> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://arizeai-433a7140.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# 08.11.2026: Persistent Agent Sessions

> Conversations with the Phoenix agent are saved server-side — browse, restore, rename, rewind, and branch them from the browser or the terminal, interchangeably.

Your conversations with the Phoenix agent now live on the server. A chat survives a page reload, a
new browser, and a switch between the browser panel and the `pxi` terminal client — the same session
list is behind all of them.

**Available in arize-phoenix 20.0.0+ (server), @arizeai/phoenix-cli 1.16.0+ and @arizeai/phoenix-client 7.5.0+ (TypeScript)**

## In the browser

* **A session list** in the chat panel header — pick any past chat to continue it, with older
  sessions loaded as you scroll.
* **Titles you can edit** — Phoenix derives a title from the opening turn, and you can rename a
  session at any time.
* **Temporary chats** — a chat marked temporary is never saved to your history and shows an
  ephemerality badge. Turn on **Start new chats as temporary** under **Settings → Assistant →
  Personal settings** to make it the default; you can still flip any chat before its first message.
* **Rewind or branch from any message** — a control on a message offers **Rewind conversation**
  (drop that message and everything after it, putting a user message back in the input to edit and
  re-send) or **Branch conversation** (fork a new chat from that point and leave the current one
  untouched).

## From the terminal

The terminal client reads and writes the same sessions, so a chat started in the browser can be
picked up in a shell:

```bash theme={null}
npx @arizeai/phoenix-cli pxi --endpoint http://localhost:6006
```

| Command      | Effect                                                                          |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `/new`       | Start a new persisted session (`/clear` is an alias).                           |
| `/temporary` | Start a new temporary session that is never saved.                              |
| `/sessions`  | Browse and restore persisted sessions.                                          |
| `/model`     | Switch models for the current session.                                          |
| `/compact`   | Summarize completed turns into a checkpoint, freeing context on a long session. |

`/compact` writes a durable checkpoint and later turns load history from it onward, which is what
keeps a long-running investigation inside the model's context window. Text typed after the command —
`/compact keep going` — is sent as a follow-up once compaction finishes. A session that is busy
elsewhere (a turn streaming in the browser, for example) rejects compaction and the client refreshes
when that turn completes.

`pxi` now checks the server version at startup and exits with a clear upgrade message when the
connected Phoenix predates the agent-session contract, instead of failing on the first send.

## Retention and admin controls

Persisted chats are governed under **Settings → Assistant**:

* **Delete idle chats** — remove each user's saved chats after N days without activity (30 when the
  rule is switched on).
* **Limit saved chats per user** — keep each user under a maximum, evicting least-recently-used
  chats on an hourly sweep (30 when switched on).
* **Assistant sessions card** — administrators can review saved sessions and delete individual ones.

## Over the API

Session management is exposed as REST routes under `/v1/agent_sessions` — create, list, get, patch,
compact, chat, and fetch messages — the same endpoints the browser panel and the terminal client
use. `@arizeai/phoenix-client` exports a capability requirement for each one, so a client can check
support before calling.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="PXI" icon="robot" href="/docs/phoenix/pxi">
    Enable the agent, run it from the terminal, and configure what it can reach
  </Card>
</CardGroup>