j-resume

name	j-resume
description	Resume a session — read the paste-back handoff note to recall what we last worked on, falling back to a git+TODO status when none exists. Add the `full` keyword to also deep-scan project notes and memory.

/j-resume

Get back up to speed at the start of a session. The start-of-session complement to /j-save, which writes the handoff note this skill reads (and, with its full keyword, durable knowledge too). Read-only: never modify any files.

Arguments

/j-resume [full] [focus]

• full — optional leading keyword. When present, after the light read also deep-scan denote/stash notes, private memory, and PROJECT.org for the broader picture (step 2). Without it, do the light read only.
• [focus] — optional keyword(s) or short phrase to narrow the load (e.g. voice, jolo skills, perf grafana, security, emacs). Bias note selection and the summary toward that topic. Anything after a leading full is treated as focus.

Without arguments, do the light read and summarize the whole picture.

Instructions

1. Light read — "what we last worked on" (always)

Read scratch/resume-session.md if it exists. This is the handoff note from the last session (written by /j-save): branch/commit context, what changed and why, re-verify commands, parked items, and don'ts.

Freshness check. Compare the note's header date against recent history (git log --oneline -n 5, current branch). If the repo has clearly moved on since the note was written (different branch, many newer commits, the note's "uncommitted" state no longer matches), say so — treat the note as a lead, not ground truth, and lean on live git/TODO state instead.

If scratch/resume-session.md does not exist (mid-session, or it was never written), fall back to a quick status from live state:

• Recent commits: git log --oneline -n 5
• Repo status: git status -sb
• Current priorities: top TODOs (rg -n "^\*+ (TODO|NEXT|INPROGRESS)" docs/TODO.org | head -8)

Either way, the headline output is what we last worked on and what's next — short, natural-language, no raw file dumps.

2. Full state scan (only if full keyword given)

Skip this entire step unless full was passed. Otherwise, after the light read, prime the broader project context:

Structured state — read these (skip any that don't exist):

• docs/PROJECT.org — project context, architecture, key decisions
• docs/TODO.org — current tasks and priorities
• Legacy (being replaced by denote notes): docs/MEMORY.org, docs/RESEARCH.org (only last 3 top-level headings)

Denote notes — if docs/notes/ exists, scan filenames for context:

emacsclient -e '(bergheim/agent-denote-list "docs/notes" 15)'

This returns the 15 most recent notes with titles and keywords. Read the full content of notes relevant to this session (gotchas, conventions, recent decisions). Skip clearly unrelated notes.

If the session touches shared tooling or workflow (Emacs, org-mode, denote, devcontainers, agent behavior, host integration), also scan stash notes:

emacsclient -e '(bergheim/agent-denote-list "/workspaces/stash/notes" 15)'

If the helper isn't available, fall back to listing filenames:

ls -t docs/notes/*.org 2>/dev/null | head -15

Denote filenames encode metadata: YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS--title-slug__kind_topic.org

If a focus argument was given, split it into keywords and prefer notes whose title or keywords match — read their full bodies even if outside the 15 most recent. Use filename greps as helpers:

ls docs/notes/*__*_<keyword>*.org 2>/dev/null   # keyword match
ls docs/notes/*<keyword>*.org 2>/dev/null        # title-slug match

For multi-word focus like perf grafana, search each significant word and the slug form (perf-grafana). De-prioritize notes that clearly don't touch the focus — skim titles only.

Agent-private memory:

• Claude: .claude/MEMORY.md (auto-memory index)
• Gemini: .gemini/MEMORY.md
• Codex: .codex/MEMORY.md
• Pi: .pi/MEMORY.md

3. Synthesize

Print a brief summary. For a light read, lead with what we last worked on and the immediate next step. For full, also cover:

• Active work: open TODOs and recent decisions/research from notes
• Key gotchas: any gotcha or convention notes likely to bite this session
• Stale items: flag any TODOs or notes that look outdated

If a focus argument was given, scope the summary to that topic: list matching TODOs first, surface the gotchas most likely to bite this kind of work, and say "no open TODOs match this focus" if that's the case. Don't pad with unrelated items.

Use 3-4 short paragraphs. No bullet lists unless the user asks.

Rules

• Read-only: do not modify any files. Writing state is /j-save's job.
• Do not dump raw file contents — summarize.
• If a file is missing, skip it silently.
• Treat the handoff note as a lead, not gospel — verify against live git/TODO state when they disagree.
• Prefer denote notes over legacy MEMORY.org/RESEARCH.org when both exist.