--- title: Real Conversation Layout — part 3 (the compact clamp and the code map) --- # Real Conversation Layout — part 3 (the compact clamp and the code map) ## What it is The closing details of the Real Conversation Layout: the interaction between the cold-mount fetch and the compact clamp, and a map of the code the feature lives in. Read [real-conversation-layout.md](real-conversation-layout.md) for the visible layout and [real-conversation-layout-part-2.md](real-conversation-layout-part-2.md) for the rendering rules; this part is the remaining edge and the implementation pointers. ## Where to find it Nothing to open. This part describes background behaviour and where the code lives, so it has no menu, button or setting — the layout's own toggle is described in part 1. ## How it behaves ### How the cold-mount fetch interacts with the `/compact` clamp With the layout on, cold-mount fetches the **whole** session history (no `/compact` clamp, no row-window limit) in lite shape. The clamp was a workaround for the wall-of-noise problem — once auto-continues and tool chatter are gone, the real conversation is small enough that loading it whole is faster than maintaining the clamp + the "Load older" plumbing. Lite shape keeps the payload small because each row carries `summary_prose` instead of `content`. With the layout off, the cold-mount path falls back to the prior behavior — `/compact`-clamped on desktop, mobile-windowed on mobile, lite shape preserved. This is **not** a reversal of the `load-older-pill-restored postmortem`. That postmortem's pill existed because the clamp _hid_ real messages; the new layout hides nothing among real messages, so the pill has nothing to do (R7 of the build contract). The decision is enforced by the lint tests at `tests/unit/lint/session-history-elegant-contract.test.ts` and `tests/unit/lint/lite-warmer-coverage.test.ts`, which were updated in the same branch to allow the layout's decoupled `useCompactClamp` / `useLite` shape. ## For agents ### Where it lives in code | What | Where | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Pure aggregator `buildRealConversationTurns()` | `src/renderer/src/lib/real-conversation-turns.ts` | | Incremental prefix-reuse wrapper `buildTurnsIncremental()` (byte-identical streaming fast path; kill switch `AMC_DISABLE_INCREMENTAL_TURNS=1`) | `src/shared/incremental-real-conversation-turns.ts` | | Turn presentation wrapper (merged-vs-plain shape pick + `CompactingIndicator`) | `src/renderer/src/features/sessions/TurnGroup.tsx` | | Per-turn merged bubble (header toggle + expansion panel + final-answer body + thinking timer) | `src/renderer/src/features/sessions/MergedTurnBubble.tsx` | | `MessageBubble` slot props that the merged bubble drives (`headerIdentitySlot` + `aboveBodySlot`) | `src/renderer/src/components/ui/MessageBubble/MessageBubble.tsx` | | Inter-compaction activity bubble (rev-11; only used by `renderSystemEntry` after rev-13) | `src/renderer/src/features/sessions/TurnActivityBubble.tsx` | | Live elapsed-time timer hook (ticks once a second while in-flight) | `src/renderer/src/hooks/useThinkingTimer.ts` | | Compact elapsed formatter (`5s` / `1m 45s` / `12m` / `1h 2m`) | `formatThinkingElapsed` in `src/renderer/src/lib/utils.ts` | | List renderer for turns | `src/renderer/src/features/sessions/RealConversationList.tsx` | | Cold-mount render branch + load-older suppression | `src/renderer/src/features/sessions/SessionPanel.tsx` | | Cold-mount fetch path (drops clamp when layout is on, keeps lite) | `src/renderer/src/features/sessions/useSessionPanel/useSessionHistoryLoader.ts` | | Settings field on `AppSettings` | `src/shared/types.ts` (`realConversationLayoutEnabled?: boolean`, default `true`) | | Zod field on `updateSettingsSchema` | `src/shared/ipc-schemas.ts` | | Settings UI toggle row | `src/renderer/src/features/settings/sections/performance/PerformanceSettings.tsx` (`PERFORMANCE_DEFINITIONS` entry, id `real-conversation-layout`) | | Settings-search synonyms | `src/renderer/src/features/settings/settings-search-index.ts` | | Lazy per-turn content fetch (reused) | `SESSION_GET_TURN_CONTENT` IPC — see [lazy-content-load.md](lazy-content-load.md) | | Real-reply classifier — primary signal | `has_tool_activity` column on `conversation_messages` — see [lazy-content-load.md](lazy-content-load.md) | | Real-reply classifier — kill-switch fallback | `isRealMessageProse` in `src/renderer/src/components/ui/agent-message-heuristics.ts` | | Final-message marker (`[[OMNISCIO_FINAL]]`, opt-in) — toggle + nudge | `finalMessageMarkerEnabled` (Settings → Features) + `FINAL_MESSAGE_MARKER_NUDGE` / `resolveFinalMessageMarkerPrompt` in `src/main/process/spawn-build.ts` | | Final-message marker — detection (shared split honored by all 3 walkers) | `FINAL_MESSAGE_RE` / `splitOnFinalMessageMarker` in `src/shared/agent-content-markers.ts`; contract `summary-prose-contract.md` § Final-message marker | | Implicit dev-pipeline gate boundary (all 6 gates) — a `## ` gate header folds the wrap-up above it like `[[OMNISCIO_FINAL]]` when the `[DEV-PIPELINE \| GATE n \| …]` marker is present | `splitOnFinalBoundary` / `isDevPipelineGateHeader` / `hasDevPipelineGateMarker` in `src/shared/agent-content-markers.ts`; contract `summary-prose-contract.md` § Implicit dev-pipeline gate boundary | | Dev-pipeline gate stepper (render-only) — the trailing `[DEV-PIPELINE \| GATE n \| verdict]` marker renders as the full 8-disc pipeline display track (bundled-standards gates lit in-track; unknown user customs get a single-disc badge) | `GatePipelineStepper` in `src/renderer/src/components/ui/GatePipelineStepper.tsx`; parser `parseTrailingGateMarker` in `src/shared/agent-content-markers.ts`; contract `gate-stepper-contract.md` | | Build contract | `.claude/memory/project_real_conversation_layout.md` | ## Related Start at [real-conversation-layout.md](real-conversation-layout.md) for the layout itself and its settings toggle, then [real-conversation-layout-part-2.md](real-conversation-layout-part-2.md) for how the panel decides what to render. Together the three cover the feature end to end.