diff --git a/poc-memory/src/bin/memory-search.rs b/poc-memory/src/bin/memory-search.rs
index 5feeab5..34669fa 100644
--- a/poc-memory/src/bin/memory-search.rs
+++ b/poc-memory/src/bin/memory-search.rs
@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ struct Args {
     #[arg(long)]
     seen: bool,
 
+    /// Show full seen set (list all keys)
+    #[arg(long)]
+    seen_full: bool,
+
     /// Max results to return
     #[arg(long, default_value = "5")]
     max_results: usize,
@@ -50,7 +54,7 @@ fn main() {
 
     let args = Args::parse();
 
-    if args.seen {
+    if args.seen || args.seen_full {
         show_seen();
         return;
     }
@@ -87,8 +91,11 @@ fn main() {
     let state_dir = PathBuf::from("/tmp/claude-memory-search");
     fs::create_dir_all(&state_dir).ok();
 
-    // Detect post-compaction reload
-    let is_compaction = prompt.contains("continued from a previous conversation");
+    // Detect post-compaction reload via mmap backward scan
+    let transcript_path = json["transcript_path"].as_str().unwrap_or("");
+    let is_compaction = poc_memory::transcript::detect_new_compaction(
+        &state_dir, session_id, transcript_path,
+    );
 
     // First prompt or post-compaction: load full context
     let cookie_path = state_dir.join(format!("cookie-{}", session_id));
@@ -155,7 +162,6 @@ fn main() {
     };
 
     // Search for node keys in last ~150k tokens of transcript
-    let transcript_path = json["transcript_path"].as_str().unwrap_or("");
     if debug { println!("[memory-search] transcript: {}", transcript_path); }
     let terms = extract_weighted_terms(transcript_path, 150_000, &store);
 
@@ -363,7 +369,7 @@ fn extract_key_from_line(line: &str) -> Option<String> {
     let rest = &line[after_bracket + 2..];
     let key_end = rest.find("  (c").unwrap_or(rest.len());
     let key = rest[..key_end].trim();
-    if key.is_empty() || !key.contains('.') {
+    if key.is_empty() {
         None
     } else {
         Some(key.to_string())
@@ -374,13 +380,19 @@ fn generate_cookie() -> String {
     uuid::Uuid::new_v4().as_simple().to_string()[..12].to_string()
 }
 
+/// Parse a seen-file line: "TIMESTAMP\tKEY" or legacy "KEY"
+fn parse_seen_line(line: &str) -> &str {
+    line.split_once('\t').map(|(_, key)| key).unwrap_or(line)
+}
+
 fn load_seen(dir: &Path, session_id: &str) -> HashSet<String> {
     let path = dir.join(format!("seen-{}", session_id));
     if path.exists() {
         fs::read_to_string(path)
             .unwrap_or_default()
             .lines()
-            .map(|s| s.to_string())
+            .filter(|s| !s.is_empty())
+            .map(|s| parse_seen_line(s).to_string())
             .collect()
     } else {
         HashSet::new()
@@ -390,7 +402,8 @@ fn load_seen(dir: &Path, session_id: &str) -> HashSet<String> {
 fn mark_seen(dir: &Path, session_id: &str, key: &str) {
     let path = dir.join(format!("seen-{}", session_id));
     if let Ok(mut f) = fs::OpenOptions::new().create(true).append(true).open(path) {
-        writeln!(f, "{}", key).ok();
+        let ts = chrono::Local::now().format("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S");
+        writeln!(f, "{}\t{}", ts, key).ok();
     }
 }
 
