[Backend][UX] A session has a number (D86): given at creation, frozen, gaps allowed

claude-bot commented

2026-09-22 21:17:02 +00:00

Collaborator

Decided by the owner on 2026-09-22 as D86, answering a question lane 1 (#727) raised and left open.

What is missing

There is no session numbering in Quest Board — no column, no field, no concept anywhere. Yet the prototype says Session 14 on the Contents, the breadcrumb, the bell and the live bar, and lane 1 could only put the session's title in all four. The test fiction titles its sessions "Session 13: …" and "Session 14: …" so the journeys read right, which is a workaround, not a feature.

The decision

A number, given when the session is created, frozen, and never reused.

Numbering is per campaign, starting at 1.
It is assigned at creation, not at completion, because the breadcrumb, the bell and the live bar all show it for a session that has not been played yet.
It never changes. A cancelled session keeps its number, so the sequence has gaps: cancel one and a campaign reads 12, 13, 15.

That gap is the cost, and it was chosen deliberately over the alternative. The nth-session-by-date is not stable — cancel one and every later session renumbers — and someone will have written "session 12" in the wiki, a recap or a Discord message by then. A number that skips is honest; a number that shifts is a lie about something already written down.

Why it is worth a column at all

The four places the drawing uses it are tight — a breadcrumb, a bell row, the live bar, a Contents entry — and they chose a short, stable token for exactly that reason. "The Amberwake Gate, Part Two" fits none of them. It also gives the wiki, recaps and Discord posts something stable to cite, which a title (editable at any time) is not.

What the work is

A column and a backfill. sessions.number, integer, not null, unique per campaign. Backfill existing sessions in created_at order per campaign — that is the closest thing to "the order they were made" that the data still holds, and it is worth saying in the migration that it is a reconstruction, not a record.
Assignment at creation, in the one place sessions are created, and safe against two sessions being created at once (a unique constraint on (campaign_id, number) plus a retry, rather than a read-then-write race).
Exposure: the session API, GET /api/me/home, /api/me/attention, the campaign's live endpoint and search results — wherever a session is named to a person.
The UI, in the four places the drawing shows it, and anywhere else lane 4 finds when it builds the session surfaces.
Import. POST /api/campaigns/import creates sessions; they need numbers too, in the imported order.

Where it lives in the redesign

SH-1 (the app bar's breadcrumb and the live bar), SH-2/SH-3 (the Contents), HOME-1 (Needs you and the campaign cards), SESS-1 to SESS-7 (a session's own pages), TABLE-1 (the GM's face at the table). Admin and GM alike; used on a phone, which is part of why the short token matters.

The catalogue's decision table carries D86; this issue is the work.

Sequencing

Lane 4 (#730, sessions) is the natural home — it owns SESS-1 to SESS-7 and will be rewriting every surface that shows a session's name. Doing the column ahead of it, as its server PR, means lane 4 builds against a number that already exists rather than retrofitting one. Lane 3 (#729, the campaign core) comes first and shows sessions in a list, so if that lane lands before this, its list shows titles until this does.

Nothing is blocked either way: today's behaviour (the title) is correct-looking and stays until the number exists.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

**Decided by the owner on 2026-09-22 as D86**, answering a question lane 1 (#727) raised and left open. ## What is missing There is **no session numbering in Quest Board** — no column, no field, no concept anywhere. Yet the prototype says *Session 14* on the Contents, the breadcrumb, the bell and the live bar, and lane 1 could only put the session's **title** in all four. The test fiction titles its sessions "Session 13: …" and "Session 14: …" so the journeys read right, which is a workaround, not a feature. ## The decision **A number, given when the session is created, frozen, and never reused.** - Numbering is **per campaign**, starting at 1. - It is assigned **at creation**, not at completion, because the breadcrumb, the bell and the live bar all show it for a session that has not been played yet. - It **never changes**. A cancelled session keeps its number, so the sequence has gaps: cancel one and a campaign reads 12, 13, 15. That gap is the cost, and it was chosen deliberately over the alternative. The *n*th-session-by-date is not stable — cancel one and every later session renumbers — and someone will have written "session 12" in the wiki, a recap or a Discord message by then. **A number that skips is honest; a number that shifts is a lie about something already written down.** ## Why it is worth a column at all The four places the drawing uses it are tight — a breadcrumb, a bell row, the live bar, a Contents entry — and they chose a short, stable token for exactly that reason. "The Amberwake Gate, Part Two" fits none of them. It also gives the wiki, recaps and Discord posts something stable to cite, which a title (editable at any time) is not. ## What the work is - **A column and a backfill.** `sessions.number`, integer, not null, unique per campaign. Backfill existing sessions in `created_at` order per campaign — that is the closest thing to "the order they were made" that the data still holds, and it is worth saying in the migration that it is a reconstruction, not a record. - **Assignment at creation**, in the one place sessions are created, and safe against two sessions being created at once (a unique constraint on `(campaign_id, number)` plus a retry, rather than a read-then-write race). - **Exposure**: the session API, `GET /api/me/home`, `/api/me/attention`, the campaign's live endpoint and search results — wherever a session is named to a person. - **The UI**, in the four places the drawing shows it, and anywhere else lane 4 finds when it builds the session surfaces. - **Import.** `POST /api/campaigns/import` creates sessions; they need numbers too, in the imported order. ## Where it lives in the redesign `SH-1` (the app bar's breadcrumb and the live bar), `SH-2`/`SH-3` (the Contents), `HOME-1` (Needs you and the campaign cards), `SESS-1` to `SESS-7` (a session's own pages), `TABLE-1` (the GM's face at the table). Admin and GM alike; used on a phone, which is part of why the short token matters. The catalogue's decision table carries D86; this issue is the work. ## Sequencing **Lane 4 (#730, sessions) is the natural home** — it owns `SESS-1` to `SESS-7` and will be rewriting every surface that shows a session's name. Doing the column ahead of it, as its server PR, means lane 4 builds against a number that already exists rather than retrofitting one. Lane 3 (#729, the campaign core) comes first and shows sessions in a list, so if that lane lands before this, its list shows titles until this does. Nothing is blocked either way: today's behaviour (the title) is correct-looking and stays until the number exists. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

