gvShell Response References - $N File Semantics Design

Output

gvShell Response References - $N File SemanticsMaking AI responses first-class citizens in the Unix philosophy
Core ConceptEvery AI response becomes a virtual file that can be referenced, piped, diffed, and composed. Like shell history (!!, !$) but for AI outputs.
Reference Syntax$1Most recent response
$2Second most recent
$NNth response (up to history limit)
$claudeLast response from Claude specifically
$gptLast response from GPT specifically
$saved.nameNamed/saved response
Usage Examples# Basic reference in prompts
gv> explain quicksort
[Claude responds with explanation]

gv> convert $1 to Python code
[Uses previous explanation as context]

# Pipe to system commands
gv> write a bash script to backup /home
gv> $1 | bash             # Execute it
gv> $1 > backup.sh        # Save to file

# Cross-provider comparison
gv> /claude explain monads
gv> /gpt explain monads
gv> diff $claude $gpt      # Compare explanations

# Save for later
gv> /save $1 as monad-explanation
gv> refine $saved.monad-explanation with examples
Implementation: Virtual File System// Response stored in memory + optionally disk
type ResponseRef struct {
    ID        string    // Unique ID (uuid)
    Index     int       // Position in history ($1, $2...)
    Provider  string    // "claude", "gpt", "ollama"
    Model     string    // "opus-4", "gpt-4o"
    Content   string    // The actual response text
    Prompt    string    // What generated this
    Timestamp time.Time
    Alias     string    // Optional saved name
    FilePath  string    // If persisted to disk
}

// Reference resolution
func ResolveRef(ref string) (*ResponseRef, error) {
    switch {
    case strings.HasPrefix(ref, "$saved."):
        return lookupAlias(ref[7:])
    case ref == "$claude", ref == "$gpt":
        return lastByProvider(ref[1:])
    case strings.HasPrefix(ref, "$"):
        n, _ := strconv.Atoi(ref[1:])
        return history.Get(n)
    }
}
Storage ModesModeStorageUse Case
memoryRAM only, last 50Quick iteration, privacy
sessionTemp dir, cleared on exitLonger sessions, disk backup
persistent~/.gvshell/responses/Research, audit trail
Advanced: Subfields & Extraction# If response contains code blocks, extract them
gv> write a Python function to sort a list
gv> $1.code           # Just the code block
gv> $1.code > sort.py
gv> python sort.py

# Response metadata
gv> $1.tokens         # Token count
gv> $1.cost           # Cost in USD
gv> $1.model          # Which model responded
gv> $1.latency        # Response time

# JSON responses
gv> list 5 programming languages as JSON
gv> $1 | jq '.[0]'    # Extract first element
Config: ~/.gvshell/config.yamlresponses:
  storage: session      # memory | session | persistent
  history_limit: 50    # Max responses to keep
  auto_save_code: true # Auto-extract code blocks
  persistent_dir: ~/.gvshell/responses
Design Notes$0 could be the prompt itself (like $0 in bash scripts)
Lazy loading - only load from disk when referenced
Tab completion - $<tab> shows recent responses with preview
FUSE mount - Could expose as actual filesystem at /tmp/gvshell/

Mode	Storage	Use Case
memory	RAM only, last 50	Quick iteration, privacy
session	Temp dir, cleared on exit	Longer sessions, disk backup
persistent	~/.gvshell/responses/	Research, audit trail