@@ -454,8 +467,29 @@ fn show_seen() {
         }
     }
 
-    let seen = load_seen(&state_dir, session_id);
-    println!("\nSeen set ({} total, {} pre-seeded):", seen.len(), seen.len() - returned.len());
+    // Read seen file in insertion order (append-only file)
+    let seen_path = state_dir.join(format!("seen-{}", session_id));
+    let seen_lines: Vec<String> = fs::read_to_string(&seen_path)
+        .unwrap_or_default()
+        .lines()
+        .filter(|s| !s.is_empty())
+        .map(|s| s.to_string())
+        .collect();
+    let returned_set: HashSet<_> = returned.iter().cloned().collect();
+    println!("\nSeen set ({} total, {} pre-seeded):", seen_lines.len(), seen_lines.len() - returned.len());
+
+    if Args::parse().seen_full {
+        for line in &seen_lines {
+            let key = parse_seen_line(line);
+            let marker = if returned_set.contains(key) { "→ " } else { "  " };
+            // Show timestamp if present, otherwise just key
+            if let Some((ts, k)) = line.split_once('\t') {
+                println!("  {} {}{}", ts, marker, k);
+            } else {
+                println!("  (no ts) {}{}", marker, line);
+            }
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 fn cleanup_stale_files(dir: &Path, max_age: Duration) {
diff --git a/poc-memory/src/bin/parse-claude-conversation.rs b/poc-memory/src/bin/parse-claude-conversation.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..30c1f84
--- /dev/null
+++ b/poc-memory/src/bin/parse-claude-conversation.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,328 @@
+// parse-claude-conversation: debug tool for inspecting what's in the context window
+//
+// Two-layer design:
+//   1. extract_context_items() — walks JSONL from last compaction, yields
+//      structured records representing what's in the context window
+//   2. format_as_context() — renders those records as they appear to Claude
+//
+// The transcript is mmap'd and scanned backwards from EOF using brace-depth
+// tracking to find complete JSON objects, avoiding a full forward scan of
+// what can be a 500MB+ file.
+//
+// Usage:
+//   parse-claude-conversation [TRANSCRIPT_PATH]
+//   parse-claude-conversation --last   # use the last stashed session
+
+use clap::Parser;
+use memmap2::Mmap;
+use poc_memory::transcript::{JsonlBackwardIter, find_last_compaction};
+use serde_json::Value;
+use std::fs;
+
+#[derive(Parser)]
+#[command(name = "parse-claude-conversation")]
+struct Args {
+    /// Transcript JSONL path (or --last to use stashed session)
+    path: Option<String>,
+
+    /// Use the last stashed session from memory-search
+    #[arg(long)]
+    last: bool,
+
+    /// Dump raw JSONL objects. Optional integer: number of extra objects
+    /// to include before the compaction boundary.
+    #[arg(long, num_args = 0..=1, default_missing_value = "0")]
+    raw: Option<usize>,
+}
+
+// --- Context extraction ---
+
+/// A single item in the context window, as Claude sees it.
+enum ContextItem {
+    UserText(String),
+    SystemReminder(String),
+    AssistantText(String),
+    AssistantThinking,
+    ToolUse { name: String, input: String },
+    ToolResult(String),
+}
+
+/// Extract context items from the transcript, starting from the last compaction.
+fn extract_context_items(data: &[u8]) -> Vec<ContextItem> {
+    let start = find_last_compaction(data).unwrap_or(0);
+    let region = &data[start..];
+
+    let mut items = Vec::new();
+
+    // Forward scan through JSONL lines from compaction onward
+    for line in region.split(|&b| b == b'\n') {
+        if line.is_empty() { continue; }
+
+        let obj: Value = match serde_json::from_slice(line) {
+            Ok(v) => v,
+            Err(_) => continue,
+        };
+
+        let msg_type = obj.get("type").and_then(|v| v.as_str()).unwrap_or("");
+
+        match msg_type {
+            "user" => {
+                if let Some(content) = obj.get("message").and_then(|m| m.get("content")) {
+                    extract_user_content(content, &mut items);
+                }
+            }
+            "assistant" => {
+                if let Some(content) = obj.get("message").and_then(|m| m.get("content")) {
+                    extract_assistant_content(content, &mut items);
+                }
+            }
+            _ => {}
+        }
+    }
+
+    items
+}
+
+/// Parse user message content into context items.
+fn extract_user_content(content: &Value, items: &mut Vec<ContextItem>) {
+    match content {
+        Value::String(s) => {
