Save Context

Generate a conversation summary for seamless agent handoffs.

Scope

This skill captures what happened in the current session AND maintains continuity across sessions:

Capture from THIS session:

• User requests and goals
• Actions taken and decisions made
• The reasoning behind pivots or changes in direction
• Open questions that weren't resolved
• What was built but not yet validated

Maintain continuity:

• Note items carried forward from previous context that weren't addressed
• Preserve user working style observations for future agents

DO NOT:

• Run git commands (no diff, log, commit, status)
• Explore the filesystem with ls, find, etc.
• Gather information about the broader project/repository state
• Make any commits

The conversation history is already in your context. Extract from it directly.

Core Principle: Detail Proportional to Openness

Not all topics deserve equal attention. Calibrate detail based on topic state:

The next agent needs context for what's actionable, not a history of everything discussed. Closed topics are background; open topics are foreground.

Workflow

1. Check for loaded context — Was a previous .context/ file loaded at session start? Note any pending items from it.
2. Analyze the conversation — Review what was discussed, requested, and done.
3. Identify reasoning pivots — Were there moments where initial proposals were challenged and direction changed?
4. Note open items — What was raised but not resolved? What was built but not tested?
5. Observe user style — Look for patterns:
   • Do they push back on proposals? (values simplicity, challenges assumptions)
   • Do they ask "is this state of the art?" (expects rigor)
   • Do they prefer brief responses or detailed explanations?
   • Do they redirect tangents quickly? (values focus)
6. Ask clarifying questions (only if critical gaps):
   • "What's the most important thing the next agent should know?"
   • "Any blockers or decisions pending your input?"
7. Generate the context document
8. Save to .context/
9. Ensure .gitignore protection

Template

Generate only sections with content. Omit empty sections entirely - don't include placeholder text or "[N/A]".

# Session Handoff: [Brief Topic]
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM
**Status:** [ready to continue | blocked on X | needs decision | changes uncommitted]

## TL;DR
[2-3 sentences: what was requested, what happened, what's next]

---

## User Working Style
[How this user communicates and what they value. Examples: "Pushes back on over-engineering", "Prefers brevity", "Challenges assumptions with 'is this state of the art?'", "Values simplicity over completeness". Helps next agent calibrate communication.]

## What Was Requested
[User's goal/task from this conversation - be specific]

## Key Quotes
[1-2 exact quotes from the user that capture critical intent or reasoning. Use when the user's own words convey something that paraphrase would dilute. Omit if no quotes are essential.]

## Carried Forward
[Items from a previously-loaded .context/ file that were mentioned but not addressed this session.]

## What Was Done
- [Specific action - include file paths if files were edited]
- [Another action]

**Validation status:** [Tested / Untested / Partially tested - list what needs verification]

## Topics Closed
[Brief summary of topics that are resolved. Just outcomes, not process. Example: "Router vs convention debate → decided on convention-based approach because it's simpler and avoids middleware."]

## Topics In Progress
[Detailed coverage of topics attempted but not resolved. Include: what was tried, why it didn't work or wasn't decided, what insights emerged, recommended next steps. This is where the next agent should focus.]

## Topics Identified (Not Started)
[Brief list of topics that came up but weren't addressed. Just enough for next agent to know they exist.]

## Approaches Rejected
[Approaches that were proposed and explicitly rejected by the user, with brief reason why. Prevents next agent from retreading failed paths. Omit if no approaches were rejected.]

## Open Questions
[Decisions or topics raised but explicitly left unresolved. Different from "Pending" - these are discussed but undecided, not work remaining.]

## Files Touched This Session

| File | Action | What Changed |
|------|--------|--------------|
| `path/to/file` | Created/Modified | Brief description |

**Commit status:** [Committed / Uncommitted / Partially committed]

## Known Issues Discovered
- [Issue found during this session]

## Pending / Blocked
- [Work remaining to be done]
- **Blocked on:** [if applicable]

## Continue From
[Direct instruction: where to pick up, what to do first]

---

**For next agent:** [One-line instruction on immediate next step]

File Management

Location (in project root) & Naming

.context/
├── 2025-01-03-1430.md
└── 2025-01-02-0900.md

PROJECT_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)
mkdir -p "$PROJECT_ROOT/.context"
FILENAME="$PROJECT_ROOT/.context/$(date +%Y-%m-%d-%H%M).md"

Gitignore Protection

Context files should NEVER be pushed to remote repositories.

After saving the context file, ensure .context/ is protected:

if [ ! -f .gitignore ]; then
    echo ".context/" > .gitignore
    echo "Created .gitignore with .context/"
elif grep -q "^\.context" .gitignore; then
    echo "Already protected"
else
    echo "" >> .gitignore
    echo ".context/" >> .gitignore
    echo "Added .context/ to .gitignore"
fi

Quality Checklist

Before saving:

• TL;DR alone gives clear picture of the session
• No empty sections or placeholders - omit instead
• Only includes work from THIS session (not repo-wide state)
• "Continue From" is specific and actionable
• Can be understood without access to this chat
• Detail is proportional to openness (closed=brief, in-progress=detailed)
• Topics In Progress includes what was tried and why it didn't resolve
• User Working Style is observational, not judgmental
• Validation status is explicit (tested vs untested)

Edge Cases

Anti-Patterns