briefing

name	briefing
description	Assembles a session context briefing from your configured issue tracker, recent git history, and active work signals. Use when: starting a new session, resuming after a break, user says 'catch me up', 'what was I working on', 'where did I leave off', context recovery after compaction, or user asks for project orientation. Complements Claude Code's native /recap (which auto-triggers after extended idle); briefing is invoked explicitly and pulls from cross-tool sources native /recap does not aggregate.
disable-model-invocation	false
metadata	{"author":"Backchain","version":"1.0.0"}

Briefing

Produce a concise orientation briefing for session start or context recovery. Aggregate signals from multiple sources into a single scannable summary so the user can quickly re-orient.

Read-only. Reads issue-tracker state and git history; never writes, never modifies state.

Relationship to native /recap

Native Claude Code /recap (v2.1.108+) provides a recap of prior session activity when returning after a 75+ minute absence, or on demand. briefing complements /recap rather than replacing it:

• /recap is auto-triggered after idle and operates on Claude Code session history.
• briefing is invoked explicitly and aggregates cross-tool signals: issue tracker, git, working-memory presence, staging directory staleness.

Use /recap when you want the narrative of the last session. Use briefing when you want a structured snapshot of where the project stands across tools.

Data sources

briefing reads from sources the user's project has configured. Detect available sources from project signals; ask the user when ambiguous.

Signal	Source detection	What to read
Issue tracker	.beads/ directory → Beads. .linear/ or environment → Linear. gh CLI authenticated → GitHub Issues. Explicit declaration in CLAUDE.md → use that. None of the above → ask the user.	Ready / available work, in-progress items, blocked items, project counts
Git activity	Always available in a git repo	Recent commits (last 10), uncommitted changes (git status --short)
Working memory	A .memory/ directory in the working tree → see the working skill	Active in-progress checkpoint state
Staging dir	A configured staging directory (often outputs/)	Files older than 7 days as a staleness signal

If a source is unavailable, skip it gracefully and note the gap in the output. Do not fail the whole briefing if one source is missing.

If the user has not declared a primary issue tracker and none can be detected, ask once: "Which issue tracker should I read for ready / in-progress items?" Then proceed with the answer for this session.

Output format

# Session Briefing

## Active Work
[In-progress issues with IDs and titles, or "none"]

## Ready to Start
[Top 3-5 ready issues, ordered by priority, or "none"]

## Blocked
[Blocked issues with what's blocking them, or "none"]

## Recent Activity
[Last 5 git commits, one line each]

## Uncommitted Changes
[Modified/untracked files, if any]

## Quick Stats
- Open issues: N
- In progress: N
- Blocked: N

## Housekeeping
[Staleness signals, if any]

Staleness signals

Check these during briefing assembly. Include relevant findings under ## Housekeeping only if findings exist (omit the section otherwise).

Signal	Check	Suggested phrasing
Aging staging files	Files in the configured staging dir older than 7 days	"N files older than 7 days in <dir> — consider running consolidate staging"
Active working memory	Non-empty content in .memory/	".memory/ has active content — consider working promote if work is ready to graduate"

These are suggestions, not actions. The skill never invokes another skill or writes anything.

Constraints

Rule	Why
No file output — display inline only	Briefings are ephemeral; writing files adds noise
Under 40 lines total	Longer briefings defeat quick-scan orientation
Always run commands fresh	Stale cached data misleads re-orientation
Read-only — never modify state	The skill is purely informational

If there are no open issues anywhere, note "Project is clear." If git is unavailable (not a repo), skip the git sections without erroring.