Session Start

Run this at the beginning of every new session. It gives you and the user a shared understanding of where things left off and what's in play.

Steps

1. Read the Session Brief

Read brief/session-brief.md in full. This is the primary source for what happened last session, what decisions were made, and what's still open.

2. Check Git Status

Run git status and git log --oneline -5 to see:

• Any uncommitted changes from the last session
• The most recent commits for context

2.5. Sync Skills to .agents/ (opt-in projects only)

If the project has an .agents/ directory, run the project-level sync from the sync-skills skill (hardlink .claude/skills/ → .agents/skills/). Do not prompt for scope — project only. Only mention it if something was added or removed.

If there is no .agents/ directory, skip silently — never create one. To opt a project in, run /sync-skills once manually and add .agents/ to its .gitignore.

3. Check the Date

Note the current date and compare it to the session brief date. If significant time has passed (more than a few days), flag it — some carryover items may be stale or already handled.

4. Deliver the Session Summary

Output a concise summary for the user with these sections:

## Session [N+1] — [Current Date]

### Last Session Recap
[2-3 sentence summary of what happened]

### Open Items
[Bulleted list of carryover tasks, prioritized by urgency/relevance]

### Uncommitted Changes
[List any uncommitted files, or "Clean working tree" if none]

### Ready when you are.

Keep it tight. The user has already read the brief if they want detail — this is the quick orientation.

5. Increment the Session Number

Note the new session number based on the brief's session number. When the user runs /brief at the end of this session, use the incremented number.

Rules

• Do NOT modify any files during /start — this is read-only, except the skills sync (step 2.5)
• Do NOT start working on carryover items automatically — wait for the user to direct
• Do NOT push the user toward the next topic while they're still working through the current one — wait for them to signal they're ready to move on
• If the brief is missing or empty, say so and ask the user what they'd like to work on
• If there are uncommitted changes, mention them but don't commit — the user decides

Learnings

<!-- Updated by /reflect. Promote stable patterns to the main skill body. -->

• [MEDIUM] If the brief is missing, orient from project continuity artifacts (RESUME blocks, recent commits) instead, say the brief is missing, and offer to backfill it. (Session 2, 2026-06-10)
• [MEDIUM] At session start, verify the live state (PR merged? Linear issue Done?) of the top 1–2 carryover items rather than trusting the brief — the brief snapshots a moment that may be stale by next session. (Session 56, 2026-06-11)
• [MEDIUM] If any PR is open at session start, run gh pr checks on it — a red CI run reframes session priorities before any planned work begins. (Session 66, 2026-07-03)