self-awareness

name	self-awareness
description	Claude Science's own session database schema and SDK surface for introspection via host.query(). Load this when you need to query your own conversation history, token usage, cost accounting, execution log, or artifact metadata beyond what host.frames()/host.artifacts() provide — e.g. "how many tokens has this session used", "what was my last tool call", "list every file I've written", "where are messages stored", "what tables can I query", "inspect frames.context_data", or any time you're about to PRAGMA-probe the Claude Science metadata DB to discover its schema.
license	Apache-2.0

Self-awareness — Claude Science's own database and SDK

host.query(sql, params=[], limit=None, df=False) runs read-only SQLite against Claude Science's own metadata DB. It is only available via the repl tool (not python/r). Results are automatically scoped to the current project, so SELECT * FROM frames returns only frames in this project. The repl tool is stdlib-only — df=True returns the raw dict there (use json.dump(..., open("handoff/q.json","w")) and load in a python cell if you want pandas).

Dialect and limits

• SQLite. Epoch-milliseconds for all timestamps (created_at > strftime('%s','now','-1 day')*1000). Booleans are 0/1. JSON columns are TEXT — use json_extract(col, '$.key'). Recursive CTEs OK.
• SELECT / WITH / PRAGMA / EXPLAIN only; one statement per call; ? placeholders with params=[...].
• Scoping. Most tables are transparently filtered to the current project (and memories to the current user) via CTEs that shadow the real tables — session_claims, verification_checks, and poller_lease are unscoped. You therefore cannot use main.table / temp.table — schema-qualified names are rejected.
• Caps. Default 200 rows (max limit=1000); cells >2000 chars are clipped in place with a …[+N chars] marker; total serialized output capped at ~100k chars (truncated=True, truncation_reason="total_size_cap" — narrow your columns). 5-second timeout.
• Schema introspection: host.query("PRAGMA table_info(frames)") or host.query("SELECT name, sql FROM sqlite_master WHERE type='table'").

Queryable tables

Session / conversation

frames — one row per agent frame (a root conversation or a delegated sub-agent). The frame you are running in now is one of these rows. Key columns: id, parent_frame_id, root_frame_id, agent_name, delegate_name, status (processing/completed/failed/cancelled/ awaiting_user_response/awaiting_plan_approval), model, effort, input_tokens, output_tokens, cache_read_tokens, cache_write_tokens, total_cost, task_summary, status_description, conversation_type, name, project_id, created_at, updated_at, completed_at, last_user_message_at, is_hidden. JSON columns: input_data (what started the frame), output_data (json_extract(output_data,'$.response') is the final response text), context_data (the full serialized runner state — see below), mentioned_artifact_ids, specialists_used.

context_data is large. It holds the entire runner state under underscore-prefixed keys — notably $._messages (the full conversation array), $._input_tokens / $._output_tokens / $._total_cost (same values as the top-level columns), $._running_children, $._plan_json, $._compaction_count, $._tool_id_to_frame_id. Selecting it raw will hit the cell cap; use json_extract/json_array_length to read specific keys. For the messages themselves, prefer host.frames(frame_id=...) which paginates — _messages via SQL will truncate on any non-trivial session.

compaction_archives — pre-compaction message snapshots. frame_id, compaction_index, message_count, token_count, summary, messages (JSON array), created_at. When a frame's _compaction_count > 0, the original messages that were summarized live here.

notifications — parent↔child messages. sender_frame_id, recipient_frame_id, root_frame_id, notification_type, payload (JSON), read_at, created_at.

projects — id (proj_*, not a UUID), name, description, context, user_id, uploads_frame_id, memory_enabled, created_at, updated_at.

notes — user annotations. project_id, target_type, target_frame_id, target_message_index, target_artifact_id, content.

