Search saved session transcripts

[owainlewis]

Feature description

Add search over saved Neo session transcripts so users can recover useful context from previous coding sessions without manually browsing transcript files.

Motivation

Neo already has session persistence and browsing foundations. As projects and conversations grow, users need a practical way to find prior decisions, commands, errors, files, and implementation context from saved sessions.

This is the first useful memory layer before adding broader agent memory.

Proposed scope

Start small and local-first:

• provide a way to search saved session transcripts by text query
• return matching sessions with enough surrounding context to decide whether to open/resume them
• expose the feature through the most natural existing interface, likely CLI/TUI session browsing
• keep transcript format and privacy/local-storage assumptions unchanged

Acceptance criteria

• A user can search saved session transcripts for a phrase or keyword.
• Results show session identity, timestamp/title where available, and a short matching excerpt.
• The search path handles missing or empty session stores gracefully.
• The implementation includes tests or a clear manual verification path using sample saved sessions.
• Documentation or help text explains how to use the search.

Agent Assessment

Risk: medium
Type: feature
Agent-ready: no

Reason:
The initial human decision has been made: start CLI-first with neo sessions search <query>. Implementation is now clearer, but it still touches session storage/search behavior and user-facing CLI/help, so keep it human-reviewed rather than unattended agent-ready.

Suggested plan:

1. Add a read-only session search API over saved transcript text.
2. Expose it as neo sessions search <query> with session metadata and short snippets.
3. Add fixtures/tests and update CLI help/docs.

[owainlewis]

Human decision made: start with a CLI-first implementation rather than waiting on TUI design. Initial scope should add neo sessions search <query> over saved transcript text, return session metadata plus a short snippet, keep session files read-only, and update CLI help/docs. TUI integration can remain a follow-up.