fix: improve lore import UX — stdout logging, prompt ordering, only-ask-once

.lore.md

@@ -24,6 +24,12 @@
 
 ### Decision
 
+<!-- lore:019e2026-9cda-7927-81d1-48ad964263d6 -->
+* **recordDeclined/wasDeclined renamed to recordOffered/wasOffered — fires unconditionally**: In \`packages/core/src/import/import-auto.ts\`, \`recordDeclined\`/\`wasDeclined\`/\`DECLINED\_SOURCE\_ID\` were renamed to \`recordOffered\`/\`wasOffered\`/\`OFFERED\_SOURCE\_ID\`. The call fires unconditionally after the auto-import prompt regardless of user answer — semantics are 'we already offered for this directory', not 'user declined'. \`wasOffered()\` must check for both \`'\_\_offered\_\_'\` and \`'\_\_declined\_\_'\` for backwards compatibility with existing DB rows. Remove \`recordDeclined\` import from \`import.ts\` (it was imported but never called there).
+
+<!-- lore:019e2026-28d0-75bf-8be7-2236a0185e13 -->
+* **recordDeclined/wasDeclined renamed to recordOffered/wasOffered — fires unconditionally after prompt**: In \`packages/gateway/src/import-auto.ts\`, \`recordDeclined\`/\`wasDeclined\` were renamed to \`recordOffered\`/\`wasOffered\` because the marker fires regardless of the user's answer (yes or no). The sentinel \`\_\_declined\_\_\` → \`\_\_offered\_\_\`. \`wasOffered()\` must check BOTH \`\_\_offered\_\_\` AND \`\_\_declined\_\_\` for backwards compatibility with existing DBs. This design is superseded if \`last\_import\_at\` is adopted on the projects table — that approach eliminates sentinel rows entirely.
+
 <!-- lore:019e1df9-df5a-70b7-aa49-0f569fa9ea01 -->
 * **Switched from relaxed (AND→OR cascade) to direct OR semantics for recall-oriented matching of paraphrased instructions; rationale: repetition detection needs recall**: switched from relaxed (AND→OR cascade) to direct OR semantics for recall-oriented matching of paraphrased instructions; rationale: repetition detection needs recall,
 
@@ -56,6 +62,9 @@
 <!-- lore:019e1de2-7710-794e-872c-3e76e6f3ed57 -->
 * **agents-file.ts dedup scope: use forProject(path, false) not forSession()**: In \`packages/core/src/agents-file.ts\`, deduplication of hand-written \`.lore.md\` entries must use \`forProject(path, false)\` (project-local entries only) — NOT \`forSession()\` which includes cross-project global entries. Using \`forSession()\` causes cross-project entries from OTHER projects to silently suppress import of valid project-specific entries.
 
+<!-- lore:019e2026-28c1-79c0-aa5e-2bde5bbe1699 -->
+* **Auto-import race condition: record 'offered' synchronously before background import fires**: In \`packages/gateway/src/import-auto.ts\`, \`maybeAutoImport()\` fires \`runBackgroundImport()\` as fire-and-forget. If the user says 'yes' but nothing is recorded synchronously, a second \`lore run\` before the import completes sees \`isFreshProject()=true\` and no offered marker — re-prompts. Fix: update \`last\_import\_at\` (or equivalent marker) immediately after the prompt completes, regardless of the user's answer, before firing the background import. Both yes and no paths must set the marker — the user's answer is irrelevant to the 'don't ask again' logic.
+
 <!-- lore:019e1de2-eb6f-7c65-8622-3b8703d4079f -->
 * **Auto-TTL downgrade lacks hysteresis — single tool use causes compounding cache busts**: In \`packages/gateway/src/pipeline.ts\`, a single tool-use turn (no user text) triggered an immediate 1h→5m TTL downgrade, and subsequent curations would re-upgrade, oscillating and busting the cache repeatedly. Fix: add \`ttlDowngradeStreak\` counter to \`SessionState\`; only downgrade after 3 consecutive tool-only turns. On user-text turn, reset the streak to 0.
 
