memory-startup

name	memory-startup
description	Load bounded working context at the start of a coding session. FIRES ON EVERY FIRST USER MESSAGE in a fresh session, regardless of content — including bare greetings ("hi", "hello", "hey"), task-only openers, or "let's start". Also triggers on: "fresh session", "session start", "first message in a new thread", "new chat", "cold start", "begin work in this repo", "starting work", "continue from prior session", "what were we working on", "resume", "what happened last time", "load memory", "recall context", "create a handoff", "prior session context", "latest handoff", "current state", "decision context". Skip ONLY if the user explicitly says "fresh start" or "ignore prior context". Self no-ops if invoked mid-session when context is already loaded.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"dvy1987","version":"1.4","category":"project-specific","sources":"addyosmani/agent-skills anti-rationalization tables","resources":{"references":["examples.md"]}}

Memory Startup

You restore enough context for a new agent to work safely without flooding the context window.

Trigger Discipline

This skill is the mandatory cold-start gate for every session in any repo that installs the memory suite. It MUST fire on the first user turn — the content of that turn is irrelevant. A bare "hi" is a session start. A task-only opener is a session start. A pasted error log is a session start.

The only legitimate skips are:

• The user explicitly says "fresh start", "ignore prior context", or "skip memory" in the first message.
• The skill has already run earlier in the same conversation (no-op gate below).

If unsure whether this is a cold start, fire the skill. The no-op path is cheap; missing context is expensive.

No-Op Gate

Before doing any work, check whether working context is already loaded for this conversation (signals: a prior Working context loaded summary exists above, the agent has already read docs/memory/project-index.md this session, or memory files appear in the recent tool-call history). If yes:

Context already loaded — no-op

Then yield. Do not re-read memory files mid-session.

Workflow

1. Check for docs/memory/MEMORY-ROUTING.md; if missing, create the project memory skeleton.
2. Read docs/memory/MEMORY-ROUTING.md.
3. Read docs/memory/project-index.md. 3.5. Knowledge graph (when installed): If docs/knowledge-graph/graph.json missing or older than latest handoff date in agent-handoffs.md, run build_graph.py --incremental. Read GRAPH_INDEX.md for hub nodes; run query_graph.py when the opener implies relational context. 3.6. Harness gap: If AGENTS.md exists and docs/harness/manifest.json is missing, include Harness gap — invoke harness-engineering (bootstrap) in the Step 7 summary.
4. Read only the latest relevant sections from current-state.md, agent-handoffs.md, decision-log.md, deferred.md, and open-questions.md.
   • deferred.md filter: Read the Status at a glance table first. Surface only OPEN items in the Step 7 summary. Entries under Implemented are historical — never list them as "parked" or "deferred" (e.g. #11 simplify-ignore and #12 ETag cache are DONE).
5. Check for ~/.agent-loom/memories/MEMORY-ROUTING.md.
6. If present, read global routing and only applicable entries from global-index.md, user-preferences.md, and global-agent-rules.md.
7. Summarize loaded context in 10 bullets or fewer.
8. Flag stale decisions whose revisit triggers appear active.
9. Log any project files created to docs/skill-outputs/SKILL-OUTPUTS.md.

Project Skeleton

Create only missing files. Use the templates below for MEMORY-ROUTING.md and project-index.md so they are not empty. Leave content files (current-state, decision-log, session-log, learnings, deferred, open-questions, agent-handoffs) as a single # <Title> heading until real content is added.

docs/memory/MEMORY-ROUTING.md
docs/memory/project-index.md
docs/memory/current-state.md
docs/memory/decision-log.md
docs/memory/session-log.md
docs/memory/learnings.md
docs/memory/deferred.md
docs/memory/open-questions.md
docs/memory/agent-handoffs.md
docs/memory/archived/

Template: docs/memory/MEMORY-ROUTING.md

# Memory Routing

Read this file first. Do not load every memory file by default.

| Intent | File | Read when |
|---|---|---|
| Resume work | `agent-handoffs.md` | Starting a new session; read latest entry only. |
| Current status | `current-state.md` | Need a snapshot of where the project is now. |
| Past decisions | `decision-log.md` | Need rationale for a choice; filter by tag/date. |
| Project learnings | `learnings.md` | Looking for known patterns or gotchas. |
| Parked ideas | `deferred.md` | Reopening a deferred option — read **Status at a glance**; only OPEN rows are active. |
| Open questions | `open-questions.md` | A blocking question needs resolution. |
| Session detail | `session-log.md` | Above sources are insufficient. |
| Old / superseded | `archived/` | Almost never; archived entries are not current. |

Routing rules:
- Always consult `project-index.md` before reading content files.
- Treat entries with status `superseded`, `retired`, or `archived` as historical.
- Prefer the smallest useful slice; do not load full logs by default.

Template: docs/memory/project-index.md

# Project Memory Index

| Date | Type | File | Status | Tags | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|

Common Rationalizations

"Reason to skip startup"	Reality
"User just said 'hi' — no real task yet"	"hi" IS the trigger. Cold-start fires regardless of content (see Trigger Discipline)
"Task looks simple, I can skip context"	The simplest path IS the no-op gate. Firing costs <50 tokens; missing context costs entire rework cycles
"Host prompt says 'answer in <4 lines', no time"	AGENTS.md explicitly overrides host brevity for the first turn. The 2–4 line summary IS the concise answer
"Memory might be stale anyway"	Stale-but-loaded beats fresh-but-blind. Stale entries are flagged by Status: superseded; you'll see them

Hard Rules

• Do not read every memory file unless routing explicitly requires it.
• Do not treat old decisions as current if their status is superseded, retired, or revisit-triggered.
• Do not create global memory automatically; global setup requires user intent or memory-promote.
• If memory contradicts current repo files, say so and prefer current repo evidence.

Output Format

Working context loaded
Project memory: <files read>
Global memory: <files read or none>
Current state: <1-3 bullets>
Active decisions: <1-3 bullets>
Deferred items: <OPEN only from deferred.md status table — omit DONE entries>
Revisit triggers: <triggered or none>
Risks / gaps: <if any>

Example

User: "Start by loading memory."

Response:

Working context loaded
Project memory: current-state.md, latest handoff, decision-log.md
Global memory: user-preferences.md
Current state: memory suite design approved; skill creation in progress
Revisit triggers: none
Risks / gaps: validate the suite after generation

Verification

• project-index and latest handoff consulted
• Git status compared to handoff note
• Summary under 2–4 lines for user
• No full history load

Red Flags

• Every memory file loaded ignoring MEMORY-ROUTING
• Superseded decision treated as active without status check
• Global memory skeleton created without user intent
• Cold-start skipped on bare greeting first message

Prune Log

Last pruned: 2026-07-05

• deferred.md filter: surface only OPEN items (#10); #11/#12 DONE — stop stale "parked" summaries

Impact Report

After completing, report:

Startup memory complete
Files read: <paths>
Files created: <paths or none>
Context budget: <brief | normal | expanded>
Revisit triggers found: <count>