Session Info - Get Your Session Details

Display information about your current hive session, including session ID, inbox topic, and state.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

•You need to know your session ID
•Another agent asks for your inbox topic
•Debugging messaging issues
•Setting up inter-agent coordination
•Verifying you're in the correct session

Common triggers:

•"what's my session ID?"
•"show my inbox topic"
•"get session info"
•"what session am I in?"
•"my agent ID"

How It Works

The hive session info command detects your current session based on your working directory and displays relevant information including:

•Session ID: Unique identifier for this agent session
•Name: Human-readable session name
•Repository: Git repository name
•Inbox: Your inbox topic for receiving messages
•Path: Full path to session directory
•State: Current session state (active, recycled, corrupted)

Commands

Get Session Info (Human-Readable)

bash

hive session info

Example output:

code

Session ID:  26kj0c
Name:        claude-plugin
Repository:  hive
Inbox:       agent.26kj0c.inbox
Path:        /Users/hayden/.local/share/hive/repos/hive-claude-plugin-26kj0c
State:       active

Get Session Info (JSON)

For programmatic access or LLM parsing:

bash

hive session info --json

Example output:

json

{
  "id": "26kj0c",
  "name": "claude-plugin",
  "repository": "hive",
  "inbox": "agent.26kj0c.inbox",
  "path": "/Users/hayden/.local/share/hive/repos/hive-claude-plugin-26kj0c",
  "state": "active"
}

Session Detection

The command automatically detects your session from the current working directory. Sessions are identified by:

•Working directory path: Must be within a hive session directory
•Session directory pattern: $XDG_DATA_HOME/hive/repos/<repo>-<session-id>
•Session file: .hive-session file in the directory

If you're not in a hive session directory, the command will fail with an error.

Session States

Active

Normal, working session. The session is ready for use.

Characteristics:

•Session directory exists
•All required files present
•Ready for commands and messaging

Recycled

Session has been recycled (stopped and cleared).

Characteristics:

•Session may still exist on disk
•Not actively running
•Can be restarted or removed

Corrupted

Session directory or files are damaged or incomplete.

Characteristics:

•Missing required files
•Inconsistent state
•May need manual cleanup or recreation

Inbox Topic Format

Your inbox topic follows the pattern: agent.<session-id>.inbox

Example:

•Session ID: 26kj0c
•Inbox: agent.26kj0c.inbox

Other agents use this topic to send you direct messages:

bash

# Another agent sends to you
hive msg pub --topic agent.26kj0c.inbox "Message for you"

# You receive it
hive msg inbox

Use Cases

Share Your Inbox with Another Agent

bash

# Get your inbox topic
hive session info --json | jq -r '.inbox'
# Output: agent.26kj0c.inbox

# Tell another agent
"Send messages to agent.26kj0c.inbox"

Verify Session Before Messaging

bash

# Check you're in the right session
hive session info

# Then check inbox
hive msg inbox

Debug Messaging Issues

bash

# Get full session details
hive session info

# Verify inbox topic matches expectations
# Check state is "active"

Script Session Information

bash

# Extract specific fields
SESSION_ID=$(hive session info --json | jq -r '.id')
INBOX=$(hive session info --json | jq -r '.inbox')

echo "My session: $SESSION_ID"
echo "Send messages to: $INBOX"

Output Fields

id

Short unique identifier for this session (e.g., 26kj0c).

Used in:

•Inbox topic construction
•Session directory naming
•Message sender identification

name

Human-readable name describing the session purpose (e.g., claude-plugin, fix-auth-bug).

Helps identify what work this session is doing.

repository

Git repository name this session is working on (e.g., hive, myproject).

inbox

Full inbox topic for receiving messages: agent.<session-id>.inbox.

Other agents publish to this topic to send you messages.

path

Absolute path to the session directory on disk.

Useful for:

•Verifying session location
•Debugging path issues
•Scripting file operations

state

Current session state: active, recycled, or corrupted.

Indicates session health and readiness.

Examples

Basic Session Info

bash

$ hive session info
Session ID:  abc123
Name:        implement-auth
Repository:  backend
Inbox:       agent.abc123.inbox
Path:        /home/user/.local/share/hive/repos/backend-abc123
State:       active

JSON Output for Parsing

bash

$ hive session info --json
{
  "id": "abc123",
  "name": "implement-auth",
  "repository": "backend",
  "inbox": "agent.abc123.inbox",
  "path": "/home/user/.local/share/hive/repos/backend-abc123",
  "state": "active"
}

Extract Inbox Topic

bash

$ hive session info --json | jq -r '.inbox'
agent.abc123.inbox

Share Your Info with Another Agent

bash

# Agent A (you)
$ hive session info --json
{
  "id": "abc123",
  "inbox": "agent.abc123.inbox",
  ...
}

# Send to Agent B
$ hive msg pub --topic agent.xyz789.inbox "My inbox is agent.abc123.inbox. Send results there."

# Agent B receives and replies
$ hive msg pub --topic agent.abc123.inbox "Got it, will send results to you"

Troubleshooting

Not in a Hive Session

Problem: Command fails with "not in a hive session" error

Solutions:

•Verify working directory: pwd
•Check if in hive session: Look for .hive-session file
•List sessions: hive session ls (if available)
•Change to correct directory

Session State is "corrupted"

Problem: Session info shows state as "corrupted"

Solutions:

•Check session directory exists: Verify path from output
•Look for missing files: .hive-session, tmux socket, etc.
•Consider recreating session
•Check disk space and permissions

Inbox Topic Not Working

Problem: Messages sent to inbox don't appear

Solutions:

•Verify exact inbox topic: Copy from hive session info output
•Check for typos: Topics are case-sensitive
•Confirm messages exist: hive msg sub --topic <your-inbox>
•Test with known-good message: Send to yourself

Related Skills

•/hive:inbox - Check your inbox for messages
•/hive:publish - Send messages to other agents' inboxes
•/hive:wait - Wait for messages on your inbox

Tips

Be Explicit:

•Share exact inbox topic (don't paraphrase)
•Use JSON output for programmatic access
•Include session ID in coordination messages

Verify First:

•Check session info before setting up coordination
•Confirm state is "active" before messaging
•Validate inbox topic format matches pattern

Script Safely:

•Use JSON output for reliable parsing
•Handle missing fields gracefully
•Check exit codes for errors