| name | session-summary |
| description | Generates comprehensive session summaries capturing key outcomes, decisions, action items, and learnings. |
Session Summary
Capture and synthesize key information from your work sessions with structured summaries that preserve insights and drive action.
What This Skill Does
The Session Summary skill helps you:
- Generate comprehensive summaries of work sessions
- Extract key decisions and their rationale
- Capture action items with owners and deadlines
- Document learnings and insights
- Track session outcomes for future reference
- Build a searchable knowledge base of your work
Usage
Basic Usage (L1):
/session-summary generate --last
/session-summary capture decisions [context]
/session-summary extract action-items
Advanced Usage (L2):
/session-summary analyze patterns --last 7 sessions
/session-summary cross-reference [topic] --all-sessions
/session-summary generate --format markdown --with-attachments
Expert Usage (L3):
/session-summary auto-summarize --real-time
/session-summary link-topics --knowledge-graph
/session-summary forecast --based-on-history
Tier 1: Session Capture & Summarization
Capabilities
Manual Summary Generation:
- Review session content and generate structured summary
- Extract key outcomes and accomplishments
- Identify important decisions made
- List action items with ownership
- Note open questions and blockers
- Capture insights and learnings
Decision Tracking:
- Document decisions with context
- Capture rationale and alternatives considered
- Record decision date and participants
- Link decisions to related topics
- Tag decisions by impact level
Action Item Extraction:
- Identify concrete action items from session
- Assign owners (self, team members, external)
- Set priorities and deadlines
- Track dependencies between actions
- Link actions to decisions or outcomes
Summary Template
Session Summary - [Date/Topic]
Context:
- Date/Time: [when session occurred]
- Duration: [length of session]
- Participants: [who was involved]
- Goal: [what was the objective]
Key Outcomes:
- [Outcome 1]
- [Outcome 2]
- [Outcome 3]
Decisions Made:
1. [Decision] - [Rationale]
- Impact: [High/Medium/Low]
- Date: [when decided]
- Owner: [who made it]
Action Items:
- [ ] [Action 1] - Owner: [X] - Due: [Date] - Priority: [High]
- [ ] [Action 2] - Owner: [Y] - Due: [Date] - Priority: [Medium]
Open Questions:
- [Question 1]
- [Question 2]
Key Learnings/Insights:
- [Learning 1]
- [Learning 2]
Blockers:
- [Blocker 1]
- Proposed solution: [how to resolve]
Next Steps:
- [Next step 1]
- [Next step 2]
Topics Covered:
- [Topic 1]
- [Topic 2]
Examples
Example 1: Generate Session Summary
User: /session-summary generate --last
PersonalOS:
Session Summary - March 27, 2026 - PersonalOS v1.1.0 Phase 6 Planning
Context:
- Date/Time: March 27, 2026, 2:00-3:30 PM
- Duration: 90 minutes
- Goal: Plan Phase 6 skills for PersonalOS v1.1.0
Key Outcomes:
✓ Identified 5 missing core skills for Phase 6
✓ Decided on skill naming and structure
✓ Planned progressive disclosure tiers
✓ Mapped integration points with existing skills
Decisions Made:
1. Phase 6 focus: Essential Core Skills (daily-agenda, session-summary, draft-email, quick-research, meeting-notes)
- Rationale: These complete the v1.0.0 core functionality that was documented but not implemented
- Impact: High - Foundational capabilities
- Date: March 27, 2026
- Owner: Alex
Action Items:
- [ ] Create daily-agenda skill (17 KB estimated) - Owner: Self - Due: March 27 - Priority: High
- [ ] Create session-summary skill (15 KB estimated) - Owner: Self - Due: March 27 - Priority: High
- [ ] Create draft-email skill (12 KB estimated) - Owner: Self - Due: March 27 - Priority: High
- [ ] Create quick-research skill (14 KB estimated) - Owner: Self - Due: March 27 - Priority: High
- [ ] Create meeting-notes skill (16 KB estimated) - Owner: Self - Due: March 27 - Priority: High
Open Questions:
- Should Phase 7 focus on industry-specific skills or more core skills?
Key Learnings/Insights:
- Core skills need 3 progressive tiers (L1: Guided, L2: Advanced, L3: Expert)
- Skill integration points should be explicit for better discovery
- Session unlocks should be staggered for progressive capability growth
Topics Covered:
- PersonalOS v1.1.0 development
- Skill design patterns
- Progressive disclosure architecture
Example 2: Capture Decisions
User: /session-summary capture decisions "Product roadmap discussion"
PersonalOS:
Captured Decisions from Product Roadmap Discussion:
Decision 1: Defer mobile app to Q4 2026
- Rationale: Web app MVP takes priority for Q2-Q3; mobile requires separate budget allocation
- Impact: High - Affects resource allocation and timeline
- Date: March 27, 2026
- Owner: Product team
- Alternatives considered: Q3 launch (rejected), Cancel mobile (rejected)
Decision 2: Add AI assistant feature to v2.0
- Rationale: User research showed high demand; competitive analysis shows AI features table stakes
- Impact: Medium - Adds complexity but increases differentiation
- Date: March 27, 2026
- Owner: Engineering team
- Alternatives considered: Add to v1.1 (rejected - too rushed), Defer to v3.0 (rejected - too late)
Decision 3: Change pricing from monthly to annual-only for enterprise
- Rationale: Reduces churn; improves predictable revenue; matches competitor pricing
- Impact: High - Affects sales and revenue model
- Date: March 27, 2026
- Owner: Sales team
- Alternatives considered: Keep monthly option (rejected - churn too high)
Decisions tagged and added to knowledge graph.
