signal-state

# ⚡ signal-state This skill manages the **Continuous State Engine** for the SIGNAL protocol. It transitions the context window from an ephemeral chat history to a persistent `.signal_state.md` file on disk. ## When to use - **Start of session**: Read `.signal_state.md` if it exists. It IS your context. - **Significant actions**: Update state on sub-task completion, PR merge, or focus shift. - **Trigger**: `/signal-state` → refresh file immediately. ## How it works Use `write_file` or `replace` to modify `.signal_state.md` in project root. No scripts required. ### Format (`.signal_state.md`) YAML frontmatter + 3 blocks: Context, Progress, Next. ```markdown --- signal_version: 0.2 boot_mode: BOOT:arch updated_at: 2026-04-15T15:00:00Z --- ## Context project=move-validator stack=node+ts scope=knight-validation ## Progress [x] parse files [x] validate L-shape [x] validate off-board edge cases [/] SAN to coord conversion boundary [ ] write unit tests for SAN parse ## Next turn_focus=implement SAN string parsing in src/move.ts ``` ## Rules for Updating State 1. **Keep it atomic:** The entire file should rarely exceed 30 lines. 2. **Never store code:** The state file tracks *pointers* to progress, not the code itself. 3. **Overwrite, don't append:** When updating progress, change `[ ]` to `[x]`. Do not just append completed items to an infinitely growing list. 4. **Pruning:** If the `Progress` list exceeds 10 items, collapse the completed items `[x]` into a single summary line: `[x] core knight validation (5 tasks)`. ## Bootstrapping a new state If the user asks to start using continuous state and the file doesn't exist, create it immediately based on the current context of the chat. ```bash # Example action write_to_file ".signal_state.md" <formatted_state_content> ```