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Original Request

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Details

Type General

Status Completed

Scope vibetools

Tags gvshelldesignux

Created 6 Jan 2026, 8:38 am

Updated 6 Jan 2026, 8:38 am

Created By claude

Raw Data

{
  "id": "83b8708a-3018-4040-9fd2-a678a60b61b6",
  "type": "general",
  "status": "completed",
  "title": "gvShell Response References - $N File Semantics Design",
  "description": "Deep dive design for treating AI responses as referenceable files in gvShell",
  "context": {
    "output": "<div style=\"background:#1e1e1e;color:#e0e0e0;padding:20px;border-radius:8px;font-family:'Consolas','Monaco',monospace;\"><h2 style=\"font-family:sans-serif;color:#fff;margin:0 0 16px 0;\">gvShell Response References - $N File Semantics</h2><p style=\"color:#9ca3af;font-family:sans-serif;margin:0 0 20px 0;\">Making AI responses first-class citizens in the Unix philosophy</p><div style=\"background:#2d2d2d;padding:16px;border-radius:6px;margin-bottom:16px;\"><h3 style=\"color:#98c379;margin:0 0 12px 0;\">Core Concept</h3><p style=\"color:#e0e0e0;line-height:1.6;\">Every AI response becomes a <span style=\"color:#e5c07b;\">virtual file</span> that can be referenced, piped, diffed, and composed. Like shell history (<code style=\"background:#3d3d3d;padding:2px 6px;border-radius:3px;\">!!</code>, <code style=\"background:#3d3d3d;padding:2px 6px;border-radius:3px;\">!$</code>) but for AI outputs.</p></div><div style=\"background:#2d2d2d;padding:16px;border-radius:6px;margin-bottom:16px;\"><h3 style=\"color:#61afef;margin:0 0 12px 0;\">Reference Syntax</h3><table style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;\"><tr style=\"border-bottom:1px solid #444;\"><td style=\"padding:8px;color:#e5c07b;font-weight:bold;\">$1</td><td style=\"padding:8px;\">Most recent response</td></tr><tr style=\"border-bottom:1px solid #444;\"><td style=\"padding:8px;color:#e5c07b;font-weight:bold;\">$2</td><td style=\"padding:8px;\">Second most recent</td></tr><tr style=\"border-bottom:1px solid #444;\"><td style=\"padding:8px;color:#e5c07b;font-weight:bold;\">$N</td><td style=\"padding:8px;\">Nth response (up to history limit)</td></tr><tr style=\"border-bottom:1px solid #444;\"><td style=\"padding:8px;color:#e5c07b;font-weight:bold;\">$claude</td><td style=\"padding:8px;\">Last response from Claude specifically</td></tr><tr style=\"border-bottom:1px solid #444;\"><td style=\"padding:8px;color:#e5c07b;font-weight:bold;\">$gpt</td><td style=\"padding:8px;\">Last response from GPT specifically</td></tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px;color:#e5c07b;font-weight:bold;\">$saved.name</td><td style=\"padding:8px;\">Named/saved response</td></tr></table></div><div style=\"background:#2d2d2d;padding:16px;border-radius:6px;margin-bottom:16px;\"><h3 style=\"color:#c678dd;margin:0 0 12px 0;\">Usage Examples</h3><pre style=\"background:#1a1a1a;padding:12px;border-radius:4px;overflow-x:auto;line-height:1.8;\"><span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Basic reference in prompts</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">explain quicksort</span>\n<span style=\"color:#56b6c2;\">[Claude responds with explanation]</span>\n\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">convert $1 to Python code</span>\n<span style=\"color:#56b6c2;\">[Uses previous explanation as context]</span>\n\n<span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Pipe to system commands</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">write a bash script to backup /home</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#e5c07b;\">$1</span> | <span style=\"color:#61afef;\">bash</span>             <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Execute it</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#e5c07b;\">$1</span> &gt; <span style=\"color:#61afef;\">backup.sh</span>        <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Save to file</span>\n\n<span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Cross-provider comparison</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">/claude explain monads</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">/gpt explain monads</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#61afef;\">diff</span> <span style=\"color:#e5c07b;\">$claude $gpt</span>      <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Compare explanations</span>\n\n<span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Save for later</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">/save $1 as monad-explanation</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">refine $saved.monad-explanation with examples</span></pre></div><div style=\"background:#2d2d2d;padding:16px;border-radius:6px;margin-bottom:16px;\"><h3 style=\"color:#e5c07b;margin:0 0 12px 0;\">Implementation: Virtual File System</h3><pre style=\"background:#1a1a1a;padding:12px;border-radius:4px;overflow-x:auto;line-height:1.6;\"><span style=\"color:#7f848e;\">// Response stored in memory + optionally disk</span>\n<span style=\"color:#c678dd;\">type</span> <span style=\"color:#e5c07b;\">ResponseRef</span> <span style=\"color:#c678dd;\">struct</span> {\n    ID        <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">string</span>    <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\">// Unique ID (uuid)</span>\n    Index     <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">int</span>       <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\">// Position in history ($1, $2...)</span>\n    Provider  <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">string</span>    <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\">// \"claude\", \"gpt\", \"ollama\"</span>\n    Model     <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">string</span>    <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\">// \"opus-4\", \"gpt-4o\"</span>\n    Content   <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">string</span>    <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\">// The actual response text</span>\n    Prompt    <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">string</span>    <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\">// What generated this</span>\n    Timestamp <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">time.Time</span>\n    Alias     <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">string</span>    <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\">// Optional saved name</span>\n    FilePath  <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">string</span>    <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\">// If persisted to disk</span>\n}\n\n<span style=\"color:#7f848e;\">// Reference resolution</span>\n<span style=\"color:#c678dd;\">func</span> <span style=\"color:#61afef;\">ResolveRef</span>(ref <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">string</span>) (*ResponseRef, error) {\n    <span style=\"color:#c678dd;\">switch</span> {\n    <span style=\"color:#c678dd;\">case</span> strings.HasPrefix(ref, <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">\"$saved.