swain-session

name	swain-session
description	Session management — restores terminal tab name, user preferences, and context bookmarks on session start. Auto-invoked at session start via AGENTS.md. Also invokable manually to change preferences or bookmark context for the next session.
user-invocable	true
license	MIT
allowed-tools	Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob
metadata	{"short-description":"Session state and identity management","version":"1.1.0","author":"cristos","source":"swain"}

Session

Manages session identity, preferences, and context continuity across agent sessions. This skill is agent-agnostic — it relies on AGENTS.md for auto-invocation.

Auto-run behavior

This skill is invoked automatically at session start (see AGENTS.md). When auto-invoked:

1. Restore tab name — run the tab-naming script
2. Load preferences — read session.json and apply any stored preferences
3. Show context bookmark — if a previous session left a context note, display it

When invoked manually, the user can change preferences or bookmark context.

Step 1 — Set terminal tab name (tmux only)

Check if $TMUX is set. If yes, run the tab-naming script:

bash "$(dirname "$0")/../skills/swain-session/scripts/swain-tab-name.sh" --auto

Use the project root to locate the script. The script reads swain.settings.json for the tab name format (default: {project} @ {branch}).

If this fails (e.g., not in a git repo), set a fallback title of "swain".

If $TMUX is NOT set, skip tab naming and show this tip:

Tip: Tab naming and workspace layouts require tmux. Run tmux before starting Claude Code to enable /swain-session tab naming and /swain-stage layouts.

Step 2 — Load session preferences

Read the session state file. The file location is:

~/.claude/projects/<project-path-slug>/memory/session.json

Where <project-path-slug> is the Claude Code memory directory for the current project.

The session.json schema:

{
  "lastBranch": "main",
  "lastContext": "Working on swain-session skill",
  "preferences": {
    "verbosity": "concise"
  },
  "bookmark": {
    "note": "Left off implementing the MOTD animation",
    "files": ["skills/swain-stage/scripts/swain-motd.sh"],
    "timestamp": "2026-03-10T14:32:00Z"
  }
}

If the file exists:

• Read and apply preferences (currently informational — future skills can check these)
• If bookmark exists and has a note, display it to the user:

  Resuming session — Last time: {note} Files: {files list, if any}

• Update lastBranch to the current branch

If the file does not exist, create it with defaults.

Step 3 — Suggest swain-stage (tmux only)

If $TMUX is set and swain-stage is available, inform the user:

Run /swain-stage to set up your workspace layout.

Do not auto-invoke swain-stage — let the user decide.

Manual invocation commands

When invoked explicitly by the user, support these operations:

Set tab name

User says something like "set tab name to X" or "rename tab":

bash scripts/swain-tab-name.sh "Custom Name"

Bookmark context

User says "remember where I am" or "bookmark this":

• Ask what they're working on (or infer from conversation context)
• Write to session.json bookmark field with note, relevant files, and timestamp

Clear bookmark

User says "clear bookmark" or "fresh start":

• Remove the bookmark field from session.json

Show session info

User says "session info" or "what's my session":

• Display current tab name, branch, preferences, bookmark status

Set preference

User says "set preference X to Y":

• Update preferences in session.json

Post-operation bookmark (auto-update protocol)

Other swain skills update the session bookmark after completing operations. This gives the developer a "where I left off" marker without requiring manual bookmarking.

When to update

A skill should update the bookmark when it completes a state-changing operation — artifact transitions, task updates, commits, releases, or status checks.

How to update

Use the swain-bookmark.sh script (in this skill's scripts/ directory):

# Find the script
BOOKMARK_SCRIPT="$(find . .claude .agents -path '*/swain-session/scripts/swain-bookmark.sh' -print -quit 2>/dev/null)"

# Basic note
bash "$BOOKMARK_SCRIPT" "Transitioned SPEC-001 to Approved"

# Note with files
bash "$BOOKMARK_SCRIPT" "Implemented auth middleware" --files src/auth.ts src/auth.test.ts

# Clear bookmark
bash "$BOOKMARK_SCRIPT" --clear

The script handles session.json discovery, atomic writes, and graceful degradation (no jq = silent no-op).

Settings

This skill reads from swain.settings.json (project root) and ~/.config/swain/settings.json (user override). User settings take precedence.

Relevant settings:

• terminal.tabNameFormat — format string for tab names. Supports {project} and {branch} placeholders. Default: {project} @ {branch}

Error handling

• If jq is not available, warn the user and skip JSON operations. Tab naming still works without jq.
• If git is not available, use the directory name as the project name and skip branch detection.
• Never fail hard — session management is a convenience, not a gate.