session-init

name	session-init
description	Create protocol-compliant JSON session logs with verification-based enforcement. Autonomous operation with auto-incremented session numbers and objective derivation from git state. Use when starting any new session. Use when you say "start a session", "create the session log". Do NOT use for mid-session protocol checks (use session), or to complete and validate a log at the end of a session (use session-end).
version	1.0.0
license	MIT
metadata	{"domains":["session-protocol","compliance","automation"],"type":"initialization"}

Session Init

Create protocol-compliant session logs with verification-based enforcement.

---

Quick Start

Automated (Recommended)

uv run python "${COPILOT_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-.claude}}/skills/session-init/scripts/new_session_log.py"

The script will:

1. Prompt for session number and objective
2. Auto-detect git state (branch, commit, date)
3. Read canonical template from SESSION-PROTOCOL.md
4. Write session log with EXACT template format
5. Validate immediately with validate_session_json.py
6. Exit nonzero on validation failure

Manual (If Needed)

/session-init

Follow the manual workflow below if the automated script doesn't meet your needs.

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Triggers

Phrase	Action
/session-init	Create new session log
create session log	Natural language activation
start new session	Alternative trigger
initialize session	Alternative trigger

Input	Output	Quality Gate
Session number, objective	Validated session log file	Exit code 0 from validation

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When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Starting any new work session
• Need a protocol-compliant session log
• Previous session log failed CI validation and need a fresh start

Use session-log-fixer instead when:

• An existing session log has validation errors that need repair
• CI failed with "Session protocol validation failed"

Why This Skill Exists

Problem: Every PR starts with malformed session logs that fail CI validation.

Root Cause: Agents generate session logs from LLM memory instead of copying the canonical template from SESSION-PROTOCOL.md. This causes variations like:

• Missing (COMPLETE ALL before closing) text in Session End header
• Wrong heading levels (## vs ###)
• Missing sections

Solution: Verification-based enforcement following the proven Serena initialization pattern.

---

Session Naming Protocol

Format: YYYY-MM-DD-session-NN.json

The script automatically generates human-readable filenames by extracting up to 5 keywords from the session objective using NLP heuristics:

• Remove stop words: Common words like "the", "a", "to", "for" are filtered out
• Keep domain terms: Technical verbs like "implement", "debug", "fix", "refactor" are preserved
• Convert to kebab-case: Words are joined with hyphens for readability
• Limit to 5 keywords: Most relevant terms from the start of the objective

Examples

Session Objective	Generated Filename
"Debug recurring session validation failures"	2026-01-06-session-374-debug-recurring-session-validation-failures.json
"Implement OAuth 2.0 authentication flow"	2026-01-06-session-375-implement-oauth-authentication-flow.json
"Fix test coverage gaps in UserService"	2026-01-06-session-376-fix-test-coverage-gaps-userservice.json
"Refactor PaymentProcessor for better error handling"	2026-01-06-session-377-refactor-paymentprocessor-better-error-handling.json

Benefits

• Human-readable discovery: Browse session history with ls .agents/sessions/ and instantly understand content
• Grep-friendly search: Find sessions by topic with grep -l "oauth" .agents/sessions/*.json
• Self-documenting: No need to open files to understand what each session covers
• Chronological order: YYYY-MM-DD prefix preserves time-based sorting
• Pattern identification: Keyword clustering reveals recurring themes across sessions

