Allow custom naming format for local session folders

[hyper-charlie]

Feature Request: Custom Session Folder Naming

Use Case:
When saving sessions locally via the storage setting in chat settings, session folders are named with random numbers and hyphens (e.g., a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7g8h). This makes it difficult to organize and sync notes with external tools like Obsidian.

Desired Behavior:
Allow users to customize the folder naming format for locally stored sessions, using variables like:

• Session title/meeting name
• Date (YYYY-MM-DD, MM-DD-YYYY, etc.)
• Time
• Participants/speaker names
• Custom prefixes

Example:
Instead of a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7g8h/, folders could be named like:

• 2024-01-15_Client-Presentation
• 2024-01-15-10-30_Team-Standup
• John-Smith-Meeting_2024-01-15

This would significantly improve organization and Obsidian integration workflows.

Environment:

• Platform: macOS
• App: 1.0.17

[devin-ai-integration]

Codebase Exploration: Session Folder Naming

How Session Folder Naming Works Today

Session IDs are generated via crypto.randomUUID() in apps/desktop/src/shared/utils.ts:9. This UUID becomes both the session's primary key in the TinyBase store and the filesystem directory name. The resulting folder structure on disk looks like:

<vault_base>/sessions/<uuid>/
├── _meta.json        (session metadata: title, participants, tags, etc.)
├── transcript.json
├── <note-id>.md
└── attachments/

Key Files Involved

Session creation:

• apps/desktop/src/store/tinybase/store/sessions.ts — createSession() generates a UUID via id() and stores it as the session row key

Filesystem path construction (TypeScript side):

• apps/desktop/src/store/tinybase/persister/shared/paths.ts — buildSessionPath(dataDir, sessionId, folderPath) constructs the on-disk path: <dataDir>/sessions/[folderPath/]<sessionId>
• sanitizeFilename() utility already exists here for safe filename characters

Filesystem path construction (Rust side):

• crates/fs-sync-core/src/path.rs — build_session_dir(sessions_base, folder_path, session_id) mirrors the TS side; is_uuid(name) is used to distinguish session dirs from user-created folder dirs
• crates/fs-sync-core/src/session.rs — find_session_dir() recursively searches for a session UUID directory on disk
• crates/fs-sync-core/src/folder.rs — scan_directory_recursive() uses is_uuid() + _meta.json existence to identify session directories vs. organizational folders

Session persistence:

• apps/desktop/src/store/tinybase/persister/session/save/session.ts — buildSessionSaveOps() writes _meta.json (containing title, date, participants, tags) into the UUID-named folder
• apps/desktop/src/store/tinybase/persister/session/load/meta.ts — extractSessionIdAndFolder() parses session ID from the directory name on load

Folder management:

• crates/fs-sync-core/src/lib.rs — FsSyncCore handles move/rename/delete of sessions and organizational folders
• plugins/fs-sync/src/commands.rs — Tauri commands for session_dir, move_session, create_folder, rename_folder, etc.
• apps/desktop/src/folders/index.tsx — Folder UI and folder rename operations

Why This Is Non-Trivial

The UUID-as-directory-name convention is deeply embedded:

1. Identity coupling: The UUID serves as both the database primary key and the directory name. find_session_dir() searches the filesystem by UUID to locate session data.
2. is_uuid() as a discriminator: The codebase uses is_uuid(dir_name) to distinguish session directories from user-created organizational folders (in folder.rs, session.rs). Changing to human-readable names would break this heuristic.
3. Load path: extractSessionIdAndFolder() in meta.ts parses the session ID from the directory path structure, expecting the second-to-last path component to be the session ID.
4. Cleanup logic: Orphan cleanup (cleanup.rs) and folder scanning rely on UUID directory names to identify sessions.

Potential Approaches

1. Symlink/alias layer: Keep UUID directories as the canonical storage, but create human-readable symlinks (e.g., 2024-01-15_Client-Presentation → <uuid>/). This is the least invasive approach.

2. Dual-naming with mapping: Store a _meta.json field for the display name, and maintain a mapping file (or use the existing _meta.json) to map custom names → UUIDs. The find_session_dir() function would need updating to consult this mapping.

3. Replace UUID dirs with formatted names: The most user-friendly but highest-impact change. Would require:

   • Changing createSession() to generate a formatted name from available data (title, date, participants)
   • Updating is_uuid() discrimination logic to use _meta.json existence instead
   • Handling rename-on-title-change (or making names immutable at creation)
   • Updating find_session_dir(), extractSessionIdAndFolder(), all cleanup/scan logic
   • Migration for existing vaults

4. Export/view layer: Add an Obsidian-compatible export that writes sessions into a user-configured naming format, separate from the internal storage. This keeps internal storage stable while providing the desired Obsidian integration.

Obsidian Integration Context

The app already has an obsidian_vaults command in plugins/settings/ that can detect Obsidian vault locations. The vault base path is configurable via set_vault_base. Users can point Char's vault to an Obsidian vault directory for integration. The issue is specifically that the UUID folder names are opaque when browsing in Obsidian.

Recent Related Changes

Recent commits touching these areas include:

• 417eb13e4 — "support vault customization" (vault base path became configurable)
• 300712abc — "fix: make desktop folder move and rename fs-first"
• ba2869a8b — "extract fs-sync-core from fs-sync plugin" (recent refactor that separated core logic)