Artifacts

artifacts — one row per file. id, project_id, root_frame_id, frame_id, filename, latest_version_id, is_user_upload, is_ephemeral, folder_id, sort_order, priority, created_at.

artifact_versions — one row per saved revision. id, artifact_id, version_number, frame_id, content_type, size_bytes, checksum, storage_path, extracted_code, code_description, language, agent_name, is_intermediate, is_checkpoint, parent_version_id, producing_cell_id (→ execution_log.id), created_at. JSON: lineage_messages, dependency_mappings, environment_snapshot, annotations, cell_sources. Join artifacts.latest_version_id = artifact_versions.id for size/type.

artifact_dependencies — DAG edges. artifact_version_id, depends_on_version_id, reference_name.

artifact_folders — id, project_id, parent_id, name, root_frame_id, is_conversation_folder, is_user_uploads_folder, sort_order.

content_snapshots — content-addressed dedup store. hash, content, size_bytes. Referenced by artifact_versions.lineage_snapshot_hash / env_snapshot_hash.

Execution history

execution_log — one row per python/r/bash/repl cell, in order. id, frame_id, cell_index (monotonic), kernel_id, kernel_kind (analysis/operon), conda_env, language, source (exact submitted code), stdout, stderr, exit_status (ok/error/kernel_died/ cancelled), error_lineno, files_written (JSON [{path, sha256}]), created_at. This is the ground-truth record of everything you've run.

host_call_log — one row per host.* SDK call made inside a cell. id, execution_log_id (→ execution_log.id), seq, method (query_db/llm/mcp/list_frames/…), args_json, derivable, data_inline, data_ref, error, bytes, created_at. Ordered by (execution_log_id, seq).

Compute and verification

compute_usage — remote compute jobs. job_id, environment, tier_type (gpu/cpu), provider, frame_id, project_id, started_at, ended_at (null ⇒ running), expires_at, state, remote_workdir, submit_cell_id. JSON: output_specs, remote_handle.

session_claims — falsifiable claims extracted for verification. root_frame_id, frame_id, step_id, claim_text, entities (JSON), source (agent/haiku_extracted).

verification_checks — reviewer verdicts. root_frame_id, artifact_version_id, claim_id, claim, verdict (pass/warn/fail/inconclusive), severity, evidence, rebuttal, reviewer_model, reviewer_frame_id, source_ref (JSON), status (open/resolved/unaddressed), reflag_count.

memories — durable beliefs (user-scoped; may be absent on some builds). id (mem_*), body, subject_project_id, subject_artifact_id, subject_version_id, subject_frame_id, source_frame_id, origin (extractor/agent_tool/user), evidence (stated/observed/inferred), superseded_by, last_surfaced_at.

poller_lease — single-writer guard for compute polling. provider, holder, expires_at.

Denied tables

These are rejected with Table '<name>' is not queryable — use the listed SDK accessor instead.

• Secrets (encrypted at rest, blocked defense-in-depth): oauth_tokens, user_secrets, anthropic_api_keys, cloud_credentials. → host.credentials.list() for non-secret metadata; .get(name) for the decrypted fields — usable in client libraries, redacted only from printed cell output.
• Agent/skill/connector configuration (enumerating attack surface has no legitimate raw-SQL use): user_agents, agents, custom_agent_prompts, bundled_agent_settings, capability_settings, custom_skills, agent_skill_assignments, custom_mcp_servers, mcp_agent_assignments, mcp_tool_grants, directory_attachments. → host.agents.list() / host.skills.list() / host.agents.list_connectors() (load the customize skill for that API).
• Host filesystem mounts: host_grants. → the list_host_grants tool (present on sandboxed-network builds).
• Compute provider configuration: compute_providers. → the list_compute / compute_details tools.

The denylist matches on word boundaries anywhere in the SQL, so a column alias or string literal that happens to equal a denied table name will also be rejected.

Host identity (hostname, workspace/pod name) is intentionally not exposed anywhere in this DB (and on Linux builds the sandbox masks it as well) — to know where you're running, ask the user or use list_compute labels.

Worked examples

All of these run via the repl tool.

