| name | metis-session-start |
| description | Rehydrate a fresh session from on-disk state. |
$metis-session-start
Read the minimum set of files that orients the agent to the project's current state.
Preconditions
.metis/ must exist. If it does not, stop and point at $metis-init.
Partial state inside .metis/ (missing or incomplete files) surfaces as an Anomaly in the Return rather than a hard error.
Load
In this order:
.metis/CURRENT.md — the previous session's handoff. The primary rehydration source.
.metis/BUILD.md — the architecture brief, when it exists. Loaded once at session start so the rest of the session's work can lean on it without re-reading.
.metis/INDEX.md — the concept → source-doc map, when it exists.
Do not load
.metis/SYNTHESIS.md, .metis/CONTRADICTIONS.md, .metis/QUESTIONS.md, .metis/RESOLVED.md — reconcile artifacts. Loaded on demand by the skills that need them, not at session start.
docs/ — source corpus. Loaded on demand by skills that turn on specific passages.
Write scope
None.
Return
- What happened last session — one paragraph from
CURRENT.md What happened. If CURRENT.md is missing or empty, say so directly.
- In flight — what's being worked on right now, from
CURRENT.md Current state. If nothing is in flight, say so.
- Open questions — the list from
CURRENT.md Open questions. Surfaced as items the user may want to address.
- Where to start — directly from
CURRENT.md Where to start. Do not rewrite — pass it through.
- Anomalies — anything unexpected: missing
CURRENT.md (suggest $metis-init), CURRENT.md referencing files that don't exist on disk, .metis/BUILD.md mentioned by the handoff but absent. Surface rather than absorb.
Invocation prompt
Silently accept and ignore any trailing free-text prompt.