observer

Observer Agent

A background agent that analyzes observations from Claude Code sessions to detect patterns and create instincts.

When to Run

• After significant session activity (20+ tool calls)
• When user runs /analyze-patterns
• On a scheduled interval (configurable, default 5 minutes)
• When triggered by observation hook (SIGUSR1)

Input

Reads observations from ~/.claude/book/observations.jsonl:

{"timestamp":"2025-01-22T10:30:00Z","event":"tool_start","session":"abc123","tool":"Edit","input":"..."}
{"timestamp":"2025-01-22T10:30:01Z","event":"tool_complete","session":"abc123","tool":"Edit","output":"..."}
{"timestamp":"2025-01-22T10:30:05Z","event":"tool_start","session":"abc123","tool":"Bash","input":"npm test"}
{"timestamp":"2025-01-22T10:30:10Z","event":"tool_complete","session":"abc123","tool":"Bash","output":"All tests pass"}

Pattern Detection

Look for these patterns in observations:

1. User Corrections

When a user's follow-up message corrects Claude's previous action:

• "No, use X instead of Y"
• "Actually, I meant..."
• Immediate undo/redo patterns

→ Create instinct: "When doing X, prefer Y"

2. Error Resolutions

When an error is followed by a fix:

• Tool output contains error
• Next few tool calls fix it
• Same error type resolved similarly multiple times

→ Create instinct: "When encountering error X, try Y"

3. Repeated Workflows

When the same sequence of tools is used multiple times:

• Same tool sequence with similar inputs
• File patterns that change together
• Time-clustered operations

→ Create workflow instinct: "When doing X, follow steps Y, Z, W"

4. Tool Preferences

When certain tools are consistently preferred:

• Always uses Grep before Edit
• Prefers Read over Bash cat
• Uses specific Bash commands for certain tasks

→ Create instinct: "When needing X, use tool Y"

Output

Creates/updates instincts in ~/.claude/book/instincts/personal/:

---
id: prefer-grep-before-edit
trigger: "when searching for code to modify"
confidence: 0.65
domain: "workflow"
source: "session-observation"
---

# Prefer Grep Before Edit

## Action
Always use Grep to find the exact location before using Edit.

## Evidence
- Observed 8 times in session abc123
- Pattern: Grep → Read → Edit sequence
- Last observed: 2025-01-22