---

Process Overview

User Request: /session-init
    |
    v
+---------------------------------------------+
| Phase 1: GATHER INPUTS                      |
| - Prompt for session number                 |
| - Prompt for objective                      |
| - Auto-detect: date (YYYY-MM-DD)           |
| - Auto-detect: branch (git branch)         |
| - Auto-detect: commit (git log)            |
| - Auto-detect: git status                  |
+---------------------------------------------+
    |
    v
+---------------------------------------------+
| Phase 2: READ CANONICAL TEMPLATE            |
| - Read .agents/SESSION-PROTOCOL.md         |
| - Extract template (lines 494-612)         |
| - Preserve EXACT formatting                |
| - Critical: Keep "(COMPLETE ALL before     |
|   closing)" text in Session End header     |
+---------------------------------------------+
    |
    v
+---------------------------------------------+
| Phase 3: POPULATE TEMPLATE                  |
| - Replace NN with session number           |
| - Replace YYYY-MM-DD with date             |
| - Replace [branch name] with actual branch |
| - Replace [SHA] with commit hash           |
| - Replace [objective] with user input      |
| - Replace [clean/dirty] with git status    |
+---------------------------------------------+
    |
    v
+---------------------------------------------+
| Phase 4: WRITE SESSION LOG                  |
| - Generate descriptive filename with        |
|   keywords from objective                   |
| - Write to .agents/sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-    |
|   session-NN-keyword1-keyword2-...md       |
| - Preserve all template sections           |
+---------------------------------------------+
    |
    v
+---------------------------------------------+
| Phase 5: IMMEDIATE VALIDATION               |
| - Run validate_session_json.py         |
| - Report validation result                 |
| - If FAIL: show errors, allow retry       |
| - If PASS: confirm success                 |
+---------------------------------------------+
    |
    v
Protocol-Compliant Session Log

---

Workflow

Step 0: Issue Coordination Pre-flight (when an issue number is known)

Before creating the session log or a development branch for a specific issue, confirm no one else is already working it (issue #2477, competing PRs):

# Refuse to open a duplicate if an open PR already addresses the issue
python3 .claude/skills/github/scripts/issue/check_existing_pr_for_issue.py --issue <N>
# Refuse to start if another login already holds the issue
python3 .claude/skills/github/scripts/issue/claim_issue.py --issue <N>

Either script exiting non-zero means STOP: coordinate on the existing claim or PR instead of opening a competing one. Skip this step for issue-less sessions.

Step 1: Gather Session Information

Prompt user for required inputs:

What is the session number? (e.g., 375)
What is the session objective? (e.g., "Implement session-init skill")

Auto-detect from environment:

# Current date
date +%Y-%m-%d
# or PowerShell: Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd"

# Current branch
git branch --show-current

# Starting commit
git log --oneline -1

# Git status
git status --short

Step 2: Read Canonical Template

CRITICAL: Use the new_session_log.py script to read the template from SESSION-PROTOCOL.md.

uv run python "${COPILOT_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-.claude}}/skills/session-init/scripts/new_session_log.py"

DO NOT generate the template from memory or read specific line numbers. The script extracts the canonical template dynamically:

• Header levels (## vs ###)
• Table structure with pipe separators
• Checkbox format [ ]
• Comment blocks <!-- -->
• CRITICAL: ### Session End (COMPLETE ALL before closing) header text

Step 3: Populate Template Variables

Replace placeholders with actual values:

Placeholder	Replace With
NN	Session number (e.g., 375)
YYYY-MM-DD	Current date
[branch name]	Git branch name
[SHA]	Starting commit hash
[What this session aims to accomplish]	User-provided objective
[clean/dirty]	Git status result

Leave these unchanged:

• All checklist items [ ] (unchecked)
• Evidence columns with placeholder text
• Comment blocks

Step 4: Write Session Log File

Write the populated session log to a file with descriptive naming:

Filename Format: YYYY-MM-DD-session-NN.json

The script automatically:

1. Extracts up to 5 keywords from the objective
2. Filters out common stop words (the, a, to, for, etc.)
3. Converts to kebab-case
4. Generates human-readable filename

Example:

For objective "Debug recurring session validation failures", the filename becomes: 2026-01-06-session-374-debug-recurring-session-validation-failures.json

Construct filename: .agents/sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-session-NN.json

Example: .agents/sessions/2026-01-05-session-375.json

Write the populated template to this file.

