session-start

# Session Start The judgment layer entry point. Runs before any work — establishes the three variables every downstream skill needs: **effort tier** (which model to route to), **goal clarity** (what success looks like), and **skill routing** (which skills apply this session). **Announce at start:** "Using session-start to calibrate this session." --- ## Step 1 — Calibrate with AskUserQuestion Run **one** `AskUserQuestion` call with these three questions together: ``` Question 1 — Effort tier header: "Effort level" question: "What's the effort level for this session?" options: - label: "Quick exploration (Recommended for most sessions)" description: "Sonnet 4.6 throughout. Fast, focused, minimal token spend. Good for spikes, research, one-off tasks." - label: "Focused sprint" description: "Sonnet 4.6 for implementation, Opus 4.8 for plan writing and review. Best for shipping a real feature." - label: "Deep build" description: "Opus 4.8 throughout — planning, implementation review, loop design. Reserve for architectural decisions or high-stakes launches." - label: "Constrained (low tokens this week)" description: "Sonnet 4.6 only. Hand heavy implementation off as a written plan file to an external executor when tokens run low." Question 2 — Domain header: "Domain" question: "What are you working on this session?" options: - label: "New product idea" description: "Validating demand, deciding what to build, or writing a first spec." - label: "Existing product — new feature" description: "Designing, speccing, or implementing a specific feature in an existing codebase." - label: "Research or analysis" description: "Market research, competitor analysis, technical spike, data exploration." - label: "Infrastructure / operations" description: "Deployment, CI/CD, dependency audit, migrations, devops." Question 3 — Outcome header: "Done looks like" question: "What does 'done' look like at the end of this session?" options: - label: "A decision I can act on" description: "A recommendation with rationale I trust enough to move forward." - label: "A plan file I can hand off" description: "A written spec, PRD, or implementation plan ready for an implementation model or external executor." - label: "Working code merged or deployed" description: "A concrete, verified, shipped change." - label: "A brief or artifact I can share" description: "A doc, deck, report, or diagram for a stakeholder." ``` --- ## Step 2 — Set the session context After collecting answers, announce the session context aloud and save it: ```markdown ## Session Context — [date] **Effort tier:** [Quick / Focused / Deep / Constrained] **Model routing:** [Sonnet throughout / Sonnet impl + Opus plan+review / Opus throughout / Sonnet + external-executor fallback] **Domain:** [new product / existing feature / research / infra] **Done looks like:** [decision / plan file / merged code / artifact] **Goal (from user):** [one sentence from their message or AskUserQuestion notes] ``` Save to `~/.claude/session-context.md` (overwrite each session — this is a scratchpad, not memory). --- ## Step 3 — Route to the right skill Based on domain + outcome, suggest the skill chain to use: | Domain | Done looks like | Suggested chain | |---|---|---| | New product idea | Decision | `/market-validation` → `/build-options` | | New product idea | Plan file | `/market-validation` → `/build-options` → `/prd` → `/tasks` | | Existing feature | Plan file | `/prd` → `/tasks` → implementation | | Research | Artifact | `/market-validation` (or direct research) | | Infra | Merged code | `/tasks` (or inline — no chain needed) | | Any multi-repo scope | Plan file | `/ecosystem-planning` | Announce: "This session I'll route to [skill chain]. Say the skill name to begin, or ask me to start directly." --- ## Step 4 — Load memory Before doing any work, read your Claude Code memory index (`~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/MEMORY.md`, if it exists — see [Memory](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory)). Summarize any items marked PENDING, BLOCKED, or awaiting-operator that are relevant to this session's domain. Surface them as a short list before proceeding. --- ## Model routing reference | Tier | Fable planning | Implementation | Review | |---|---|---|---| | Quick | Sonnet 4.6 | Sonnet 4.6 | Sonnet 4.6 | | Focused | Opus 4.8 | Sonnet 4.6 | Opus 4.8 | | Deep | Opus 4.8 | Opus 4.8 | Opus 4.8 | | Constrained | Sonnet 4.6 | Sonnet 4.6 → external executor | Sonnet 4.6 | --- ## What this skill builds on | Anthropic primitive | Role in this skill | |---|---| | `AskUserQuestion` | Collects session context before any tokens are spent on work | | Memory system (`~/.claude/projects/*/memory/`) | Surfaces pending items from prior sessions | | Model routing (Opus / Sonnet / external executor) | Selected once here; downstream skills inherit the choice | | Skills as judgment layer | This skill activates the right chain; it does not do the work itself | See: [Agent SDK](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/agent-sdk/overview) · [Interactive mode / AskUserQuestion](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/interactive-mode) · [Memory](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory) · [Models overview](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/docs/about-claude/models/overview)