documentation update

docs/reference/API-routes.md

@@ -32,8 +32,7 @@ here for reference and direct debugging use.
 ```
 `model` and `temperature` are optional. Inference parameters (temperature,
 topP, topK, repeatPenalty) are read from `settings.json` on every request —
-the request body values are not used for these; they are controlled via
+controlled via `PATCH /settings`.
-`PATCH /settings`.
 
 **POST /chat — response:**
 ```json
@@ -91,7 +90,7 @@ Returns `{ sessionId, episodes: [...] }`. Episodes ordered newest first.
 |---|---|---|
 | GET | /projects | Get all projects |
 | POST | /projects | Create a new project |
-| PATCH | /projects/:id | Update a project |
+| PATCH | /projects/:id | Update a project (partial — any subset of fields) |
 | DELETE | /projects/:id | Delete a project (nulls session assignments) |
 
 **POST /projects — body:**
@@ -101,13 +100,27 @@ Returns `{ sessionId, episodes: [...] }`. Episodes ordered newest first.
   "description": "Optional description",
   "colour": "#3d3a79",
   "icon": null,
-  "isolated": 0
+  "isolated": 1
 }
 ```
-`name` is required. All other fields optional. `isolated` is `0` or `1`.
+`name` is required. All other fields optional. `isolated` is always `1` —
-Returns `201` with the created project object.
+all projects use isolated memory. Returns `201` with the created project object.
 
-**PATCH /projects/:id — body:** same fields as POST, all optional.
+**PATCH /projects/:id — body:** any subset of fields, all optional.
+
+| Field | Type | Description |
+|---|---|---|
+| `name` | string | Project name |
+| `description` | string | Project description |
+| `colour` | string | Hex colour for UI accent |
+| `icon` | string | Icon identifier |
+| `isolated` | integer | Memory isolation flag (always 1) |
+| `notes` | string | User-authored project notes |
+
+Only provided fields are updated — omitted fields are not touched. This
+enables safe partial updates (e.g. saving just `notes` without affecting
+`name` or `colour`). Both orchestration and memory service implement dynamic
+field patching.
 
 ### Models
 
@@ -127,8 +140,9 @@ with `models.json` in the same folder for label and description metadata.
 ```json
 { "contextWindow": 64000, "modelAlias": "gemma-4-26B-A4B-Claude-Distill-APEX-I-Mini.gguf" }
 ```
-Fetches directly from llama-server `/props`. Returns `503` if llama-server
+Fetches directly from llama-server `/props`. `n_ctx` is at
-is unreachable.
+`data.default_generation_settings.n_ctx` in the llama-server response.
+Returns `503` if llama-server is unreachable.
 
 ### Settings
 
@@ -218,8 +232,7 @@ orchestration.
 ```json
 { "name": "Session Name", "projectId": 3 }
 ```
-Both fields are optional. Only provided fields are updated — other fields
+Both fields are optional. Only provided fields are updated.
-are not touched.
 
 ### Episodes
 
@@ -251,7 +264,7 @@ are not touched.
 | POST | /projects | Create a new project |
 | GET | /projects | Get all projects |
 | GET | /projects/:id | Get project by ID |
-| PATCH | /projects/:id | Update a project |
+| PATCH | /projects/:id | Update a project (dynamic — any subset of fields) |
 | DELETE | /projects/:id | Delete project + null session assignments |
 
 Same request/response shape as orchestration `/projects` above.

docs/reference/Memory-isolation.md

@@ -1,15 +1,16 @@
 # Memory Isolation
 
 NexusAI implements project-scoped memory — sessions belonging to the same
-project can share semantic context, and isolated projects can be restricted
+project share semantic context within that project's boundary. All projects
-from drawing on memory outside the project. This document describes how the
+are isolated by default.
-system works end-to-end.
 
 ## Concepts
 
 **Session** — a single conversation thread. Identified by `external_id`.
 
-**Project** — a named grouping of sessions. Has an `isolated` flag (0 or 1).
+**Project** — a named grouping of sessions. `isolated` is always `1` —
+the toggle has been removed from the UI and `isolated: 1` is hardcoded on
+project creation.
 
 **Semantic search** — at inference time, the user's message is embedded and
 compared against past episodes in Qdrant to surface relevant context. The
@@ -20,11 +21,10 @@ scope of this search is controlled by the project context.
 | Session state | Semantic search scope |
 |---|---|
 | No project | Own session's episodes only |
-| Assigned to a non-isolated project | All episodes across all sessions in the project |
+| Assigned to a project | All episodes across all sessions in that project |
-| Assigned to an isolated project | All episodes within the project only |
 | Removed from a project | Own session's episodes only (from that point) |
 
-Sessions with no project assigned behave the same as they always have —
+Sessions with no project assigned behave as they always have —
 only their own past episodes are searched.
 
 ## How It Works
@@ -44,16 +44,9 @@ if (session.project_id) {
 }
 ```
 
