Sessions, backup, and recovery

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A Session is a durable task record. It can contain conversation history, model request context, tool calls and results, command output, file excerpts, task state, and attachment references. Reopening a Session restores that history so interrupted work can continue.

Where records live

For a project-backed Session, the compressed Session log is stored below the project's hidden .autoloom\sessions directory. Other project-owned Autoloom records, including Work and governance data, also live below .autoloom. Do not edit these files while Autoloom is running.

The global Autoloom data directory is %USERPROFILE%\.autoloom by default. It holds settings, API-key references, caches, diagnostics, and project discovery records. Sessions without a project directory are stored below its sessions directory. The shared runtime stores image attachment bytes under %USERPROFILE%\.dsh\attachments by default; an advanced DSH_HOME override changes that root.

For an SSH project, the project .autoloom directory and its Session logs are on the remote Linux host. Global model settings and credentials remain on the Windows computer.

Export one Session

Use the export action in the Session header. Autoloom opens a Windows Save As dialog and writes a ZIP containing:

• the selected Session's decoded log;
• descendant sub-Sessions;
• image attachments referenced by those logs.

The export is intended for diagnostics and inspection. It is not a complete project backup, does not contain ordinary project files, and does not contain Windows Credential Manager records. It may expose project content, prompts, paths, and command output; inspect and redact it before sharing.

Back up before an Alpha update

Finish or stop active tasks, close Autoloom, and make a consistent copy of:

1. Each important project directory, including its hidden .autoloom directory.
2. %USERPROFILE%\.autoloom if you want to preserve settings, API-key references, logs, caches, and project discovery records.
3. %USERPROFILE%\.dsh\attachments when you need to preserve locally stored image attachments.
4. The corresponding remote project directories and remote ~/.dsh/attachments stores for SSH projects.

Keep credential backups encrypted and access-controlled. Opaque grants in Windows Credential Manager are not part of the file copy; expect to sign in again if you move to another Windows account or computer.

Version-control commits protect source files but usually do not include hidden Autoloom task records. A complete project recovery plan needs both.

Interrupted or damaged work

After an ordinary process interruption, reopen the same project and Session. Autoloom's Session store can repair an incomplete final write while preserving complete records; an interrupted tool call may be marked as not started or as having an unknown outcome. Verify filesystem and external side effects before retrying a non-idempotent command.

If a Session cannot load, do not delete or rewrite its .autoloom files. Close Autoloom, copy the affected project and global data directory, collect %USERPROFILE%\.autoloom\logs\desktop.log, and report the problem. A Session export is useful when the Session still opens.

Alpha data formats can change without backward compatibility. If a newer version cannot use old records, follow that Release's migration instructions. If an older version rejects data written by a newer version, restore the backup made for that older version or reinstall the latest version.