> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.inlace.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sessions

> How Lace records durable screen-context sessions and the session flow agents can query.

A chat is the durable conversation. A **session** is a recorded episode of [screen context](/concepts/capture) — while it's live, Lace follows the anchored display, keeps the overlay model current, and records a **session flow** (the screens you visited and the actions between them). Sessions are global: any surface (chat or review) can use the live context. Stopping a session ends screen context; the recorded flow stays available.

## Scoping

* **Screen context is global.** A live session follows the anchored display — the screen your Lace window is on. Both chat and review surfaces can read the live context.
* **Drafts are preserved.** Draft input is keyed by chat.
* **Artifacts belong to their chat.** Published prototypes are linked back to the chat that created them.

## Session lifecycle

* **Start session** in the app header, or press **⌘S** while Lace is focused.
* **Auto-start on review open** in Settings starts a session when you enter a review (off by default). Review surfaces join an already-live session instead of starting a second one.
* **Stop** from the header, **⌘S**, or by leaving the review surface. An explicit stop does **not** block auto-start while screen context is enabled — turn the preference off to stay stopped.
* Sessions also close after **5 minutes of idle**.
* Only one session is live at a time. Starting a session elsewhere stops the previous one; recorded data is kept.

## Session flow

While a session is live, Lace records the ordered screens and interactions into a **session flow**. That record is what chat and [MCP](/reference/mcp) use when you ask what happened earlier — not a one-off screenshot cache.

* Agents find sessions with `search_sessions`, then load a flow with `get_session_flow` (skeleton first; elements and screenshots only when needed).
* Sessions are **private to you** by default. You can share a session with your organization when you want teammates' agents to see it (same idea as opting a discussion into MCP).

## Memory

Lace keeps memory separate from sessions.

* **User memory** stores durable preferences for the current user and organization, such as communication style or recurring constraints.
* **Project memory** stores durable project context, including current goals, ongoing tasks, and constraints to respect.
* **Chat memory** stores recent conversation messages for the current chat. Older messages may be compacted into summaries so Lace can still reference earlier context.

Screen context remains scoped to the live session. Memory is only added when a turn produces durable facts worth preserving, and project memory is only attached when the chat belongs to a project.

The [knowledge graph](/concepts/knowledge-graph) carries cross-session context within a project.

## Privacy

Session flows default to the creator. Organization members see a session only when its sharing toggle is on. User memory follows the current user within that organization; project memory stays attached to its project. Switching organizations starts a fresh context.