SDV Session Orientation

Quick ramp-up at the start of a development session. Gather context from journals, git state, and build status to understand where work left off.

When to Use

1. Starting a new development session
2. After context compaction/reset
3. Resuming work after a break
4. Switching branches
5. When uncertain about current state

Orientation Checklist

1. Identify Current Branch

git branch --show-current

Use the branch name to find the relevant journal file.

2. Read Branch Journal

# Journal files are named: YYYY-MM-DD_branch-name.md
ls Docs/journals/

Read the most recent journal for the current branch to understand:

• What work has been done
• What's in progress
• Known issues or blockers
• Build status from last session

3. Check Git Status

git status
git log --oneline -5

Understand:

• Uncommitted changes
• Recent commits
• Relationship to main branch

4. Verify Build Status

dotnet build

Confirm the project builds successfully before starting work.

5. Check for Pending Work

Review:

• Journal entries for incomplete tasks
• Docs/ROADMAP.md for planned features
• Docs/BUGS.md for known issues

Orientation Report Template

Generate a brief orientation report:

## Session Orientation

**Branch:** liminalwarmth/feature-name
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Build Status:** Passing / Failing

### Recent Activity
- [Summary of last journal entry]
- Last commit: [hash] [message]

### Current State
- [What's working]
- [What's in progress]
- [Any blockers]

### Next Steps
1. [Immediate task]
2. [Following task]

### Notes
- [Any context that might be forgotten]

Quick Commands

# Full orientation
git branch --show-current && \
git status --short && \
git log --oneline -3 && \
dotnet build --verbosity quiet

# Find journal for current branch
BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current | sed 's/.*\///') && \
ls Docs/journals/*${BRANCH}*.md 2>/dev/null || echo "No journal found"

Context Recovery

If context was compacted or reset:

1. Read CLAUDE.md - Always read the handbook first
2. Read branch journal - Understand what was being worked on
3. Check git diff - See what changes exist
4. Run build - Verify current state compiles
5. Ask the user - If unclear, ask for context

Journal Location Convention

Docs/journals/
├── 2025-12-27_random-outfit-names.md
├── 2025-12-26_dresser-sharing.md
├── 2025-12-25_rings-config.md
└── _archive.md  (historical entries)

Journals are named with date and branch name for easy lookup.

Branch Naming Convention

Branch names typically follow:

• liminalwarmth/feature-name for features
• liminalwarmth/fix-name for bug fixes
• master for main branch

The journal file uses the portion after the last /.