+            split_system_reminders(s, items, false);
+        }
+        Value::Array(arr) => {
+            for block in arr {
+                let btype = block.get("type").and_then(|v| v.as_str()).unwrap_or("");
+                match btype {
+                    "text" => {
+                        if let Some(t) = block.get("text").and_then(|v| v.as_str()) {
+                            split_system_reminders(t, items, false);
+                        }
+                    }
+                    "tool_result" => {
+                        let result_text = extract_tool_result_text(block);
+                        if !result_text.is_empty() {
+                            split_system_reminders(&result_text, items, true);
+                        }
+                    }
+                    _ => {}
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        _ => {}
+    }
+}
+
+/// Extract text from a tool_result block (content can be string or array).
+fn extract_tool_result_text(block: &Value) -> String {
+    match block.get("content") {
+        Some(Value::String(s)) => s.clone(),
+        Some(Value::Array(arr)) => {
+            arr.iter()
+                .filter_map(|b| b.get("text").and_then(|v| v.as_str()))
+                .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+                .join("\n")
+        }
+        _ => String::new(),
+    }
+}
+
+/// Split text on <system-reminder> tags. Non-reminder text emits UserText
+/// or ToolResult depending on `is_tool_result`.
+fn split_system_reminders(text: &str, items: &mut Vec<ContextItem>, is_tool_result: bool) {
+    let mut remaining = text;
+
+    loop {
+        if let Some(start) = remaining.find("<system-reminder>") {
+            let before = remaining[..start].trim();
+            if !before.is_empty() {
+                if is_tool_result {
+                    items.push(ContextItem::ToolResult(before.to_string()));
+                } else {
+                    items.push(ContextItem::UserText(before.to_string()));
+                }
+            }
+
+            let after_open = &remaining[start + "<system-reminder>".len()..];
+            if let Some(end) = after_open.find("</system-reminder>") {
+                let reminder = after_open[..end].trim();
+                if !reminder.is_empty() {
+                    items.push(ContextItem::SystemReminder(reminder.to_string()));
+                }
+                remaining = &after_open[end + "</system-reminder>".len()..];
+            } else {
+                let reminder = after_open.trim();
+                if !reminder.is_empty() {
+                    items.push(ContextItem::SystemReminder(reminder.to_string()));
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+        } else {
+            let trimmed = remaining.trim();
+            if !trimmed.is_empty() {
+                if is_tool_result {
+                    items.push(ContextItem::ToolResult(trimmed.to_string()));
+                } else {
+                    items.push(ContextItem::UserText(trimmed.to_string()));
+                }
+            }
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Parse assistant message content into context items.
+fn extract_assistant_content(content: &Value, items: &mut Vec<ContextItem>) {
+    match content {
+        Value::String(s) => {
+            let trimmed = s.trim();
+            if !trimmed.is_empty() {
+                items.push(ContextItem::AssistantText(trimmed.to_string()));
+            }
+        }
+        Value::Array(arr) => {
+            for block in arr {
+                let btype = block.get("type").and_then(|v| v.as_str()).unwrap_or("");
+                match btype {
+                    "text" => {
+                        if let Some(t) = block.get("text").and_then(|v| v.as_str()) {
+                            let trimmed = t.trim();
+                            if !trimmed.is_empty() {
+                                items.push(ContextItem::AssistantText(trimmed.to_string()));
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                    "tool_use" => {
+                        let name = block.get("name")
+                            .and_then(|v| v.as_str())
+                            .unwrap_or("?")
+                            .to_string();
+                        let input = block.get("input")
+                            .map(|v| v.to_string())
+                            .unwrap_or_default();
+                        items.push(ContextItem::ToolUse { name, input });
