start

name	start
description	Lightweight session reorientation — queries session-rag + mem0 for recent session context, checks git state, and surfaces 5 most recent open issues. Fast alternative to /prime for continuing same-day work or resuming after a short break. No indexing, no code search, no agent dispatch. Triggers: "start", "quick start", "resume", "orient me", "where were we".

Start

Lightweight session reorientation. Use this when you're continuing recent work and just need to know where you left off — not when you need a full environment boot.

Under 15 seconds. No code indexing, no agent dispatch. Two fast MCP calls (session-rag + mem0) replace the old digest file read.

---

When to use /start vs /prime

Situation	Use
Continuing same-day work in a new terminal	/start
Coming back after a short break (< 1 day)	/start
Starting fresh after days away	/prime
First session on a new project	/prime
Need full code indexing (Milvus/CGC)	/prime
Need comprehensive mem0 search	/prime
Just need context from last session	/start

---

The Flow

Step 0 — Verify project identity (MUST run first, blocking)

cat .claude/project.json 2>/dev/null
pwd

If .claude/project.json is missing OR cwd differs from the expected project root (e.g., launched from a subdir whose parent is a different git repo — common when a project like Devops/ sits inside an outer workspace repo), STOP the flow and warn prominently:

⚠ project.json missing or cwd mismatch
  cwd: <pwd output>
  project.json: <found path or "none">
  Likely cause: .claude/ is gitignored; file dropped during a merge/reset/worktree switch.
  Fix: create .claude/project.json with name/tag/issuePrefix, or cd to correct project root.

Offer to create .claude/project.json from a nearby sibling's template (read ../<sibling>/.claude/project.json, adjust name/tag/issuePrefix, write). Do not continue to Steps 1-3 until resolved — otherwise digest paths and project scoping break silently (the digest lands under Root/ instead of the real project folder).

Step 1 — Retrieve recent session context (session-rag + mem0)

Query session-rag and mem0 in parallel for recent session context. These are the only MCP calls /start makes — both are fast (<2s each).

1a — session-rag (recent turns, project-scoped):

IMPORTANT: Do NOT pass filesystem paths as project_root — silently returns empty. Omit project_root (defaults to current project via HTTP header) or use "*" for cross-project search. Include the project name in the query for relevance.

mcp__session-rag__search_all_sessions(
  query="last session summary recent work decisions next steps <project-name>",
  n=5
)

Extract from results: what was worked on, decisions made, next steps noted, handoff items.

1b — mem0 (curated episodic memory):

mcp__mem0__search_memories(
  query="recent work decisions handoffs",
  limit=10
)

Post-filter results by metadata.project matching the project tag (case-insensitive). Merge with session-rag findings — mem0 adds retro learnings and cross-session decisions that verbatim turns don't capture.

Degradation: If session-rag is unreachable (port 7102 down), use mem0 results only and append a warning: ⚠ session-rag unavailable — context from mem0 only. If both are unavailable, note "No recent session context available" and continue.

Step 2 — Git state snapshot

git status --short
git branch --show-current
git log --oneline -10
git worktree list

Surface:

• Current branch
• Last 10 commits (quick orientation on recent work)
• Uncommitted changes (if any)
• Active worktrees (if any beyond main)

Step 3 — Recent open issues

Find the 5 most recently updated open issues from the vault:

ISSUES_DIR="${DOCVAULT_PATH}/Issues"
# Filter open issues first, then sort by modification time, take 5
# (truncating before filtering can return zero results if the top 5 are all closed)
grep -rl 'status:.*\(open\|backlog\|todo\|in-progress\|in-review\)' "$ISSUES_DIR" 2>/dev/null \
  | grep -v '_Index' | xargs ls -t 2>/dev/null | head -5

For each file, read the frontmatter to extract: id, title, status, updated. Display as a compact list.

If there is no vault Issues directory or no open issues, note it briefly and move on. Also check the project-specific Issues path if the global one is empty: ${DOCVAULT_PATH}/Projects/{ProjectName}/Issues/

---

Output Format

Print a compact orientation report:

## Session Start — <ProjectName> (<date>)

### Last Session
<3-5 sentence recap synthesized from session-rag turns + mem0 memories — what was worked on, decisions made, next steps>

**Handoff:** <Any handoff/next-session items surfaced from session-rag or mem0 — omit if none>

---

### Git State
- **Branch:** <current branch>
- **Recent commits:** <last 3-5, one-liners>
- **Uncommitted:** <count or "clean">
- **Worktrees:** <list or "none">

---

### Open Issues (5 most recent)
- [<ID>] <title> — <status>
- [<ID>] <title> — <status>
- ...

---

_Use /prime for full environment boot with code indexing and comprehensive mem0 search._

Keep the whole output under 50 lines. If session context or issues are missing, compress those sections to a single "none found" line rather than expanding on the absence.

REQUIRED: The final line of every /start report MUST be exactly: _Use /prime for full environment boot with code indexing and comprehensive mem0 search._ Do not replace it with a custom summary or action item. It must always appear.

---

Rules

• session-rag + mem0 MCP calls only. No indexing MCPs (Milvus, CGC, Codacy). No agent dispatch.
• No code indexing. Do not trigger claude-context, CGC, or any indexing operation.
• Read-only. Do not write, commit, or modify anything.
• If /start would take > 20 seconds, something is wrong. The two MCP calls + git commands + issue scan should complete in under 10 seconds total.

What this skill does NOT do

• Full environment indexing (use /prime)
• Code health analysis or security scans (use /prime)
• DocVault page reading (use /prime)
• Agent dispatch of any kind (use /prime)
• Retro, wrap, or any write operations