\"</span>):\n        <span style=\"color:#c678dd;\">return</span> lookupAlias(ref[<span style=\"color:#d19a66;\">7</span>:])\n    <span style=\"color:#c678dd;\">case</span> ref == <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">\"$claude\"</span>, ref == <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">\"$gpt\"</span>:\n        <span style=\"color:#c678dd;\">return</span> lastByProvider(ref[<span style=\"color:#d19a66;\">1</span>:])\n    <span style=\"color:#c678dd;\">case</span> strings.HasPrefix(ref, <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">\"$\"</span>):\n        n, _ := strconv.Atoi(ref[<span style=\"color:#d19a66;\">1</span>:])\n        <span style=\"color:#c678dd;\">return</span> history.Get(n)\n    }\n}</pre></div><div style=\"background:#2d2d2d;padding:16px;border-radius:6px;margin-bottom:16px;\"><h3 style=\"color:#56b6c2;margin:0 0 12px 0;\">Storage Modes</h3><table style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;\"><tr style=\"background:#1a1a1a;\"><th style=\"padding:10px;text-align:left;color:#fff;\">Mode</th><th style=\"padding:10px;text-align:left;color:#fff;\">Storage</th><th style=\"padding:10px;text-align:left;color:#fff;\">Use Case</th></tr><tr style=\"border-bottom:1px solid #444;\"><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#98c379;\">memory</td><td style=\"padding:10px;\">RAM only, last 50</td><td style=\"padding:10px;\">Quick iteration, privacy</td></tr><tr style=\"border-bottom:1px solid #444;\"><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#e5c07b;\">session</td><td style=\"padding:10px;\">Temp dir, cleared on exit</td><td style=\"padding:10px;\">Longer sessions, disk backup</td></tr><tr><td style=\"padding:10px;color:#61afef;\">persistent</td><td style=\"padding:10px;\">~/.gvshell/responses/</td><td style=\"padding:10px;\">Research, audit trail</td></tr></table></div><div style=\"background:#2d2d2d;padding:16px;border-radius:6px;margin-bottom:16px;\"><h3 style=\"color:#98c379;margin:0 0 12px 0;\">Advanced: Subfields & Extraction</h3><pre style=\"background:#1a1a1a;padding:12px;border-radius:4px;overflow-x:auto;line-height:1.8;\"><span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># If response contains code blocks, extract them</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">write a Python function to sort a list</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#e5c07b;\">$1.code</span>           <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Just the code block</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#e5c07b;\">$1.code</span> &gt; sort.py\ngv&gt; python sort.py\n\n<span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Response metadata</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#e5c07b;\">$1.tokens</span>         <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Token count</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#e5c07b;\">$1.cost</span>           <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Cost in USD</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#e5c07b;\">$1.model</span>          <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Which model responded</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#e5c07b;\">$1.latency</span>        <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Response time</span>\n\n<span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># JSON responses</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">list 5 programming languages as JSON</span>\ngv&gt; <span style=\"color:#e5c07b;\">$1</span> | <span style=\"color:#61afef;\">jq '.[0]'</span>    <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Extract first element</span></pre></div><div style=\"background:#2d2d2d;padding:16px;border-radius:6px;\"><h3 style=\"color:#e5c07b;margin:0 0 12px 0;\">Config: ~/.gvshell/config.yaml</h3><pre style=\"background:#1a1a1a;padding:12px;border-radius:4px;overflow-x:auto;line-height:1.6;\"><span style=\"color:#e5c07b;\">responses:</span>\n  <span style=\"color:#61afef;\">storage:</span> <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">session</span>      <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># memory | session | persistent</span>\n  <span style=\"color:#61afef;\">history_limit:</span> <span style=\"color:#d19a66;\">50</span>    <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Max responses to keep</span>\n  <span style=\"color:#61afef;\">auto_save_code:</span> <span style=\"color:#d19a66;\">true</span> <span style=\"color:#7f848e;\"># Auto-extract code blocks</span>\n  <span style=\"color:#61afef;\">persistent_dir:</span> <span style=\"color:#98c379;\">~/.gvshell/responses</span></pre></div><div style=\"background:#2d2d2d;padding:16px;border-radius:6px;margin-top:16px;\"><h4 style=\"margin:0 0 8px 0;color:#fff;\">Design Notes</h4><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px;color:#9ca3af;line-height:1.8;\"><li><strong style=\"color:#e0e0e0;\">$0</strong> could be the prompt itself (like <code>$0</code> in bash scripts)</li><li><strong style=\"color:#e0e0e0;\">Lazy loading</strong> - only load from disk when referenced</li><li><strong style=\"color:#e0e0e0;\">Tab completion</strong> - <code>$&lt;tab&gt;</code> shows recent responses with preview</li><li><strong style=\"color:#e0e0e0;\">FUSE mount</strong> - Could expose as actual filesystem at <code>/tmp/gvshell/</code></li></ul></div></div>",
    "choices": [
      {
        "label": "Add to backlog",
        "value": "Add 'gvShell $N Response References' to the greatVibe backlog as a core UX feature",
        "primary": true
      },
      {
        "label": "Design .code extraction",
        "value": "Design how $1.code extraction would parse and identify code blocks from responses"
      },
      {
        "label": "FUSE mount concept",
        "value": "Explore the FUSE filesystem mount idea - exposing responses as actual files at /tmp/gvshell/"
      }
    ]
  },
  "createdBy": "claude",
  "createdAt": "2026-01-05T22:38:19.385Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-01-05T22:38:19.592Z",
  "scope": "vibetools",
  "tags": [
    "gvshell",
    "design",
    "ux"
  ],
  "targetUser": "claude"
}

$1	Most recent response
$2	Second most recent
$N	Nth response (up to history limit)
$claude	Last response from Claude specifically
$gpt	Last response from GPT specifically
$saved.name	Named/saved response