+                    }
+                    "thinking" => {
+                        items.push(ContextItem::AssistantThinking);
+                    }
+                    _ => {}
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        _ => {}
+    }
+}
+
+// --- Formatting layer ---
+
+fn truncate(s: &str, max: usize) -> String {
+    if s.len() <= max {
+        s.to_string()
+    } else {
+        format!("{}...({} total)", &s[..max], s.len())
+    }
+}
+
+fn format_as_context(items: &[ContextItem]) {
+    for item in items {
+        match item {
+            ContextItem::UserText(text) => {
+                println!("USER: {}", truncate(text, 300));
+                println!();
+            }
+            ContextItem::SystemReminder(text) => {
+                println!("<system-reminder>");
+                println!("{}", truncate(text, 500));
+                println!("</system-reminder>");
+                println!();
+            }
+            ContextItem::AssistantText(text) => {
+                println!("ASSISTANT: {}", truncate(text, 300));
+                println!();
+            }
+            ContextItem::AssistantThinking => {
+                println!("[thinking]");
+                println!();
+            }
+            ContextItem::ToolUse { name, input } => {
+                println!("TOOL_USE: {} {}", name, truncate(input, 200));
+                println!();
+            }
+            ContextItem::ToolResult(text) => {
+                println!("TOOL_RESULT: {}", truncate(text, 300));
+                println!();
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+fn main() {
+    let args = Args::parse();
+
+    let path = if args.last {
+        let stash = fs::read_to_string("/tmp/claude-memory-search/last-input.json")
+            .expect("No stashed input");
+        let json: Value = serde_json::from_str(&stash).expect("Bad JSON");
+        json["transcript_path"]
+            .as_str()
+            .expect("No transcript_path")
+            .to_string()
+    } else if let Some(p) = args.path {
+        p
+    } else {
+        eprintln!("error: provide a transcript path or --last");
+        std::process::exit(1);
+    };
+
+    let file = fs::File::open(&path).expect("Can't open transcript");
+    let mmap = unsafe { Mmap::map(&file).expect("Failed to mmap") };
+
+    eprintln!(
+        "Transcript: {} ({:.1} MB)",
+        &path,
+        mmap.len() as f64 / 1_000_000.0
+    );
+
+    let compaction_offset = find_last_compaction(&mmap).unwrap_or(0);
+    eprintln!("Compaction at byte offset: {}", compaction_offset);
+
+    if let Some(extra) = args.raw {
+        use std::io::Write;
+
+        // Collect `extra` JSON objects before the compaction boundary
+        let mut before = Vec::new();
+        if extra > 0 && compaction_offset > 0 {
+            for obj_bytes in JsonlBackwardIter::new(&mmap[..compaction_offset]) {
+                if let Ok(obj) = serde_json::from_slice::<Value>(obj_bytes) {
+                    let t = obj.get("type").and_then(|v| v.as_str()).unwrap_or("");
+                    if t == "file-history-snapshot" { continue; }
+                }
+                before.push(obj_bytes.to_vec());
+                if before.len() >= extra {
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+            before.reverse();
+        }
+
+        for obj in &before {
+            std::io::stdout().write_all(obj).ok();
+            println!();
+        }
+
+        // Then dump everything from compaction onward
+        let region = &mmap[compaction_offset..];
+        for line in region.split(|&b| b == b'\n') {
+            if line.is_empty() { continue; }
+            if let Ok(obj) = serde_json::from_slice::<Value>(line) {
+                let t = obj.get("type").and_then(|v| v.as_str()).unwrap_or("");
+                if t == "file-history-snapshot" { continue; }
+                std::io::stdout().write_all(line).ok();
+                println!();
+            }
+        }
+    } else {
+        let items = extract_context_items(&mmap);
+        eprintln!("Context items: {}", items.len());
+        format_as_context(&items);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/poc-memory/src/lib.rs b/poc-memory/src/lib.rs
index 13251a1..96cc57b 100644
--- a/poc-memory/src/lib.rs
+++ b/poc-memory/src/lib.rs
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ pub mod spectral;
 pub mod lookups;
 pub mod query;
 pub mod migrate;
+pub mod transcript;
 pub mod neuro;
 
