Entry Schema

Each entry in .claude/journal.jsonl is a JSON object on a single line. The schema is open — you can add custom fields — but the fields below define the standard structure.

Full example

{
  "timestamp": "2026-03-27T14:30:00.000Z",
  "workedOn": "plan: resources/plans/245-notifications.md",
  "branch": "feature/notifications",
  "type": "work",
  "origin": "primary",
  "skill": "zenflow:dispatch",
  "outcome": "completed",
  "summary": "Added real-time SSE notifications for issue state changes",
  "details": {
    "filesModified": ["src/routes/sse.ts", "src/types/events.ts"],
    "filesCreated": ["src/lib/sse-client.ts"],
    "testsAdded": 8,
    "testsModified": 0
  },
  "issues": "",
  "blockers": "",
  "workarounds": "",
  "insights": "Two-stage review caught a missing reconnection handler",
  "wouldDoDifferently": "Check Bun OTel compatibility before starting",
  "feedback": "Worktree delegation kept context clean during side fix",
  "duration": "4 hours"
}

Required fields

Field	Type	Description
timestamp	string	ISO 8601 timestamp
workedOn	string	What this entry is about — plan path, issue number, or freeform description
type	string	Entry type (see values below)
summary	string	One sentence describing what was accomplished

type values

Value	When to use
work	Standard implementation work
bug-fix	A bug was diagnosed and fixed
refactor	Code was refactored
audit	A code audit was run
exploration	Exploratory research or ideation
review	A code review was done
reflection	End-of-session retrospective (written by reflect)

Optional fields

Field	Type	Description
branch	string	Git branch name
origin	string	primary (user's session) or delegated (spawned subagent)
skill	string	Which zenflow skill was active, e.g. zenflow:dispatch
outcome	string	completed, partial, blocked, or abandoned
details	object	Files modified/created, tests added — structure is freeform
issues	string	What went wrong or was harder than expected
blockers	string	What is preventing progress (for blocked outcomes)
workarounds	string	How blockers were worked around
insights	string	Something learned that's worth remembering
wouldDoDifferently	string	Retrospective notes for next time
feedback	string	Meta-level observations about the process
duration	string	Rough time spent (freeform, e.g. "2 hours", "45 min")

How reflect uses the schema

/field-notes:reflect reads recent entries, constructs a session timeline, and then writes a new entry with type: "reflection". The reflection entry's summary captures key takeaways, and the insights and wouldDoDifferently fields contain actionable notes.

Custom fields

The schema is open. Any additional fields you include are stored and surfaced by read and summary. For example, you might add a prNumber field to link entries to pull requests.