@@ -377,9 +386,6 @@
 <!-- lore:019e1b2d-2bbb-7f18-b0cd-8c393aa6693d -->
 * **OpenCode plugin spawns gateway via src/index.ts path, but npm publish ships only dist/**: OpenCode/Pi plugins start gateway in-process via \`startInProcess()\` (\`loadConfig()\` + \`startServer()\` from \`@loreai/gateway\`). \`probeGateway()\` runs first; EADDRINUSE falls back to probing. In monorepo, Bun resolves \`@loreai/gateway\` to \`src/index.ts\` via \`'bun'\` export condition; via npm resolves to \`dist/index.cjs\`. \`dist/index.d.cts\` only exists after building — CI typechecks fail. Fix: break static analysis with \`const mod = '@loreai/gateway'; await import(mod)\`. Pi plugin must also externalize \`@loreai/gateway\` in esbuild. \`NODE\_ENV === 'test'\` skips gateway init — export \`startInProcess\`/\`probeGateway\` directly for tests. Use port \`0\` (ephemeral) in tests.
 
-<!-- lore:019e1de2-7681-76e9-91bf-6e64a90780f6 -->
-* **Pi plugin directly imports @loreai/core for compaction — breaks remote gateway model**: The Pi plugin's \`session\_before\_compact\` hook imports \`distill()\` from \`@loreai/core\` directly, running distillation in-process. This means compaction never goes through the gateway, preventing it from working against a remote/hosted gateway. Fix: the hook should POST to \`{gatewayUrl}/v1/compact\` and let the gateway handle distillation, same as how other hooks redirect to gateway endpoints.
-
 <!-- lore:019e1d55-bb26-76a9-a85b-1af0524f48f9 -->
 * **Pipeline accumulator only handles Anthropic-format upstream responses — OpenAI upstream is broken**: Pipeline accumulator + streaming translator dispatch by protocol: \`effectiveProtocol\` in \`UpstreamResult\` drives both accumulator branches (non-streaming) and streaming translator selection. Supported: OpenAI Chat Completions (JSON + SSE), OpenAI Responses API (JSON + SSE), Anthropic Messages. Each maps \`prompt\_tokens\_details.cached\_tokens\` → \`cacheReadInputTokens\`. Streaming translators live in \`packages/gateway/src/translators/\`. Adding a new protocol requires both an accumulator branch and a streaming translator. Gateway invariant: internally always Anthropic-format; server handlers re-translate to client protocol.
 
@@ -592,9 +598,18 @@
 
 ### Pattern
 
+<!-- lore:019e2026-9ccc-7a49-91ab-a781878e41cc -->
+* **Auto-import guard: last\_import\_at timestamp replaces sentinel \_\_declined\_\_ rows**: In \`packages/core/src/import/\`, the \`maybeAutoImport()\` guard uses a \`last\_import\_at\` timestamp on the project record instead of a sentinel \`\_\_declined\_\_\`/\`\_\_offered\_\_\` row in \`import\_history\`. This serves dual purpose: (1) prevents re-prompting after auto-import was offered (any answer), (2) enables incremental imports — subsequent \`lore import\` calls only import conversations newer than \`last\_import\_at\`. Call \`recordOffered(projectPath)\` (sets \`last\_import\_at\`) unconditionally after the prompt fires, before the user's answer is processed, so both yes and no paths mark the project. \`wasOffered()\` checks \`last\_import\_at IS NOT NULL\` for backwards compat.
+
+<!-- lore:019e2026-28b1-7c3e-bbad-01c519d9852d -->
+* **Auto-import offered marker: use last\_import\_at timestamp on project, not sentinel rows**: In \`packages/gateway/src/import-auto.ts\`, the 'don't re-prompt' guard should use a \`last\_import\_at\` timestamp on the projects table rather than sentinel import\_history rows (\`\_\_declined\_\_\`/\`\_\_offered\_\_\`). This serves three purposes: (1) prevents re-prompting after auto-import is offered, (2) enables incremental imports (only conversations newer than \`last\_import\_at\`), (3) eliminates the misleading \`recordDeclined\`/\`wasDeclined\` naming. \`maybeAutoImport()\` checks \`last\_import\_at IS NOT NULL\` to skip. Explicit \`lore import\` updates \`last\_import\_at\` on completion. Backwards compat: \`\_\_declined\_\_\` sentinel rows in existing DBs should still be respected during transition.
+
 <!-- lore:019e1c62-320d-7f08-8907-cf6ca29eb0d7 -->
 * **curator.ts parseOps/applyOps extracted as shared helpers for import pipeline**: \`parseOps()\` and \`applyOps()\` are exported from \`curator.ts\` as named exports so the import extraction pipeline (\`packages/core/src/import/extract.ts\`) can reuse the same op parsing and application logic without duplicating it. When modifying curator op handling, update \`curator.ts\` — the import pipeline inherits the change automatically.
 
