## Sessions\,&#32;resets\,&#32;and reviewable history

Begin with the question that precedes every useful action\:&#32;**where am I\,&#32;and what state have I actually recovered\?**

A saved conversation can explain yesterday’s decision without restoring yesterday’s files\.&#32;A reset can empty model context while retaining earlier journal entries\.&#32;A local export can include history that a compact transcript view does not show\.&#32;These distinctions make continuity the foundation for the rest of the book\.

### Follow the three desks

**Return Desk**&#32;begins with a deliberately small disagreement\:&#32;yesterday’s Lantern Board conversation says “Ready for pickup\,” while today’s workspace says “Packed and waiting\.” The correct result is not to make those observations match\.&#32;It is to identify the intended journal and understand that the current file remains current\.&#32;Read the ledger before using the helper\,&#32;and use the complete generated environment if you rehearse native resume or continue\.

**Decision Desk**&#32;separates a conversational fork from workspace isolation\,&#32;then gives fresh\,&#32;clear\,&#32;and new different jobs\.&#32;The important identity is the persistent header identity exposed by&#32;`SessionManager.getSessionId()`\.&#32;The source’s&#32;`AgentSession.sessionId`&#32;is provider\-facing and can change without a new journal being created\.

**Review Packet**&#32;follows material out of the active conversation into dumps\,&#32;sidecars\,&#32;HTML\,&#32;and possible sharing routes\.&#32;The Harbor Notes parent\,&#32;Scout\,&#32;and Checklist journals make older and nested content inspectable without exposing a real session\.&#32;This is different from the later Extension part’s Review Desk\,&#32;which records local review decisions and has no publishing operation\.

### Use the lab without borrowing personal history

The public starting points are&#32;[Return Desk’s fixture inventory](<https://present-sketch-tp94.here.now/examples/return-desk/exercise.json>)\,&#32;[its lab helper](<https://present-sketch-tp94.here.now/examples/return-desk/lab.ts>)\,&#32;[Decision Desk’s recipe](<https://present-sketch-tp94.here.now/examples/decision-desk/commands.txt>)\,&#32;and&#32;[Review Packet’s inspection recipe](<https://present-sketch-tp94.here.now/examples/review-packet/inspection-recipe.json>)\.

The helper creates owned fictional material\;&#32;it does not launch OMP\.&#32;Native resume and continue practice uses the same actual terminal tab and generated environment\.&#32;If startup asks for model or authentication setup\,&#32;stop rather than importing credentials or substituting a personal journal\.&#32;Fixture inspection remains useful even when native interaction is blocked\.

The missing\-directory and failure chapters are decision exercises\.&#32;They are not instructions to delete a directory\,&#32;manufacture a live provider failure\,&#32;or force a transition past a guard\.

### Keep the evidence attached

The&#32;[continuity ledger](<https://present-sketch-tp94.here.now/chapters/continuity-the-continuity-ledger>)&#32;is the recurring reference\.&#32;The&#32;[operation decision matrix](<https://present-sketch-tp94.here.now/chapters/continuity-operation-decision-matrix>)&#32;is a lookup aid after the worked chapters\,&#32;not a replacement for their prerequisites and failure phases\.

The recorded checks include manager\,&#32;SDK\,&#32;controller\,&#32;parser\,&#32;and read\-only RPC startup paths\,&#32;plus a separate headless\-browser export check\.&#32;They do not establish physical terminal behavior\,&#32;universal rollback\,&#32;real provider repair\,&#32;or live upload cancellation\.&#32;The final evidence chapter preserves those limits in full\.