 // Agent layer (LLM-powered operations)
diff --git a/poc-memory/src/transcript.rs b/poc-memory/src/transcript.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..176f284
--- /dev/null
+++ b/poc-memory/src/transcript.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,176 @@
+// Transcript JSONL parsing utilities.
+//
+// Provides mmap-based backward scanning of Claude Code transcript files
+// and compaction detection. Used by memory-search (hook mode) and
+// parse-claude-conversation (debug tool).
+
+use memmap2::Mmap;
+use serde_json::Value;
+use std::fs;
+use std::path::Path;
+
+/// Scan backwards through mmap'd bytes, yielding byte slices of complete
+/// top-level JSON objects (outermost { to matching }).
+///
+/// Tracks brace depth, skipping braces inside JSON strings. Returns
+/// objects in reverse order (newest first).
+pub struct JsonlBackwardIter<'a> {
+    data: &'a [u8],
+    pos: usize,
+}
+
+impl<'a> JsonlBackwardIter<'a> {
+    pub fn new(data: &'a [u8]) -> Self {
+        Self { data, pos: data.len() }
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'a> Iterator for JsonlBackwardIter<'a> {
+    type Item = &'a [u8];
+
+    fn next(&mut self) -> Option<Self::Item> {
+        if self.pos == 0 {
+            return None;
+        }
+
+        // Find the closing } of the next object (scanning backward)
+        let close = loop {
+            if self.pos == 0 { return None; }
+            self.pos -= 1;
+            if self.data[self.pos] == b'}' {
+                break self.pos;
+            }
+        };
+
+        // Track brace depth to find matching {
+        let mut depth: usize = 1;
+        let mut in_string = false;
+
+        loop {
+            if self.pos == 0 {
+                return None;
+            }
+            self.pos -= 1;
+            let ch = self.data[self.pos];
+
+            if in_string {
+                if ch == b'"' {
+                    let mut bs = 0;
+                    while self.pos > bs && self.data[self.pos - 1 - bs] == b'\\' {
+                        bs += 1;
+                    }
+                    if bs % 2 == 0 {
+                        in_string = false;
+                    }
+                }
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            match ch {
+                b'"' => { in_string = true; }
+                b'}' => { depth += 1; }
+                b'{' => {
+                    depth -= 1;
+                    if depth == 0 {
+                        return Some(&self.data[self.pos..=close]);
+                    }
+                }
+                _ => {}
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Find the byte offset of the last compaction summary in mmap'd transcript data.
+///
+/// Scans backward for a user-type message whose content starts with
+/// "This session is being continued". Returns the byte offset of the
+/// JSON object's opening brace.
+pub fn find_last_compaction(data: &[u8]) -> Option<usize> {
+    let marker = b"This session is being continued";
+
+    for obj_bytes in JsonlBackwardIter::new(data) {
+        // Quick byte check before parsing
+        if !contains_bytes(obj_bytes, marker) {
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        let obj: Value = match serde_json::from_slice(obj_bytes) {
+            Ok(v) => v,
+            Err(_) => continue,
+        };
+
+        if obj.get("type").and_then(|v| v.as_str()) != Some("user") {
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if let Some(content) = obj.get("message")
+            .and_then(|m| m.get("content"))
+            .and_then(|c| c.as_str())
+        {
+            if content.starts_with("This session is being continued") {
+                let offset = obj_bytes.as_ptr() as usize - data.as_ptr() as usize;
+                return Some(offset);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    None
+}
+
+/// Find the byte offset of the last compaction in a transcript file.
+/// Returns None if the file can't be opened or has no compaction.
+pub fn find_last_compaction_in_file(path: &str) -> Option<u64> {
+    if path.is_empty() { return None; }
+
+    let file = fs::File::open(path).ok()?;
+    let meta = file.metadata().ok()?;
+    if meta.len() == 0 { return None; }
+
+    let mmap = unsafe { Mmap::map(&file).ok()? };
+    find_last_compaction(&mmap).map(|off| off as u64)
+}
+
+/// Mmap a transcript file. Returns (Mmap, File) to keep both alive.
+pub fn mmap_transcript(path: &str) -> Option<(Mmap, fs::File)> {
+    let file = fs::File::open(path).ok()?;
+    let meta = file.metadata().ok()?;
+    if meta.len() == 0 { return None; }
+    let mmap = unsafe { Mmap::map(&file).ok()? };
+    Some((mmap, file))
+}
+
+fn contains_bytes(haystack: &[u8], needle: &[u8]) -> bool {
+    haystack.windows(needle.len()).any(|w| w == needle)
+}
+
+/// Detect whether a compaction has occurred since the last check.
+///
+/// Compares the current compaction offset against a saved value in
+/// `state_dir/compaction-{session_id}`. Returns true if a new
+/// compaction was found. Updates the saved offset.
+pub fn detect_new_compaction(
+    state_dir: &Path,
+    session_id: &str,
+    transcript_path: &str,
+) -> bool {
+    let offset = find_last_compaction_in_file(transcript_path);
+
+    let save_path = state_dir.join(format!("compaction-{}", session_id));
+    let saved: Option<u64> = fs::read_to_string(&save_path)
+        .ok()
+        .and_then(|s| s.trim().parse().ok());
+
+    let is_new = match (offset, saved) {
+        (Some(cur), Some(prev)) => cur != prev,
+        (Some(_), None) => true,
+        _ => false,
+    };
+
+    // Save current offset
+    if let Some(off) = offset {
+        fs::write(&save_path, off.to_string()).ok();
+    }
+
+    is_new
+}