+<!-- lore:019e2025-3eb4-7852-aaad-dd9e88e8296e -->
+* **maybeAutoImport: recordOffered fires unconditionally after prompt, not per-answer**: In \`packages/gateway/src/import/import-auto.ts\`, \`recordOffered(projectPath)\` (renamed from \`recordDeclined\`) must fire unconditionally right after the prompt completes — before the \`if (!ok)\` branch — so both yes and no paths mark the directory as offered. The function name \`recordDeclined\` was misleading: the marker means 'auto-import was offered here', not 'user said no'. \`wasOffered()\` must check for both \`'\_\_offered\_\_'\` AND \`'\_\_declined\_\_'\` sentinel values for backwards compat. Explicit \`lore import\` is unaffected — it uses per-session \`isImported()\` idempotency.
+
 <!-- lore:019e1de2-7714-78af-8dff-2e421ede261f -->
 * **OpenAI streaming translation: Anthropic SSE → OpenAI Chat/Responses format**: True incremental streaming translation lives in \`packages/gateway/src/stream/openai.ts\` (Chat Completions) and \`stream/openai-responses.ts\` (Responses API). These consume Anthropic SSE events and emit OpenAI-format SSE events incrementally — no accumulate-then-re-emit. The pipeline's \`effectiveProtocol\` field in \`UpstreamResult\` determines which translator is used. When adding new protocol support, extend \`UpstreamResult.effectiveProtocol\` union and add a streaming translator alongside the existing accumulator.
 
@@ -612,5 +627,14 @@
 
 ### Preference
 
+<!-- lore:019e2026-9cd7-7a95-bdda-765a3d890127 -->
+* **Auto-import prompt must fire before agent selection in run.ts**: In \`packages/gateway/src/cli/run.ts\`, \`maybeAutoImport(config)\` must be called before \`resolveLaunchTarget()\` so the import prompt appears before the user is asked which agent to launch. This is a repeated instruction — always maintain this ordering.
+
+<!-- lore:019e2026-28c9-7db9-b467-1c129a835012 -->
+* **maybeAutoImport must run before resolveLaunchTarget in run.ts**: Always place \`maybeAutoImport(config)\` before \`resolveLaunchTarget()\` in \`packages/gateway/src/cli/run.ts\` so the auto-import prompt appears before the user is asked which agent to launch. This is the correct UX order — import history should be offered first.
+
+<!-- lore:019e2025-3eb9-7e97-88e5-614d2acb6332 -->
+* **maybeAutoImport prompt must appear before agent selection in run.ts**: Always call \`maybeAutoImport(config)\` before \`resolveLaunchTarget()\` in \`run.ts\` so the auto-import prompt appears before the user is asked which agent to launch. This ordering was explicitly required across multiple sessions.
+
 <!-- lore:019e1c54-02ef-7ca8-90ce-b75d97917b96 -->
 * **Never use --admin flag for PR merges unless explicitly told**: Always watch CI after submitting a PR — never use \`--admin\` to bypass branch protection and never use \`gh pr merge --auto\`. Fix any CI failures until green, then merge with \`gh pr merge --squash\`. Also: always check for merge conflicts when CI doesn't start — a PR with merge conflicts won't trigger CI. Resolve by rebasing onto main (\`git rebase origin/main\`), then force-pushing the branch.