claude-bot referenced this issue

2026-09-22 21:17:14 +00:00

Build lane 1: the shell, Home and you (SH-1 to SH-9, HOME-1 to HOME-7) #727

claude-bot referenced this issue

2026-09-22 21:42:05 +00:00

D86 to D90, and the front door's own line drawn on ADMIN-15 (#659, #727, #728) #761

rbrooks referenced this issue from a commit

2026-09-23 03:57:01 +00:00

feat(frontend): the story, the timeline, the lines and the numbers (#729, lane 3)

rbrooks referenced this issue from a commit

2026-09-23 03:57:10 +00:00

feat(webapp): this week, and the sessions list (#729, lane 3)

claude-bot referenced this issue

2026-09-23 04:33:28 +00:00

Lane 3: This week, the sessions list, and the clock D17 actually decided (#729) #767

claude-bot referenced this issue

2026-09-23 04:33:45 +00:00

Build lane 4: sessions (SESS-1 to SESS-7) #730

claude-bot referenced this issue

2026-09-23 07:36:30 +00:00

J6: a player finds out what happened — recap, highlights, storyline, wiki (#726, #729) #770

claude-bot referenced this issue

2026-09-23 10:18:44 +00:00

Lane 3: Settings — Discord, and Recording, retention & AI (#729, CAMP-12, CAMP-13) #776

claude-bot referenced this issue

2026-09-24 04:11:55 +00:00

Build lane 4: sessions (SESS-1 to SESS-7) #730

rbrooks referenced this issue from a commit

2026-09-24 06:16:23 +00:00

test(e2e): the journeys read the session's real number (#760, D86)

rbrooks referenced this issue from a commit

2026-09-24 06:16:23 +00:00

docs(changelog): a session has a number (#760, D86)

claude-bot referenced this issue from a pull request that will close it,

2026-09-24 06:16:37 +00:00

A session has a number: given at creation, frozen, never reused (#760, D86, lane 4) #807

claude-bot closed this issue

2026-09-24 06:45:04 +00:00

claude-bot referenced this issue from a commit

2026-09-24 06:45:05 +00:00

feat(backend): a session has a number, given at creation and never reused (#760, D86)

claude-bot referenced this issue from a commit

2026-09-24 06:45:05 +00:00

feat(webapp): "Session 14" where the drawing is tight (#760, D86)

claude-bot referenced this issue from a commit

2026-09-24 06:45:05 +00:00

Merge PR #807: a session has a number — given at creation, frozen, never reused (#760, D86, lane 4)

claude-bot commented

2026-09-24 06:47:15 +00:00

Author

Collaborator

Done in #807 (lane 4's first PR, #730).

Migration f3a4b5c6d7e8: sessions.number (NOT NULL, unique per campaign), plus a per-campaign counter, so a number is never reused, even after the newest session is deleted.
- The backfill orders by created_at and breaks ties by when each session happened, which handles an import's shared timestamp.
- Every creation path allocates, and a flush hook numbers anything else created through the ORM.
Where "Session 14" shows: the breadcrumb, tab title, Contents, live bar, bell, Home, This week and the Sessions list, through sessionLabel(). The title stays the heading.
Import and export carry the number. /api/bot/* responses gain it additively, with no contract bump.
Fixture titles lost their "Session N: " prefixes, and the journeys now assert the real numbers.
Not yet: the Storyline page, the Search panel and MergeNotes' options don't draw the number; lane 4's page PRs pick them up.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Done in #807 (lane 4's first PR, #730). - **Migration `f3a4b5c6d7e8`:** `sessions.number` (NOT NULL, unique per campaign), plus a per-campaign counter, so a number is never reused, even after the newest session is deleted. - The backfill orders by `created_at` and breaks ties by when each session happened, which handles an import's shared timestamp. - Every creation path allocates, and a flush hook numbers anything else created through the ORM. - **Where "Session 14" shows:** the breadcrumb, tab title, Contents, live bar, bell, Home, This week and the Sessions list, through `sessionLabel()`. The title stays the heading. - **Import and export** carry the number. `/api/bot/*` responses gain it additively, with no contract bump. - **Fixture titles** lost their "Session N: " prefixes, and the journeys now assert the real numbers. - **Not yet:** the Storyline page, the Search panel and MergeNotes' options don't draw the number; lane 4's page PRs pick them up. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

claude-bot referenced this issue

2026-09-24 08:20:36 +00:00

Build lane 4: sessions (SESS-1 to SESS-7) #730

rbrooks referenced this issue from a commit

2026-09-24 14:59:26 +00:00

test(backend): the bell's D96 rows name the session by its number (#760)

claude-bot referenced this issue

2026-09-25 17:22:40 +00:00

Build lane 4: sessions (SESS-1 to SESS-7) #730

rbrooks referenced this issue from a commit

2026-09-26 03:28:33 +00:00

docs(api): the live bar's session carries its number (D86)