Journal

ctx journal¶

Browse and search AI session history from Claude Code and other tools.

ctx journal <subcommand>

ctx journal source¶

List all parsed sessions.

ctx journal source [flags]

Flags:

Sessions are sorted by date (newest first) and display slug, project, start time, duration, turn count, and token usage.

Example:

ctx journal source
ctx journal source --limit 5
ctx journal source --project ctx
ctx journal source --tool claude-code

ctx journal source --show¶

Show details of a specific session.

ctx journal source --show [session-id] [flags]

Flags:

The session ID can be a full UUID, partial match, or session slug name.

Example:

ctx journal source --show abc123
ctx journal source --show gleaming-wobbling-sutherland
ctx journal source --show --latest
ctx journal source --show --latest --full

ctx journal import¶

Import sessions to editable journal files in .context/journal/.

ctx journal import [session-id] [flags]

Flags:

Safe by default: --all only imports new sessions. Existing files are skipped. Use --regenerate to re-import existing files (conversation content is regenerated, YAML frontmatter from enrichment is preserved by default). Use --keep-frontmatter=false to discard enriched frontmatter during regeneration.

Locked entries (via ctx journal lock) are always skipped, regardless of flags.

Single-session import (ctx journal import <id>) always writes without prompting, since you are explicitly targeting one session.

The journal/ directory should be gitignored (like sessions/) since it contains raw conversation data.

Example:

ctx journal import abc123                 # Import one session
ctx journal import --all                  # Import only new sessions
ctx journal import --all --dry-run        # Preview what would be imported
ctx journal import --all --regenerate     # Re-import existing (prompts)
ctx journal import --all --regenerate -y  # Re-import without prompting
ctx journal import --all --regenerate --keep-frontmatter=false -y  # Discard frontmatter

ctx journal lock¶

Protect journal entries from being overwritten by import --regenerate or modified by enrichment skills (/ctx-journal-enrich, /ctx-journal-enrich-all).

ctx journal lock <pattern> [flags]

Flags:

The pattern matches filenames by slug, date, or short ID. Locking a multi-part entry locks all parts. The lock is recorded in .context/journal/.state.json and a locked: true line is added to the file's YAML frontmatter for visibility.

Example:

ctx journal lock abc12345
ctx journal lock 2026-01-21-session-abc12345.md
ctx journal lock --all

ctx journal unlock¶

Remove lock protection from journal entries.

ctx journal unlock <pattern> [flags]

Flags:

Example:

ctx journal unlock abc12345
ctx journal unlock --all

ctx journal sync¶

Sync lock state from journal frontmatter to .state.json.

ctx journal sync

Scans all journal markdowns and updates .state.json to match each file's frontmatter. Files with locked: true in frontmatter are marked locked in state; files without a locked: line have their lock cleared.

This is the inverse of ctx journal lock: instead of state driving frontmatter, frontmatter drives state. Useful after batch enrichment where you add locked: true to frontmatter manually.

Example:

# After enriching entries and adding locked: true to frontmatter
ctx journal sync

ctx journal¶

Analyze and synthesize imported session files.

ctx journal <subcommand>

ctx journal site¶

Generate a static site from journal entries in .context/journal/.

ctx journal site [flags]

Flags:

Creates a zensical-compatible site structure with an index page listing all sessions by date, and individual pages for each journal entry.

Requires zensical to be installed for --build or --serve:

pipx install zensical

Example:

ctx journal site                    # Generate in .context/journal-site/
ctx journal site --output ~/public  # Custom output directory
ctx journal site --build            # Generate and build HTML
ctx journal site --serve            # Generate and serve locally

ctx journal obsidian¶

Generate an Obsidian vault from journal entries in .context/journal/.

ctx journal obsidian [flags]

Flags:

Creates an Obsidian-compatible vault with:

• Wikilinks ([[target|display]]) for all internal navigation
• MOC pages (Map of Content) for topics, key files, and session types
• Related sessions footer linking entries that share topics
• Transformed frontmatter (topics → tags for Obsidian integration)
• Minimal .obsidian/ config enforcing wikilink mode

No external dependencies are required: Open the output directory as an Obsidian vault directly.

Example:

ctx journal obsidian                        # Generate in .context/journal-obsidian/
ctx journal obsidian --output ~/vaults/ctx  # Custom output directory

ctx serve¶

Serve any zensical directory locally. This is a serve-only command: It does not generate or regenerate site content.

ctx serve [directory]

If no directory is specified, defaults to the journal site (.context/journal-site).

Requires zensical to be installed:

pipx install zensical

Example:

ctx serve                        # Serve journal site (no regeneration)
ctx serve .context/journal-site  # Same, explicit path
ctx serve ./site                 # Serve the docs site