement the logic — call the engine and show the result.

When

"which chat did we discuss X in?", "have we already looked into this?", "find the old conversation about X".
Before starting a new topic — check whether it was already dug into (the twin of RECALL).

What it is (and what it is NOT)

It searches a separate session index _brain_sessions.npy (21k+ chunks from _session-md\<machine>\<cli>.md), built by brain_sessions_index.py.
It is NOT the essence index behind /ask: raw chats are deliberately excluded from the sharp "mind" (the essence/evidence decision, 2026-06-26). This is the evidence layer — "where exactly it was discussed" — while /ask answers "what I think".
HUMAN chats only: service/robot sessions are filtered out at export time (a classifier + a cheap-model judge).

How to run

python "$IMPORTS_ROOT/chat_search.py" "query in your own words"
python "$IMPORTS_ROOT/chat_search.py" --machine LAPTOP-1 "query"   # one machine only
python "$IMPORTS_ROOT/chat_search.py" -n 8 "query"                    # top-N (default 10)

Every hit: [rr=score] date · machine · topic + a snippet + the line ▶ continue: python continue_session.py <cli>.

Continue a chat you found

Copy the command from the hit (or use /resume-last for the most recent one). continue_session.py <cli> assembles a seed of the old chat into the clipboard — paste it into a new session.

Caveats (AK-47)

The index is built at night (run_session_archive.local.cmd → brain_sessions_index.py, incrementally). A fresh chat shows up after the nightly run; to force it: python brain_sessions_index.py.
Index missing / empty → the engine itself tells you Run: python brain_sessions_index.py --full.
Reranker scores can be negative — what matters is the ORDER (top-1 = most relevant), not the sign.
Siblings: /ask (meaning across the vault), /search (exact words in Telegram/FB/ChatGPT), /resume-last (continue the latest).

Like this skill? It is one of 100 in second-brain-starter-kit: the second brain we built for ourselves and run every day at Palo Alto AI Research Lab. Install the whole set with npx skills add tonydzi/second-brain-starter-kit. Everything is open source and free, so take what you need.

Flagships worth a look on their own: secondop-panel (a second opinion from a panel of external models), claude-memory-tidy (stop your agent's memory from rotting), telegram-mcp-kit (your own Telegram over MCP in about 15 minutes).

Author: Anton Dziatkovskii, Palo Alto AI Research Lab. Telegram @tonydzi - WhatsApp +1 341 222 9178 - X @Tony_Stef_

Engineers: want to test-drive this setup? Message me. I hand out free starter seeds to engineers who test and report back, and custom skill requests are welcome.

---name: chat-searchdescription: Search inside past agent sessions and continue the one that matters with a single command. Uses a separate episodic session index, so raw chat noise never pollutes the curated RAG. Triggers: "/chat-search", "which chat discussed X", "did we already research X", "search old chats".license: MIT---# /chat-search — the book of chats (search inside old sessions)A thin wrapper over `$IMPORTS_ROOT/chat_search.py`. Do NOT reimplement the logic — call the engine and show the result.## When- "which chat did we discuss X in?", "have we already looked into this?", "find the old conversation about X".- Before starting a new topic — check whether it was already dug into (the twin of RECALL).## What it is (and what it is NOT)- It searches a **separate** session index `_brain_sessions.npy` (21k+ chunks from `_session-md\<machine>\<cli>.md`), built by `brain_sessions_index.py`.- It is **NOT** the essence index behind `/ask`: raw chats are deliberately excluded from the sharp "mind" (the essence/evidence decision, 2026-06-26). This is the evidence layer — "where exactly it was discussed" — while `/ask` answers "what I think".- HUMAN chats only: service/robot sessions are filtered out at export time (a classifier + a cheap-model judge).## How to run```python "$IMPORTS_ROOT/chat_search.py" "query in your own words"python "$IMPORTS_ROOT/chat_search.py" --machine LAPTOP-1 "query" # one machine onlypython "$IMPORTS_ROOT/chat_search.py" -n 8 "query" # top-N (default 10)```Every hit: `[rr=score] date · machine · topic` + a snippet + the line `▶ continue: python continue_session.py <cli>`.## Continue a chat you foundCopy the command from the hit (or use `/resume-last` for the most recent one). `continue_session.py <cli>` assembles a seed of the old chat into the clipboard — paste it into a new session.## Caveats (AK-47)- The index is built at night (`run_session_archive.local.cmd` → `brain_sessions_index.py`, incrementally). A fresh chat shows up after the nightly run; to force it: `python brain_sessions_index.py`.- Index missing / empty → the engine itself tells you `Run: python brain_sessions_index.py --full`.- Reranker scores can be negative — what matters is the ORDER (top-1 = most relevant), not the sign.- Siblings: `/ask` (meaning across the vault), `/search` (exact words in Telegram/FB/ChatGPT), `/resume-last` (continue the latest).------**Like this skill?** It is one of 100 in [second-brain-starter-kit](https://github.com/tonydzi/second-brain-starter-kit): the second brain we built for ourselves and run every day at Palo Alto AI Research Lab. Install the whole set with `npx skills add tonydzi/second-brain-starter-kit`. Everything is open source and free, so take what you need.Flagships worth a look on their own: [secondop-panel](https://github.com/tonydzi/secondop-panel) (a second opinion from a panel of external models), [claude-memory-tidy](https://github.com/tonydzi/claude-memory-tidy) (stop your agent's memory from rotting), [telegram-mcp-kit](https://github.com/tonydzi/telegram-mcp-kit) (your own Telegram over MCP in about 15 minutes).Author: **Anton Dziatkovskii**, Palo Alto AI Research Lab. Telegram [@tonydzi](https://t.me/tonydzi) - WhatsApp [+1 341 222 9178](https://wa.me/13412229178) - X [@Tony_Stef_](https://x.com/Tony_Stef_)**Engineers: want to test-drive this setup?** Message me. I hand out free starter seeds to engineers who test and report back, and custom skill requests are welcome.

Frequently asked questions