# Session Notes — Read, Edit, Delete

**Date:** 2026-03-22
**Status:** Approved

## Problem

When an admin/host ends a session, they can write notes via the EndSessionModal. But after that, those notes are effectively invisible — the History page doesn't display them, and there's no way to read, edit, or delete them from the UI. Notes only surface in raw exports.

## Solution

Add the ability to view, edit, and delete session notes through two surfaces:

1. **Notes preview on History page session cards** — inline teaser showing the first paragraph
2. **New Session Detail page** (`/history/:id`) — full rendered markdown notes with inline edit/delete, plus session management actions

## Approach

Minimal extension of existing infrastructure (Approach A). No database schema changes. The `sessions.notes` TEXT column stays as-is. Frontend gets a new page and a markdown rendering dependency.

## Backend API Changes

### New Endpoints

#### `PUT /api/sessions/:id/notes`

- **Auth:** Required (admin token)
- **Body:** `{ "notes": "markdown string" }`
- **Behavior:** Overwrites `sessions.notes` for the given session (no COALESCE merge — full replacement)
- **Response:** Updated session object
- **Errors:** 404 if session not found, 401 if no auth header, 403 if token invalid/expired (consistent with existing `authenticateToken` middleware behavior)

#### `DELETE /api/sessions/:id/notes`

- **Auth:** Required (admin token)
- **Body:** None
- **Behavior:** Sets `sessions.notes = NULL`
- **Response:** `{ success: true }`
- **Errors:** 404 if session not found, 401 if no auth header, 403 if token invalid/expired

### Modified Endpoints

#### `GET /api/sessions` (list)

Add two fields to each session object in the response:

- `has_notes` (boolean) — `true` if `notes IS NOT NULL AND notes != ''`
- `notes_preview` (string | null) — first paragraph of the markdown, truncated to ~150 characters. `null` if no notes.
- **Remove `notes` from list response** — the full `notes` field must be omitted from list items. Use explicit column selection instead of `SELECT s.*` to avoid leaking full notes to unauthenticated clients. The list endpoint only returns `has_notes` and `notes_preview`.

These are computed server-side from the existing `notes` column.

#### `GET /api/sessions/:id` (single session)

Conditional notes visibility based on auth:

- **Authenticated request:** Returns full `notes` field (plus `has_notes` and `notes_preview`)
- **Unauthenticated request:** Returns `notes_preview` and `has_notes` only. `notes` field is omitted or null.

The endpoint currently does not require auth. It will remain publicly accessible but gate the full notes content behind an optional auth check.

### Unchanged Endpoints

- `POST /api/sessions` — session creation (unchanged)
- `POST /api/sessions/:id/close` — session close with optional notes (unchanged)
- `DELETE /api/sessions/:id` — session deletion (unchanged)

## Frontend Changes

### History Page (`/history` — `History.jsx`)

#### Session Cards (Sidebar)

- Add notes preview teaser below the date/games-count line when `has_notes` is true
- Visual treatment: indigo left-border accent, subtle background, truncated text with ellipsis
- Clicking a session card navigates to `/history/:id` (instead of expanding the inline detail panel)

#### Action Buttons

- **Active sessions:** "End Session" button stays on the card (opens `EndSessionModal` as before)
- **Closed sessions:** Delete button removed from the card (moved to detail page only)

#### Removed from History Page

- The inline session detail panel (right side, `md:col-span-2`) is replaced by navigation to the detail page
- `ChatImportPanel` moves to the detail page
- Export buttons move to the detail page

### New Session Detail Page (`/history/:id` — `SessionDetail.jsx`)

New route and component.

#### Layout

- **Back link** — "← Back to History" navigates to `/history`
- **Session header** — Session number, created date/time, games count, active badge if applicable
- **Notes section** — Primary content area (see Notes Section below)
- **Games list** — Same as current History detail panel (reuse existing game card markup)
- **Action buttons:**
  - Export as TXT / Export as JSON (same as current)
  - Import Chat Log (active sessions only, admin only)
  - End Session (active sessions only, admin only — opens `EndSessionModal`)
  - Delete Session (closed sessions only, admin only — confirmation modal)

#### Notes Section — View Mode

- Renders notes as formatted HTML via `react-markdown`
- If no notes exist: shows "No notes" placeholder with "Add Notes" button (admin only)
- Admin sees an "Edit" button in the section header

#### Notes Section — Edit Mode (Admin Only)

- Triggered by clicking "Edit" (or "Add Notes" for empty notes)
- Rendered markdown is replaced in-place by a textarea containing the raw markdown
- "Supports Markdown formatting" hint below the textarea
- Action buttons: **Save** (green), **Cancel** (gray), **Delete Notes** (red, with confirmation)
- Save calls `PUT /api/sessions/:id/notes`
- Delete Notes calls `DELETE /api/sessions/:id/notes` after a confirmation prompt
- Cancel reverts to view mode without saving

#### Notes Section — Public View (Unauthenticated)

- Shows `notes_preview` text (first paragraph, plain text — not markdown-rendered)
- "Log in to view full notes" hint below the preview
- No edit controls

### Routing

Add new route in `App.jsx`:

```
/history/:id → <SessionDetail />
```

Existing `/history` route unchanged.

### New Dependency

- `react-markdown` — lightweight markdown-to-React renderer. Used only in `SessionDetail.jsx` for rendering notes.

## What's NOT Changing

- **Database schema** — no migration, no new tables, no new columns
- **`EndSessionModal`** — still works as-is for writing notes at session close time
- **`POST /api/sessions/:id/close`** — untouched
- **WebSocket events** — no notes-related real-time updates
- **Home page** — still shows `activeSession.notes` as plain text for active sessions (no changes)

## Permission Model

| Action | Auth Required |
|--------|--------------|
| View notes preview (list + detail) | No |
| View full notes (detail page) | Yes |
| Edit notes | Yes |
| Delete notes | Yes |
| Delete session | Yes |
| End session | Yes |

This is consistent with the existing pattern where read-only session data is public and mutations require admin auth.

## Notes Preview Computation

Server-side logic for `notes_preview`:

1. If `notes` is null or empty, `notes_preview = null`, `has_notes = false`
2. Split `notes` on the first double-newline (`\n\n`) to get the first paragraph
3. Strip markdown formatting (bold, links, etc.) for a clean plain-text preview
4. Truncate to 150 characters, append `...` if truncated
5. Return as `notes_preview` string