-If the session belongs to any project (isolated or not), `projectSessionIds`
+If the session belongs to any project, `projectSessionIds` is populated with
-is populated with the internal integer IDs of all sessions in that project.
+the internal integer IDs of all sessions in that project — creating a shared
-
+memory pool across all conversations in the project.
-For **non-isolated projects**, this expands the search to all project sessions.  
-For **isolated projects**, the same set is used but the intent is restriction
-— since `projectSessionIds` only contains project sessions, no external
-episodes can appear.
-
-Both cases use the same code path — the `isolated` flag does not change the
-query logic, only the conceptual meaning.
 
 ### Step 2 — Qdrant filter construction
 
@@ -96,26 +89,11 @@ message, `getProjectSessions` will not include that session's ID, so its
 episodes disappear from the semantic search scope.
 
 **New sessions created from ProjectView are assigned after the first message.**
-The `useChat` hook writes the `project_id` assignment via `updateSession` after
+`handleNewProjectChat` in `App.jsx` calls `sendMessage` with the project ID,
-`onDone` fires. There is a brief window during the first message where the
+which is passed to `useChat`. After `onDone` fires, `useChat` calls
-session has no project assigned. The project is correctly applied from the
+`updateSession` to write the project assignment to the backend. There is a
-second message onward.
+brief window during the first message where the session has no project assigned.
-
+The project is correctly applied from the second message onward.
-## Isolated vs Non-Isolated
-
-The `isolated` flag is stored on the project but does not currently change the
-query logic — both isolated and non-isolated projects result in a
-`projectSessionIds` filter. The distinction is semantic and enforced by
-the project's membership:
-
-- **Non-isolated** — intentionally draws from all sessions in the project,
-  creating a shared memory pool for related conversations
-- **Isolated** — by design contains only sessions explicitly added to it,
-  so the same filter naturally restricts context to project-only episodes
-
-If cross-project contamination became a concern (e.g. a session accidentally
-added to the wrong project), removing it from the project immediately restores
-isolation.
 