packages/core/src/db.ts

@@ -494,6 +494,27 @@ const MIGRATIONS: string[] = [
   ALTER TABLE session_state ADD COLUMN avoided_compactions INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;
   ALTER TABLE session_state ADD COLUMN avoided_compaction_cost REAL NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;
   `,
+  `
+  -- Version 22: Track when conversation import was last offered/run.
+  -- NULL means import has never been offered for this project.
+  -- Used by auto-import to avoid re-prompting, and by explicit
+  -- \`lore import\` for incremental imports (only newer conversations).
+  ALTER TABLE projects ADD COLUMN last_import_at INTEGER;
+
+  -- Backfill: migrate legacy __declined__ sentinel rows so existing
+  -- users who previously declined are not re-prompted after upgrading.
+  UPDATE projects SET last_import_at = (
+    SELECT ih.imported_at FROM import_history ih
+    WHERE ih.project_id = projects.id
+      AND ih.source_id = '__declined__'
+    LIMIT 1
+  )
+  WHERE EXISTS (
+    SELECT 1 FROM import_history ih
+    WHERE ih.project_id = projects.id
+      AND ih.source_id = '__declined__'
+  );
+  `,
 ];
 
 /** Return the resolved path of the SQLite database file. */
@@ -842,6 +863,33 @@ export function isFirstRun(): boolean {
   return row.count === 0;
 }
 
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Conversation import tracking
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/**
+ * Get the timestamp of the last conversation import offer/run for a project.
+ * Returns null if import has never been offered for this project.
+ */
+export function getLastImportAt(projectPath: string): number | null {
+  const id = ensureProject(projectPath);
+  const row = db()
+    .query("SELECT last_import_at FROM projects WHERE id = ?")
+    .get(id) as { last_import_at: number | null } | null;
+  return row?.last_import_at ?? null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Record that conversation import was offered/run for a project.
+ * Prevents auto-import from re-prompting, and enables incremental imports.
+ */
+export function setLastImportAt(projectPath: string, timestamp: number): void {
+  const id = ensureProject(projectPath);
+  db()
+    .query("UPDATE projects SET last_import_at = ? WHERE id = ?")
+    .run(timestamp, id);
+}
+
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Persistent session state (error recovery)
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

packages/core/src/import/history.ts

@@ -1,9 +1,6 @@
 /**
  * Import history — tracks which external agent sessions have been imported
  * to prevent re-importing unchanged sources.
- *
- * Also tracks user-declined imports via a special "__declined__" source_id
- * so we don't re-prompt on every `lore run`.
  */
 import { db, ensureProject } from "../db";
 
@@ -18,8 +15,6 @@ export type ImportRecord = {
   imported_at: number;
 };
 
-const DECLINED_SOURCE_ID = "__declined__";
-
 /**
  * Check if a specific source has already been imported with the same hash.
  *
@@ -76,54 +71,19 @@ export function recordImport(
     );
 }
 
-/**
- * Record that the user declined import for this project.
- * We record one "declined" entry per agent so we know not to ask again.
- */
-export function recordDeclined(projectPath: string): void {
-  const projectId = ensureProject(projectPath);
-  db()
-    .query(
-      `INSERT OR REPLACE INTO import_history
-       (id, project_id, agent_name, source_id, source_hash, entries_created, entries_updated, imported_at)
-       VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, 0, 0, ?)`,
-    )
-    .run(
-      crypto.randomUUID(),
-      projectId,
-      "__all__",
-      DECLINED_SOURCE_ID,
-      "",
-      Date.now(),
-    );
-}
-
-/**
- * Check if the user has previously declined import for this project.
- */
-export function wasDeclined(projectPath: string): boolean {
-  const projectId = ensureProject(projectPath);
-  const row = db()
-    .query(
-      `SELECT 1 FROM import_history
-       WHERE project_id = ? AND agent_name = '__all__' AND source_id = ?`,
-    )
-    .get(projectId, DECLINED_SOURCE_ID);
-  return row != null;
-}
-
 /**
  * Get all import records for a project.
+ * Excludes legacy "__declined__" sentinel rows from pre-v22 databases.
  */
 export function listImports(projectPath: string): ImportRecord[] {
   const projectId = ensureProject(projectPath);
   return db()
     .query(
       `SELECT * FROM import_history
-       WHERE project_id = ? AND source_id != ?
+       WHERE project_id = ? AND source_id != '__declined__'
        ORDER BY imported_at DESC`,
     )
-    .all(projectId, DECLINED_SOURCE_ID) as ImportRecord[];
+    .all(projectId) as ImportRecord[];
 }
 
