Build Session Context
Quickly resume work by extracting key information from project logs and presenting a concise context summary for efficient session startup.
Goal
Extract essential information from multiple project documentation files and present a concise, token-efficient summary that enables quick context recovery without reading entire files.
Workflow
Step 1: Extract Key Information from Each File
Read each file and extract only the most critical information:
- CLAUDE.md (Project Entry Point)
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Phase: Current project phase (e.g., "Phase 2 - Refactoring")
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Last Updated: Date of last update
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Project Status: High-level overview (e.g., "9/9 files migrated, 90% complete")
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Note: CLAUDE.md is now a clean entry point; detailed tasks are in TASK_BOARD.md
- TASK_BOARD.md (Detailed Task Tracking)
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Completed Tasks: Count and 2-3 most recent
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In Progress Tasks: List (limit to 3 most important)
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Next Steps: Top 2-3 priorities
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Blockers: Any active blockers (critical)
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Progress Metrics: Overall percentages if available
- MIGRATION_LOG.md (Migration History)
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Progress: X/9 files completed (percentage)
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Recent Migrations: Last 2-3 entries (date, title, status)
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Index: Check index for quick overview if available
- DEBUG_LOG.md (Problem Tracking)
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Active Issues: Count and brief descriptions
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Recent Resolutions: Last 2-3 resolved issues
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Urgent Blockers: Any issues marked as critical
- GIT_LOG.md (Change History)
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Recent Commits: Last 3-5 commits (hash, message)
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Activity Pattern: Type of recent work (features, fixes, docs)
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Last Commit Date: When was last work done
- SKILLS_LOG.md (Skills Changes) [Optional]
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Recent Changes: Last 1-2 skill updates (if within last 7 days)
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New Skills: Any skills added recently
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Only include if skills changed recently to keep context minimal
- Git Status (Current Workspace)
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Current Branch: Which branch is active
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Uncommitted Changes: Any staged/unstaged changes
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Untracked Files: New files not yet in git
Step 2: Generate Concise Context Summary
Format the extracted information into a compact summary:
🚀 Session Start - VRP Toolkit
Phase: [Phase] | Last Updated: [Date] | Branch: [branch]
📊 Status Snapshot
- Migration: X/9 files (XX%) | Active Issues: [count]
- Completed: [count] tasks | In Progress: [count] tasks
- Blockers: [None/list]
🔍 Recent Activity
Git: [Last 3 commits, one line each] Migrations: [Last 2 migration titles] Issues: [Active issue count, recent resolution]
🎯 Current Focus
- [Primary in-progress task]
- [Secondary in-progress task]
📋 Immediate Next Steps
- [Highest priority next action]
- [Secondary next action]
⚠️ Active Blockers (if any)
- [Blocker 1]
- [Blocker 2]
Token Optimization Guidelines:
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Keep total summary under 1000 tokens if possible
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Use abbreviations: e.g., "ALNS" not "Adaptive Large Neighborhood Search"
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Limit lists to 3-5 items maximum
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Use bullet points over paragraphs
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Prioritize recent information over historical
Step 3: Suggest Context-Aware Next Action
Based on the summary, recommend the most appropriate next step:
Decision Matrix:
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Blockers present → Address most critical blocker first
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Uncommitted changes → Review and commit before new work
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Active issues in DEBUG_LOG.md → Continue debugging if in progress
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Migration in progress → Continue with current migration
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No active tasks → Start highest priority from "Next Steps"
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Long break (>3 days) → Review recent commits first
Be specific and actionable:
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Instead of: "Work on migration"
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Use: "Continue migrating operators.py to vrp_toolkit/algorithms/alns/operators.py "
Step 4: Offer Skill Integration
After presenting summary, suggest relevant skills:
Common integrations:
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update-task-board
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Update task status if work completed
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git-log
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Commit uncommitted changes
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log-debug-issue
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Document issues encountered
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update-migration-log
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Log completed work
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migrate-module
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Continue file migration
Special Cases & Optimization
Long Log Files
When logs are very long (e.g., MIGRATION_LOG.md > 500 lines):
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Rely on index section if available
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Read only first/last few entries
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Use grep or search for recent dates
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Extract statistics rather than details
Missing Log Files
If a log file doesn't exist:
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Note its absence in summary
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Suggest creating it if needed
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Proceed with available information
First Session After Break
If last update > 3 days ago:
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Emphasize git history to rebuild context
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Highlight any stale in-progress tasks
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Suggest verifying environment/dependencies
High Token Count Situation
If summary is too long:
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Further trim lists (2 items instead of 3)
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Remove less critical sections
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Use more abbreviations
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Focus only on current/next actions
Integration with Project Documentation
TASK_BOARD.md: Detailed task status managed by update-task-board skill. This is the primary source for task tracking.
MIGRATION_LOG.md: Migration history maintained by update-migration-log skill. Provides evidence for task completion.
DEBUG_LOG.md: Issue tracking maintained by log-debug-issue skill. Source for active blockers.
GIT_LOG.md: Commit history maintained by git-log skill. Shows recent development activity.
SKILLS_LOG.md: Skills changes maintained by manage-skills skill. Optional context for recent workflow updates.
CLAUDE.md: High-level project overview (now simplified, points to other files for details).
Documentation Structure (post-refactoring):
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CLAUDE.md → Entry point (~308 lines reduced)
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TASK_BOARD.md → Task tracking (extracted from CLAUDE.md)
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SKILLS.md → Skills reference (extracted from CLAUDE.md)
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MIGRATION_GUIDE.md → Migration details (in migrate-module skill)
Example Output
🚀 Session Start - VRP Toolkit
Phase: Phase 2 - Refactoring (90% complete) | Last Updated: 2026-01-03 | Branch: main
📊 Status Snapshot
- Migration: 9/9 files (100%) | Active Issues: 0
- Tasks: 20+ completed | 1 in progress
- Blockers: None
- Skills: 10 total (recently refined documentation structure)
🔍 Recent Activity
Git: 4569fa1 feat(architecture): unified Solver interface 9590014 feat(setup): make package installable 0287f90 docs: comprehensive README Tasks: Test suite creation (in progress) Docs: CLAUDE.md simplified (~308 lines → dedicated files) Created TASK_BOARD.md, SKILLS.md, MIGRATION_GUIDE.md Skills: manage-skills created, manage-python-env fixed compliance
🎯 Current Focus
- Creating comprehensive test suite for new architecture
📋 Immediate Next Steps
- Complete test suite with edge cases and integration tests
- Test ALNSSolver with other VRPProblem implementations
⚠️ Active Blockers
None - ready to proceed
💡 Suggested Action: Continue test suite development or start with update-task-board to sync latest progress
Reference
For detailed file structures:
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CLAUDE.md structure: claude_md_structure.md
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Log file formats: See respective skill documentation