 ## Qdrant Payload Structure
 

docs/services/chat-client.md

@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ src/
 ├── api/
 │   └── orchestration.js     # All fetch calls to the orchestration service
 ├── config/
-│   └── constants.js         # FALLBACK_MODELS, DEFAULT_MODEL, API_DEFAULTS
+│   └── constants.js         # FALLBACK_MODELS, DEFAULT_MODEL, API_DEFAULTS, CLIENT_DEFAULTS
 ├── hooks/
 │   ├── useSession.js        # Session list, history loading, active session state
 │   ├── useChat.js           # Message sending, SSE streaming, message state
@@ -93,14 +93,16 @@ src/
 ├── components/
 │   ├── App.jsx              # Root component — layout, shared state, view routing
 │   ├── Sidebar.jsx          # Left sidebar — projects, recent chats, navigation
+│   ├── HomeView.jsx         # Landing screen — greeting, centred input, quick actions
 │   ├── ChatWindow.jsx       # Centre panel — message thread and input bar
 │   ├── MessageBubble.jsx    # Individual message bubble — renders markdown via react-markdown
 │   ├── InfoPanel.jsx        # Right panel — model selector and session metadata (slide-in)
 │   ├── SessionModal.jsx     # Modal for session rename, project assignment, delete
 │   ├── ProjectModal.jsx     # Modal for project create, edit, delete
 │   ├── AllChatsView.jsx     # Full paginated session list with multi-select bulk delete
-│   ├── AllProjectsView.jsx  # Project tile grid with create/edit/delete
+│   ├── AllProjectsView.jsx  # Project tile grid with create/edit/delete; tile click navigates to ProjectView
-│   ├── ProjectView.jsx      # Individual project — session list, new chat button
+│   ├── ProjectView.jsx      # Individual project — conversations, new chat input, memory
+│   │                        #   placeholder, user notes, ⋮ edit/delete menu
 │   ├── MemoryView.jsx       # Paginated, searchable, expandable, deletable episode viewer
 │   └── SettingsView.jsx     # Settings — Memory limits, Models (inference params, active
 │                            #   model, context window), Service Health, Appearance placeholder
@@ -108,8 +110,6 @@ src/
 └── main.jsx                 # React entry point
 ```
 
-> `SessionList.jsx` is superseded by `Sidebar.jsx` and kept only as a reference.
-
 ## Layout
 
 The app uses a view-based layout. `App.jsx` manages a `view` state string
@@ -120,13 +120,13 @@ panel are persistent across all views.
 ┌──────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┐
 │     Sidebar      │   Main Area (view-dependent)  │
 │  (collapsible)   │                               │
-│                  │  chat         → ChatWindow    │
+│                  │  home         → HomeView      │
-│ + New Chat       │  all-chats    → AllChatsView  │
+│ + New Chat       │  chat         → ChatWindow    │
-│ ⊞ View Projects  │  all-projects → AllProjectsView│
+│ ⊞ View Projects  │  all-chats    → AllChatsView  │
-│                  │  project      → ProjectView   │
+│                  │  all-projects → AllProjectsView│
-│ PROJECTS ▾       │  settings     → SettingsView  │
+│ PROJECTS ▾       │  project      → ProjectView   │
-│  [tile] [tile]   │  memory       → MemoryView    │
+│  [tile] [tile]   │  settings     → SettingsView  │
-│  All Projects →  │                               │
+│  All Projects →  │  memory       → MemoryView    │
 │                  │                               │
 │ RECENT CHATS ▾   │                               │
 │  Session 1       │                               │
@@ -137,24 +137,43 @@ panel are persistent across all views.
 └──────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┘
 ```
 
-The sidebar collapses to a 48px icon rail. The right `InfoPanel` slides in
+The sidebar collapses to a 48px icon rail and starts collapsed on the home
-from the right using `transform: translateX()` — hidden by default, toggled
+view. The right `InfoPanel` slides in from the right using
-via the `⊹` button in the `ChatWindow` header.
+`transform: translateX()` — hidden by default, toggled via the `⊹` button
+in the `ChatWindow` header.
 
 ## View Routing
 
 | View | Component | Trigger |
 |---|---|---|
-| `'chat'` | `ChatWindow` | Default; selecting a session; new chat |
+| `'home'` | `HomeView` | Initial load; going back from chat with no history |
+| `'chat'` | `ChatWindow` | Selecting a session; new chat; sending from HomeView |
 | `'all-chats'` | `AllChatsView` | "All Chats →" or ☰ icon in collapsed rail |
 | `'all-projects'` | `AllProjectsView` | "View Projects" button or ⊞ icon |
-| `'project'` | `ProjectView` | Clicking a project tile in the sidebar |
+| `'project'` | `ProjectView` | Clicking a project tile in sidebar or AllProjectsView |
 | `'settings'` | `SettingsView` | Settings button or ⚙ icon |
 | `'memory'` | `MemoryView` | "Open →" button in Settings → Memory section |
 
 `activeProject` state in `App.jsx` tracks which project `ProjectView` is
 displaying. Set via `onSelectProject` before navigating to `'project'`.
 
+### View History Stack
+
+`App.jsx` maintains a `viewHistory` array. Each `navigate(view)` call pushes
+the current view onto the stack. `goBack()` pops the last entry and restores
+it. All view components receive `onBack={goBack}` — no component hardcodes
+its own back destination. Navigating to `'home'` collapses the sidebar;
+leaving `'home'` expands it.
+
+## Home View
+
+`HomeView` is the landing screen shown on initial load and when there are no
+active sessions. It displays:
+- Time-based greeting ("Morning / Afternoon / Evening, Tim")
+- Currently loaded model name (from `modelProps.modelAlias`, stripped of `.gguf`)
+- Centred textarea input — sending creates a new session and navigates to chat
+- Quick action pills that populate the input without auto-sending
+
 ## CSS Architecture
 
 Styles follow a hybrid approach — CSS utility classes for static reusable
@@ -217,6 +236,10 @@ the `uuid` package. New sessions are created locally and auto-registered in
 the memory service on the first message. The session list refreshes after
 each completed response to surface newly created sessions.
 
