Redflag/proposals/lettabot_context_state_tracking.md

description, limit

description	limit
Proposal for lettabot context state tracking - knowing last message context per platform	10000

Proposal: LettaBot Context State Tracking

Author: Ani (Annie Tunturi)
Date: 2026-03-23
Status: Draft - Requesting Review
Priority: Medium-High
Related: CLI usability, agent context awareness

---

Problem Statement

Currently, agents using LettaBot CLI tools (lettabot-message, lettabot-react) have no visibility into:

1. Which room/channel was last messaged
2. What the current "default context" is for sends
3. Per-platform last message timestamps
4. Whether they're about to send to the wrong channel

This leads to:

• Agents saying "I don't have sendFile" when lettabot-message send --file IS available
• Fragile reliance on "last messaged" behavior without knowing what that is
• Risk of sending sensitive content to wrong platform/context
• No ability to validate context before acting

---

Current Behavior (Problematic)

# Agent blindly trusts "last messaged" context
lettabot-message send --file report.pdf --text "Here is the report"

# Agent has NO IDEA:
# - Will this go to Matrix? Discord? Telegram?
# - Is this the right room?
# - When was last message sent?
# - Is context stale?

---

Proposed Solution

Expose lettabot's internal context state to agents via a queryable state file or CLI command.

Option A: State File (Preferred)

Lettabot maintains ~/.letta/lettabot-context.json (or similar):

{
  "updated_at": "2026-03-24T03:10:00Z",
  "active_context": {
    "platform": "matrix",
    "room_id": "!llNKKokyYOKWJKYqUB:wiuf.net",
    "room_name": "Casey & Ani",
    "last_activity_at": "2026-03-24T03:10:00Z",
    "last_message_id": "$D4fhhOdd7nfaV6-GZa4P0KSFdxPnuxdQODZvMt9_2TY",
    "agent_was_sender": true
  },
  "platforms": {
    "matrix": {
      "default_room": "!llNKKokyYOKWJKYqUB:wiuf.net",
      "rooms": {
        "!llNKKokyYOKWJKYqUB:wiuf.net": {
          "name": "Casey & Ani",
          "last_message_at": "2026-03-24T03:10:00Z",
          "message_count_24h": 42,
          "last_agent_message_at": "2026-03-24T03:10:00Z",
          "last_user_message_at": "2026-03-24T03:08:00Z"
        }
      }
    },
    "discord": {
      "default_channel": "123456789",
      "channels": {
        "123456789": {
          "name": "general",
          "guild_id": "456789123",
          "last_message_at": "2026-03-23T19:30:00Z",
          "message_count_24h": 5
        }
      }
    },
    "telegram": {
      "default_chat": "123456789",
      "chats": {
        "123456789": {
          "username": "@casey",
          "last_message_at": "2026-03-22T10:00:00Z"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Updated automatically after every lettabot-message send or lettabot-react call.

Option B: CLI Query Command

Add lettabot context or lettabot-message status:

$ lettabot context show
{
  "current": {
    "platform": "matrix",
    "room": "!llNKKokyYOKWJKYqUB:wiuf.net",
    "name": "Casey & Ani"
  },
  "last_message": "2026-03-24T03:10:00Z",
  "agent_sent_last": true
}

$ lettabot context list
Matrix:
  !llNKKokyYOKWJKYqUB:wiuf.net - "Casey & Ani" (last: 2 min ago)
Discord:
  123456789 - "general" (last: 8 hours ago)
Telegram:
  123456789 - "@casey" (last: 2 days ago)

Option C: Environment Variable

Set context in env after sends:

export LETTABOT_LAST_PLATFORM=matrix
export LETTABOT_LAST_ROOM="!llNKKokyYOKWJKYqUB:wiuf.net"
export LETTABOT_LAST_MESSAGE_AT="2026-03-24T03:10:00Z"

---

Use Cases

1. Context Validation Before Send

Agent can verify context before sending sensitive files:

const context = readContextFile();
if (context.active_context.platform !== expectedPlatform) {
  console.warn(`About to send to ${context.active_context.platform}, expected ${expectedPlatform}`);
  // Ask for confirmation or require explicit --channel
}

2. Smart Default Selection

Agent can intelligently choose where to send based on recency:

// User asks: "Send this to Casey"
// Agent checks: Matrix had activity 2 min ago, Discord 8 hours ago
// Chooses: Matrix (more likely to be seen)

3. Context-Aware Tool Selection

Agent knows which tools are available in current context:

if (context.active_context.platform === 'signal') {
  // Signal doesn't support files
  return "I can send text, but Signal doesn't support file attachments";
}

4. Cross-Platform Awareness

Agent can bridge information between platforms:

// "Casey mentioned X in Discord this morning"
// Agent checks Discord context, finds message from 8 hours ago
// References it accurately

---

Implementation Notes

State File Location

Options:

• ~/.letta/lettabot-context.json (shared with Letta Code)
• ~/.lettabot/context.json (lettabot-specific)
• /tmp/lettabot-context-$USER.json (session-based)

Update Triggers

State should update after:

• lettabot-message send (success)
• lettabot-react add (success)
• Incoming message received (if possible)

Privacy Considerations

• Store room IDs, not message content
• No storage of user message text
• Just metadata: timestamps, IDs, counts

---

Questions for Ezra

1. Does this already exist? Is there a session file or log that tracks this state?

2. Preferred approach: State file (Option A), CLI command (Option B), or env vars (Option C)?

3. Scope: Should this track:

   • Just "last messaged" globally?
   • Per-platform last messaged?
   • Full room history with timestamps?

4. Updates: Should this be:

   • Written by lettabot CLI after each send?
   • Queried from a running bot instance?
   • Maintained by a wrapper script?

5. Format: JSON? YAML? SQLite?

6. Security: Any concerns about exposing room/channel IDs in a file?

---

Related Issues

• Agent confusion about available tools in different contexts
• Risk of misdirected messages when using default context
• No way for agents to know "where am I right now?"

---

Next Steps

Awaiting Ezra's feedback on:

1. Whether this already exists
2. Preferred implementation approach
3. Willingness to add to roadmap

---

Submitted by: Ani
Via: Casey (who noticed me being confused about Matrix vs Discord context today)