Step 5: Validate Immediately

Run validation script:

uv run python scripts/validate_session_json.py ".agents/sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-session-NN.json"

Check exit code:

Exit Code	Meaning	Action
0	PASS	Confirm success, agent proceeds
1	FAIL	Show errors, offer to retry

---

Verification Checklist

Before reporting success:

• Session number provided by user
• Objective provided by user
• Template read from SESSION-PROTOCOL.md (NOT generated from memory)
• All template sections present
• Session End header includes (COMPLETE ALL before closing)
• File written to correct path .agents/sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-session-NN.json
• Validation script executed
• Validation result is PASS (exit code 0)

---

Anti-Patterns

Avoid	Why	Instead
Generating template from memory	Will miss exact formatting	Read from SESSION-PROTOCOL.md
Skipping validation	Won't catch errors until CI	Validate immediately
Hardcoding template in skill	Template may change	Always read from canonical source
Pre-checking boxes	Defeats verification purpose	Leave all unchecked
Using ## Session End	Missing required text	Use ### Session End (COMPLETE ALL before closing)

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Example Output

Success:

Session log created and validated

  File: .agents/sessions/2026-01-05-session-375.json
  Validation: PASS
  Branch: feat/session-init
  Commit: abc1234

Next: Complete Session Start checklist in the session log

Failure:

Session log created but validation FAILED

  File: .agents/sessions/2026-01-05-session-375.json
  Validation: FAIL
  Errors:
    - Missing Session End checklist header

Run: uv run python scripts/validate_session_json.py ".agents/sessions/2026-01-05-session-375.json" 

Fix the issues and re-validate.

---

Related Skills

Skill	Relationship
log-fixer	Reactive fix after failure (this skill prevents need)
qa-eligibility	QA eligibility checking (different purpose)

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Scripts

Script	Purpose	Exit Codes
new_session_log.py	Automated session log creation with validation	0=success, 1=error
new_session_log_json.py	Simplified JSON session log creation	0=success, 1=error

Example Usage

Automated (Recommended):

# Create session log with parameters
uv run python "${COPILOT_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-.claude}}/skills/session-init/scripts/new_session_log.py" --session-number 375 --objective "Implement feature X"

# Skip validation
uv run python "${COPILOT_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-.claude}}/skills/session-init/scripts/new_session_log.py" --session-number 375 --objective "Implement feature X" --skip-validation

# Simplified JSON-only version
uv run python "${COPILOT_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-.claude}}/skills/session-init/scripts/new_session_log_json.py" --session-number 375 --objective "Implement feature X"

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Vendored install

This skill depends on upstream-only paths. In a vendored install (a consumer repo that is not rjmurillo/ai-agents) these paths do not exist:

Path	Direction	Behavior when absent
.agents/sessions/	write via artifact root	The creation script creates the directory when needed and writes the session log there.
.agents/SESSION-PROTOCOL.md	reference only	The script does not read this file at runtime; it builds JSON from session_init/session_structure.py.
scripts/validate_session_json.py	read/execute for new_session_log.py validation	Vendored installs need this script in the consumer repo for new_session_log.py, or callers must use --skip-validation. new_session_log_json.py does not run validation.

The HTML comment above is the machine-readable declaration the check_skill_md_portability.py validator (Issue #2050) reads to confirm this skill has disclosed its path dependencies instead of hiding them in prose.

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References

• SESSION-PROTOCOL.md - Canonical template source
• validate_session_json.py - Validation script
• Template Extraction - How to extract template
• Validation Patterns - Common validation issues

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Pattern: Verification-Based Enforcement

This skill follows the same pattern as Serena initialization:

Aspect	Serena Init	Session Init
Verification	Tool output in transcript	Validation script exit code
Feedback	Immediate (tool response)	Immediate (validation output)
Enforcement	Cannot proceed without output	Cannot claim success without pass
Compliance Rate	100% (never violated)	Target: 100%

Why it works:

• Reads canonical template from file (single source of truth)
• Auto-populates git state (reduces manual errors)
• Validates immediately with same script as CI (instant feedback)
• Cannot skip validation (built into skill workflow)
• Provides actionable error messages if validation fails