+`useSession.selectSession` skips the history fetch for new (`isNew: true`)
+sessions — fetching history for an unsaved session would 404 since it doesn't
+exist in the backend yet.
+
 ### Auto-naming
 
 After the first exchange completes, orchestration fires a secondary inference
@@ -236,46 +259,60 @@ Session rows support rename, project assignment, and delete via:
 `SessionModal` handles rename and project assignment together in `settings`
 mode, and delete confirmation in `confirm-delete` mode.
 
-### Active Session Clearing on Delete
-
-When the deleted session is the currently active one, `App.jsx` clears the
-chat window before refreshing the list:
-
-```js
-function handleSessionsChange(deletedSession) {
-    if (deletedSession?.external_id === activeSession?.external_id) {
-        selectSession(null);
-    }
-    refreshSessions();
-}
-```
-
 ### Key Patterns
 
 - Button nesting: action icons are siblings of row buttons, not children — HTML forbids `<button>` inside `<button>`
 - Context menu rendered outside sidebar via React fragment to avoid `overflow: hidden` clipping
 - `useContextMenu` dismisses on a `window` click listener
 - Dynamic `updateSession` SQL builds `SET` clause from only the fields passed — prevents accidental overwrites
+- `AllChatsView` pagination uses `CLIENT_DEFAULTS.PAGE_SIZE` (not `API_DEFAULTS.PAGE_SIZE` which doesn't exist)
 
 ## Project Management
 
+All projects are isolated by default (`isolated: 1` hardcoded on create).
+The isolated toggle has been removed from `ProjectModal`.
+
 `useProjects` fetches the project list from `GET /projects` on mount and
 exposes `refreshProjects` for keeping the sidebar in sync after mutations.
 
 `ProjectModal` handles create, edit, and delete confirmation. Fields: name
-(required), description (optional), colour picker, isolated toggle.
+(required), description (optional), colour picker.
 
-`ProjectView` shows the project's name, description, isolated badge (if set),
+Clicking a project tile in `AllProjectsView` calls `onSelectProject` then
-and a filtered session list. The "+ New Chat" button creates a new session,
+navigates to `'project'`.
-navigates to `'chat'`, and writes the project assignment after the first message.
+
+### ProjectView
+
+`ProjectView` is a full project workspace with:
+- Colour accent bar + project title + description
+- ⋮ dropdown menu for edit (opens `ProjectModal` pre-filled) and delete
+- Conversations list — each session is a clickable row navigating to `'chat'`
+- `ChatInput` component below the list (or centred when no sessions exist) for
+  starting new project-tied conversations without a separate button
+- **Project Memory** — placeholder section explaining upcoming auto-summary feature
+- **Project Notes** — textarea with Save button; notes saved to `projects.notes`
+  column in SQLite; save button only appears when content has changed from last
+  saved value (`savedNotes` state tracks the baseline, not `initialNotes`)
+
+`updateProject` in `orchestration.js` uses a passthrough pattern — spreads
+all fields directly into the request body, only transforming `isolated` if
+present. This allows partial updates like `{ notes }` without clobbering
+other fields.
 
 For memory isolation behaviour, see `memory-isolation.md`.
 
 ## Settings
 
-`useSettings` fetches from `GET /settings` on mount and exposes a `saveSetting(key, value)`
+`useSettings` fetches from `GET /settings` on mount and exposes a
-helper that issues a `PATCH /settings` with a single key-value pair. The `saving`
+`saveSetting(key, value)` helper that issues a `PATCH /settings` with a
-boolean is exposed for disabling save buttons during in-flight requests.
+single key-value pair. The `saving` boolean is exposed for disabling save
+buttons during in-flight requests.
+
+`SettingsView` receives `settings`/`saveSetting`/`saving` from a single
+`useSettings()` call at the top level and passes them as props to
+`ModelsSection` and `ModelsFolderSetting` — avoiding triple fetch on mount.
+`modelProps` (context window, loaded model) is fetched once in `App.jsx` and
+passed down as a prop, eliminating a duplicate fetch on every settings open.
 