# Token and cost accounting across every frame in THIS PROJECT (all
# sessions). Add `WHERE root_frame_id = ?` with the current root's id to
# scope to one session tree. Aggregate server-side so the row cap can't
# undercount.
r = host.query("""
  SELECT COUNT(*)                   AS n_frames,
         SUM(input_tokens)          AS input_tokens,
         SUM(output_tokens)         AS output_tokens,
         SUM(cache_read_tokens)     AS cache_read_tokens,
         SUM(cache_write_tokens)    AS cache_write_tokens,
         SUM(total_cost)            AS total_cost
  FROM frames
""")
n, itok, otok, crd, cwr, cost = r["rows"][0]
print(f"{n} frames, ${cost or 0:.4f} total")

# Last 10 code cells executed in this project (any frame), with outcome.
# Add `WHERE e.frame_id = ?` with the current frame's id to scope to one
# frame.
host.query("""
  SELECT e.frame_id, e.cell_index, e.language, e.kernel_kind, e.conda_env,
         e.exit_status, substr(e.source, 1, 120) AS src,
         json_array_length(e.files_written) AS n_files
  FROM execution_log e
  ORDER BY e.created_at DESC
  LIMIT 10
""")

# How far into context is each root conversation in this project? Reads
# _messages length and compaction count without pulling the whole blob.
host.query("""
  SELECT id, name,
         json_array_length(context_data, '$._messages')   AS n_messages,
         json_extract(context_data, '$._compaction_count') AS compactions,
         input_tokens, output_tokens
  FROM frames
  WHERE parent_frame_id IS NULL
  ORDER BY updated_at DESC
""")

# Every artifact this project has, with current size/type, newest first.
host.query("""
  SELECT a.filename, v.content_type, v.size_bytes, v.version_number,
         a.is_user_upload, a.latest_version_id
  FROM artifacts a
  JOIN artifact_versions v ON a.latest_version_id = v.id
  WHERE a.is_ephemeral = 0
  ORDER BY v.created_at DESC
""")

SDK surface — which tool runs what

The host object is a Python SDK backed by host-side RPCs. Run help(host) / help(host.<x>) for signatures.

Accessor	Tool	Returns
host.query(sql, params, limit, df)	repl	Raw SQL over the tables above
host.frames(...)	repl	List/search/detail frames (paginated messages)
host.children()	repl	Live sub-agents (delegation-enabled profiles only)
host.delegate(task_or_list, name=?, profile=?, output_schema=?, model=?)	repl	Spawn child agent(s), block until done (ultra-mode roots; requires [delegation] sdk_enabled). model= pins the child's model per request — e.g. a haiku-class id for cheap fan-outs. Blocks the cell — for long-running children run it in a background cell (a user message mid-call backgrounds it; a Stop / cell interrupt cancels the children)
host.agents.* / host.skills.*	repl	Profile and skill CRUD — load customize skill
host.submit_output(output, completion_bullets=[...])	repl	Submit your structured result when your task carries an OUTPUT SCHEMA section (required before completing). Build the dict in-kernel — the payload rides the host-call wire, not your prose; on a validation/review bounce, mutate the dict in memory and resubmit (replaces the recorded output)
host.compute.*	repl	Remote job submit/wait — load the compute skill it names
host.artifacts(...)	python	Filtered artifact search (wraps the join above)
host.artifact_path(vid) / host.artifact_marker(vid)	python	Resolve a version_id to a readable path / marker
host.lineage[vid]	python	{code, messages, env, inputs} for one version
host.llm(prompt_or_list, model=?, ...)	python	Single-turn completion via the host's API client. Omitting model= uses the Haiku-class kernel default (via [llm] kernel_default_model); for harder reasoning pass model=host.current_model() — never hardcode a literal model id (they go stale)
host.credentials.list() / .get(name)	python	User-configured credential metadata
host.mcp(server, method, **kw)	repl	MCP/connector call — only exists in the repl tool; pass results to python/r via ./handoff/*.json

The repl tool and the python tool are separate processes that share only the workspace directory — move data between them via ./handoff/*.json, not variables.