[Question]: How to chat and have a conversation?

[resistor4u]

What is your question?

Trying to get an entirely local AI working on a 64gb RAM mac mini using llama3.2-vision and ollama. Goal is to do an initial cat essay.md | fabric -p custom_prompt and return to that conversation later to take more turns. It is unclear how to do this. The initial command doesn't save anything in the sessions folder. So how can I set up fabric to start a conversation about an item and return to it later if I have follow-up questions?

Partially addressed with: #838.

Can anyone clarify whether it's necessary to pass the same prompt, for continuity sake?

[Jab2870]

fabric will create a session as soon as you add a --session=something to the fabric command.

So, for example, you could do cat essay.md | fabric --session=essay

Then fabric --session=essay 'ask about it'

[ksylvan]

@resistor4u Is the response from @Jab2870 satisfactory for you?

[ksylvan]

Sessions and Contexts in Fabric

We have a concept of "sessions" and "contexts" in Fabric.

The key difference lies in what they store and their purpose:

• Context: A "context" stores the entire history of a conversation. It's a log of all messages exchanged between you and the AI, including your prompts and the AI's responses. When you start a new chat and provide context, you are essentially loading the entire conversation history into the current chat, allowing the AI to have a "memory" of past interactions. This is useful for maintaining a continuous dialogue on a specific topic over multiple interactions.

• Session: A "session" is more ephemeral and represents a single, continuous interaction with the AI. It includes the messages from the current conversation. When you use a pattern, the pattern's text is added as a system message at the beginning of the session. If you start a new chat without specifying a session, a temporary one is created. You can choose to save a session, which writes the conversation to a file in the ~/.config/fabric/sessions/ directory.

Command-line Flags

You can manage (create, list, delete) sessions and contexts using these command-line options:

$ fabric --help | grep -i 'session\|context'
  -C, --context=                    Choose a context from the available contexts
      --session=                    Choose a session from the available sessions
  -x, --listcontexts                List all contexts
  -X, --listsessions                List all sessions
      --modelContextLength=         Model context length (only affects ollama)
      --output-session              Output the entire session (also a temporary one) to the output file
  -w, --wipecontext=                Wipe context
  -W, --wipesession=                Wipe session
      --printcontext=               Print context
      --printsession=               Print session

Storage Location

Both sessions and contexts are stored on the local filesystem within your user's home directory in a hidden folder at ~/.config/fabric/. Inside that directory, you'll find two subdirectories:

~/.config/fabric/contexts/

~/.config/fabric/sessions/

Each session and each context is stored as a separate JSON file within these respective directories.

Summary

In short:

• Think of a context as a long-term memory or a complete transcript of a subject.
• Think of a session as a short-term memory for a single, active conversation.

You can use a context to "bootstrap" a new session with a history of prior conversations.

Demo

fabric --session test 'Hi - my name is Kayvan, what is your name?'

Creating new session: test

Hello Kayvan! I'm ChatGPT. How can I assist you today?

fabric --session test --search 'I am wondering what happened in the World Rapid and Blitz tournament today'

Hello Kayvan,

As of today, July 6, 2025, there are no World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship events taking place. The most recent significant events in this category occurred in June 2025.

World Rapid Team Championship (June 13, 2025):
The MGD1 team, led by Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi, clinched the title. Their performance was notable for consistent victories throughout the tournament. (en.wikipedia.org)

World Blitz Team Championship (June 15, 2025):
The WR Chess Team successfully defended their title, marking their second consecutive win in this event. Despite arriving late for their quarter-final match against Germany and Friends, they overcame initial setbacks to secure the championship. (en.chessbase.com)

Currently, the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia tournament is underway in Zagreb, Croatia, as part of the Grand Chess Tour 2025. This event runs from July 2 to July 6, 2025. As of now, the final results have not been published. (en.wikipedia.org)

If you're interested in more details about these events or other chess tournaments, feel free to ask!

Sources

• 2025 in chess
• WR Chess arrives late but defends title in Blitz World Championship | ChessBase
• Grand Chess Tour 2025

fabric --session test --search 'That is what I meant - I am following the tournament in Croatia loosely - \
            How did Magnus do? How did Gukesh do?'

Hello Kayvan,

As of July 6, 2025, the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia tournament is ongoing in Zagreb. Here's an update on the performances of Magnus Carlsen and D. Gukesh:

D. Gukesh:

• Rapid Section: Gukesh clinched the rapid title with a total of 14 points, finishing three points ahead of his closest competitor, Jan-Krzysztof Duda. (firstpost.com)

• Notable Performance: Gukesh achieved a significant victory over Magnus Carlsen during the rapid games, marking his second consecutive win against the former world champion. (chess.com)

Magnus Carlsen:

• Rapid Section: Carlsen finished third in the rapid segment with 10 points. (firstpost.com)

• Current Standing: As the tournament progresses into the blitz section, Carlsen is trailing Gukesh by four points. (chess.com)

The blitz portion of the tournament is set to conclude today, July 6, 2025. For the most current results and standings, you can visit the official Grand Chess Tour website or follow live updates on major chess platforms.

If you have further questions or need more details, feel free to ask!

Sources

• World Champion Gukesh wins rapid title at 2025 Grand Chess Tour in Zagreb – Firstpost
• Gukesh Stuns Carlsen Again: Croatia Rapid & Blitz Day 2 - Chess.com

fabric --session test --search 'I think your info might be old! I think Magnus may be leading right now. Can you double check?'

Hello Kayvan,

Apologies for any earlier inaccuracies. As of July 6, 2025, the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia tournament is ongoing in Zagreb. The most recent standings indicate that Magnus Carlsen is leading the tournament. In the rapid section, Carlsen accumulated 10 points, placing him third behind D. Gukesh (14 points) and Jan-Krzysztof Duda (11 points). (en.wikipedia.org) However, in the blitz segment, Carlsen has demonstrated exceptional performance, securing 7.5 points out of 9 rounds, which has propelled him to the top of the overall standings. (en.wikipedia.org)

D. Gukesh, who led the rapid section, has faced challenges in the blitz rounds, impacting his overall standing. The tournament is set to conclude today, July 6, 2025, with the final rounds of the blitz segment. For the most current results and standings, you can visit the official Grand Chess Tour website or follow live updates on major chess platforms.

If you have further questions or need more details, feel free to ask!

Sources

• Grand Chess Tour 2025

[JuracyAmerico]

Also, you can check this YouTube video by Bledburn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVWAr1j6v6I&list=PLxzLxoq-O8koQ8Kv9blDLgjZjx4vnOXYD&index=9, pretty cool

His channel bledburn