 `SettingsView` is organised into sections:
 
@@ -285,3 +322,7 @@ boolean is exposed for disabling save buttons during in-flight requests.
   loaded model from llama-server)
 - **About** — service health check panel, version
 - **Appearance** — theme (coming soon)
+
+An error boundary (`SettingsSectionErrorBoundary`) wraps the Models section —
+if the models fetch fails, only that section shows an error with a Retry
+button rather than blanking the entire settings view.

docs/services/memory-service.md

@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ Six core tables:
 - **entities** — named things the system learns about (people, places, concepts)
 - **relationships** — directional labeled links between entities
 - **summaries** — condensed episode groups for efficient context retrieval
-- **projects** — named groupings of sessions with `name`, `description`, `colour`, `icon`, `isolated`
+- **projects** — named groupings of sessions with `name`, `description`, `colour`, `icon`, `isolated`, `notes`
 
 ### Migrations
 
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ try { db.exec(`ALTER TABLE sessions ADD COLUMN name TEXT`); } catch {}
 try { db.exec(`ALTER TABLE sessions ADD COLUMN project_id INTEGER REFERENCES projects(id)`); } catch {}
 try { db.exec(`CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_sessions_project ON sessions(project_id)`); } catch {}
 try { db.exec(`ALTER TABLE projects ADD COLUMN isolated INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0`); } catch {}
+try { db.exec(`ALTER TABLE projects ADD COLUMN notes TEXT`); } catch {}
 ```
 
 New migrations are always appended here — never modify the schema file for
@@ -87,22 +88,34 @@ keep the FTS index automatically in sync with the episodes table.
 - `foreign_keys = ON` — enforces referential integrity and cascade deletes
 - PRAGMAs set via `db.pragma()`, not `db.exec()`
 
-### Dynamic Session Updates
+### Dynamic Updates
 
-`updateSession` builds its `SET` clause dynamically from only the fields
+Both `updateSession` and `updateProject` build their `SET` clause dynamically
-passed — prevents partial updates from overwriting fields that weren't
+from only the fields passed — prevents partial updates from overwriting fields
-touched:
+that weren't touched:
 
 ```js
-function updateSession(id, { name, projectId } = {}) {
+// updateProject example
+function updateProject(id, fields = {}) {
+  const allowed = ['name', 'description', 'colour', 'icon', 'isolated', 'notes'];
   const updates = [];
   const values = [];
-  if (name !== undefined)      { updates.push('name = ?');       values.push(name ?? null); }
+  for (const key of allowed) {
-  if (projectId !== undefined) { updates.push('project_id = ?'); values.push(projectId ?? null); }
+    if (fields[key] !== undefined) {
-  // ...
+      updates.push(`${key} = ?`);
+      values.push(fields[key] ?? null);
+    }
+  }
+  if (updates.length === 0) return getProject(id);
+  values.push(id);
+  db.prepare(`UPDATE projects SET ${updates.join(', ')} WHERE id = ?`).run(...values);
+  return getProject(id);
 }
 ```
 
+This means saving just `{ notes: "..." }` won't touch `name`, `colour`, or
+any other field.
+
 ## Qdrant / Semantic Layer
 
 Three Qdrant collections are initialized on service startup:

packages/chat-client/src/components/ProjectView.jsx

@@ -302,14 +302,16 @@ function ChatInput({ value, onChange, onSend, placeholder, autoFocus }) {
 
 function NotesSection({ projectId, initialNotes }) {
   const [notes, setNotes] = useState(initialNotes);
+  const [savedNotes, setSavedNotes] = useState(initialNotes);
   const [saving, setSaving] = useState(false);
 
-  const isDirty = notes !== initialNotes;
+  const isDirty = notes !== savedNotes;
 
   async function handleSave() {
     setSaving(true);
     try {
       await updateProject(projectId, { notes });
+      setSavedNotes(notes);
     } catch (err) {
       console.error('[NotesSection] Save failed:', err.message);
     } finally {