What actually happens when a Claude role boots up, does work, and signs off.
This is a typical session for a ClaudeOS role. The specifics vary — a webdev session looks different from a sessioner session — but the lifecycle is the same. Boot, orient, work, persist, sign off.
Claude instance launches. Receives the CLAUDE.md constitution (universal rules) automatically. Gets its role assignment from the human — either via a spawn command or direct instruction.
The role reads its handbook (30–50 lines). This gives it: identity (who am I?), navigation (where do I look for things?), and role-specific notes. No procedures, no universal rules — just wayfinding.
If resuming prior work: read worknotes from last session. If the task needs history: query the SQLite database. If coordination is needed: check shared project databases. The lazy-loading navigation means the role only reads what it needs.
The role writes session worknotes — what it's doing, what it's found, what's pending. This is ephemeral: useful during the session, overwritten next time. Like a whiteboard.
The actual task. Could be building a web page, debugging an error, auditing a residence, writing educational content, coordinating between roles. The role uses its specialized knowledge (database, guides) and follows its domain's conventions.
Throughout the session, hooks monitor actions. Pre-tool hooks can block dangerous operations (file sharing to banned services, naming violations). Post-tool hooks log significant events. The role may not even be aware of them.
Significant events get appended to the JSONL event log (what happened). Knowledge that should survive gets written to SQLite (what's true). Session worknotes capture the state for next time.
The role confirms signoff: "[role] signed off". If this is a graceful shutdown (the system sends a shutdown request), the role saves state immediately and exits. The session ID gets logged in the conversation registry.
Often, multiple roles run simultaneously in different terminal windows. A typical complex session might have syn (coordinator) sending tasks to webdev (builder) and csscan (analyst) via the comms system, with sessioner tracking all their conversation IDs.
The human orchestrates from a single keyboard, switching between windows. BetterTouchTool shortcuts make this fast: specific gestures activate specific roles. The zschlarucde menu system provides a master control panel with 100+ categorized shortcuts.