 /**

packages/core/src/import/index.ts

@@ -29,9 +29,8 @@ export { extractKnowledge, type ExtractionProgress, type ExtractionResult } from
 export {
   isImported,
   recordImport,
-  recordDeclined,
-  wasDeclined,
   computeHash,
+  listImports,
   type ImportRecord,
 } from "./history";
 

packages/core/src/index.ts

@@ -61,6 +61,8 @@ export {
   db,
   dbPath,
   ensureProject,
+  getLastImportAt,
+  setLastImportAt,
   isFirstRun,
   projectId,
   projectName,

packages/core/test/db.test.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, test, expect } from "bun:test";
-import { db, close, ensureProject, projectId, mergeProjectInternal, loadForceMinLayer, saveForceMinLayer, getMeta, setMeta, getInstanceId, saveSessionCosts, loadSessionCosts, loadAllSessionCosts } from "../src/db";
+import { db, close, ensureProject, projectId, mergeProjectInternal, loadForceMinLayer, saveForceMinLayer, getMeta, setMeta, getInstanceId, saveSessionCosts, loadSessionCosts, loadAllSessionCosts, getLastImportAt, setLastImportAt } from "../src/db";
 
 
 describe("db", () => {
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ describe("db", () => {
     const row = db().query("SELECT version FROM schema_version").get() as {
       version: number;
     };
-    expect(row.version).toBe(21);
+    expect(row.version).toBe(22);
   });
 
   test("distillation_fts virtual table exists", () => {
@@ -409,6 +409,37 @@ describe("db", () => {
     expect(loadSessionCosts("nonexistent-session")).toBeNull();
   });
 
+  // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  // Migration v22: last_import_at on projects
+  // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+  test("projects table has last_import_at column (migration v22)", () => {
+    const cols = db()
+      .query("PRAGMA table_info(projects)")
+      .all() as Array<{ name: string }>;
+    expect(cols.map((c) => c.name)).toContain("last_import_at");
+  });
+
+  test("getLastImportAt returns null for new project", () => {
+    const result = getLastImportAt("/test/import-tracking/new");
+    expect(result).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test("setLastImportAt and getLastImportAt round-trip", () => {
+    const path = "/test/import-tracking/roundtrip";
+    const ts = Date.now();
+    setLastImportAt(path, ts);
+    expect(getLastImportAt(path)).toBe(ts);
+  });
+
+  test("setLastImportAt updates existing value", () => {
+    const path = "/test/import-tracking/update";
+    setLastImportAt(path, 1000);
+    expect(getLastImportAt(path)).toBe(1000);
+    setLastImportAt(path, 2000);
+    expect(getLastImportAt(path)).toBe(2000);
+  });
+
   test("loadAllSessionCosts returns only sessions with cost data", () => {
     const sid1 = `test-costs-all-1-${crypto.randomUUID()}`;
     const sid2 = `test-costs-all-2-${crypto.randomUUID()}`;

packages/core/test/import/history.test.ts

@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@ import { ensureProject } from "../../src/db";
 import {
   isImported,
   recordImport,
-  recordDeclined,
-  wasDeclined,
   listImports,
   computeHash,
 } from "../../src/import/history";
@@ -61,33 +59,16 @@ describe("import history", () => {
     });
   });
 
-  describe("declined", () => {
-    const DECLINED_PROJECT = "/test/declined-project";
-
-    test("wasDeclined returns false for new project", () => {
-      ensureProject(DECLINED_PROJECT);
-      expect(wasDeclined(DECLINED_PROJECT)).toBe(false);
-    });
-
-    test("recordDeclined + wasDeclined round-trip", () => {
-      recordDeclined(DECLINED_PROJECT);
-      expect(wasDeclined(DECLINED_PROJECT)).toBe(true);
-    });
-  });
-
   describe("listImports", () => {
     test("lists import records excluding declined entries", () => {
       const LIST_PROJECT = "/test/list-project";
       ensureProject(LIST_PROJECT);
 
       recordImport(LIST_PROJECT, "agent-a", "src-a", "h1", { created: 5, updated: 0 });
       recordImport(LIST_PROJECT, "agent-b", "src-b", "h2", { created: 2, updated: 1 });
-      recordDeclined(LIST_PROJECT);
 
       const imports = listImports(LIST_PROJECT);
       expect(imports.length).toBe(2);
-      // Should not include the declined marker
-      expect(imports.every((r) => r.source_id !== "__declined__")).toBe(true);
     });
   });