# State Items

A state item is the atomic unit of information in Cogna8. Every piece of meaningful information extracted from a conversation becomes a state item.

## Anatomy of a State Item

| Property          | Description                                                         |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Canonical Key** | Unique identifier for the concept                                   |
| **Value**         | The actual information content                                      |
| **Type**          | Governed classification based on the information's operational role |
| **Status**        | Current lifecycle status (e.g., active, pending, superseded)        |
| **Scope**         | Where this state applies (thread, entity, or global)                |
| **Evidence**      | Link back to the source message                                     |
| **Timestamps**    | When created, last updated, last confirmed                          |

{% hint style="info" %}
State items are **immutable once created**. When a value changes, the old item is superseded and a new item is created. This ensures the complete history is always preserved.
{% endhint %}

## State Items in the UI

State items appear as cards in the [State Panel](https://github.com/Cogna8/docs/blob/main/features/state-panel.md). Each card shows the key, value, type badge, status indicator, and criticality tier. Cards are color-coded by type and can be expanded for full details.

See [State Types](https://cogna8-io.gitbook.io/docs/core-concepts/state-types) for the type classification system and [State Lifecycle](https://cogna8-io.gitbook.io/docs/core-concepts/state-lifecycle) for status transitions.


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://cogna8-io.gitbook.io/docs/core-concepts/state-items.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.