Example 3: Extract Action Items
User: /session-summary extract action-items
PersonalOS:
Action Items Extracted from Recent Sessions:
From "Q1 Performance Review" (March 25):
- [ ] Write Q1 performance report - Owner: Self - Due: March 29 - Priority: High
- [ ] Schedule Q2 planning session - Owner: Self - Due: April 5 - Priority: Medium
- [ ] Update budget forecast - Owner: Self - Due: April 8 - Priority: Medium
From "Client Call: Russell Mackey" (March 27):
- [ ] Send contract draft for review - Owner: Self - Due: March 28 - Priority: High
- [ ] Prepare proposal slides - Owner: Self - Due: April 1 - Priority: High
- [ ] Follow up on partnership terms - Owner: Self - Due: March 30 - Priority: Medium
From "Team Sync" (March 27):
- [ ] Review PR #234 - Owner: Self - Due: March 28 - Priority: High
- [ ] Update project status document - Owner: Self - Due: March 29 - Priority: Low
Total Action Items: 6
High Priority: 4 (due this week)
Medium Priority: 2
Best Practices
- Summarize promptly - Capture while memory is fresh (within 24 hours)
- Be specific - Include dates, owners, and details for action items
- Document rationale - Capture why decisions were made, not just what was decided
- Track outcomes - Link summaries to deliverables and results
- Tag topics - Use consistent tags for cross-referencing later
- Keep it actionable - Every summary should have clear next steps
- Store centrally - Keep summaries in searchable location
Common Mistakes
❌ Mistake 1: Waiting days to summarize
- Fix: Summarize immediately after or within 24 hours
❌ Mistake 2: Vague action items with no owners or dates
- Fix: Always include owner, deadline, and priority
❌ Mistake 3: Not capturing decision rationale
- Fix: Document why decisions were made, not just what was decided
❌ Mistake 4: Too much detail, burying key points
- Fix: Focus on outcomes, decisions, action items - keep it concise
❌ Mistake 5: No topic tags for later search
- Fix: Add consistent topic tags to every summary
Tier 2: Advanced Analysis & Cross-Reference
Additional Capabilities
Pattern Analysis:
- Identify recurring themes across sessions
- Detect decision patterns and outcomes
- Track action item completion rates
- Analyze time distribution by topic
- Identify topics that resurface frequently
Cross-Topic Cross-Reference:
- Link related sessions by topic
- Trace topic evolution over time
- Find all decisions on a specific topic
- Identify related action items across sessions
- Build topic knowledge trees
Structured Output Formats:
- Markdown (default)
- JSON for programmatic access
- Plain text for quick reading
- PDF for sharing
- Custom templates (business, technical, academic)
Search & Retrieval:
- Full-text search across all summaries
- Filter by date range, topic, owner
- Find decisions by impact level
- Track incomplete action items
- Retrieve learnings by topic
Advanced Examples
Example 1: Pattern Analysis
User: /session-summary analyze patterns --last 7 sessions
PersonalOS:
Session Pattern Analysis (March 20-27, 7 sessions):
Topic Distribution:
- PersonalOS development: 4 sessions (57%)
- Client work: 2 sessions (29%)
- Team management: 1 session (14%)
Decision Patterns:
- Technical decisions: 8 decisions (60%)
- Business decisions: 3 decisions (23%)
- Process decisions: 2 decisions (15%)
Most Common Topics (Frequency):
1. "PersonalOS skills" - 4 sessions
2. "Client proposals" - 2 sessions
3. "Code reviews" - 2 sessions
Recurring Themes:
- Theme 1: Progressive disclosure design pattern appears in 4 sessions
- Evolution: Basic concept (Session 1) → Implementation (Session 3) → Refinement (Session 5) → Standardization (Session 7)
- Theme 2: Client proposal quality concerns appear in 2 sessions
- Pattern: Feedback → Implementation → Follow-up
- Theme 3: Testing discussions appear in 3 sessions
- Status: Unresolved, needs dedicated session
Action Item Completion:
- Total items assigned: 28
- Completed: 22 (79%)
- Overdue: 4 (14%)
- In progress: 2 (7%)
Insight: PersonalOS development is dominating focus; consider balancing with client work
Example 2: Cross-Topic Reference
User: /session-summary cross-reference "pricing strategy" --all-sessions
PersonalOS:
All references to "pricing strategy" across sessions:
Session: Pricing Strategy Discussion (March 10, 2024)
- Decision: Monthly pricing at $49/mo for individual plans
- Rationale: Competitive analysis showed market rate
- Related: Session March 15 (pricing adjustments)
Session: Pricing Adjustment (March 15, 2024)
- Decision: Introduced annual discount (20% off)
- Rationale: Reduce churn, improve LTV
- Related to: Session March 10 (initial pricing)
Session: Enterprise Pricing (March 27, 2026)
- Decision: Switch to annual-only for enterprise
- Rationale: Predictable revenue, matches competitors
- Related: Session March 15 (annual discount), Session March 10 (initial pricing)
Topic Evolution Timeline:
March 10: Monthly $49 baseline established
↓
March 15: Annual discount (20% off) introduced
↓
March 27: Enterprise annual-only policy
Pattern: Pricing strategy evolving toward annual focus to reduce churn and improve predictability
Example 3: Structured Output
User: /session-summary generate --format json --with-attachments
PersonalOS:
✓ Generated session summary in JSON format with attachments
{
"session_id": "ses-20240327-personal-os-v1.1.0",
"date": "2026-03-27T14:00:00Z",
"duration_minutes": 90,
"participants": ["Self"],
"goal": "Plan Phase 6 skills for PersonalOS v1.1.0",
"outcomes": [
"Identified 5 missing core skills for Phase 6",
"Decided on skill naming and structure",
"Planned progressive disclosure tiers",
"Mapped integration points"
],
"decisions": [
{
"decision": "Phase 6 focus: Essential Core Skills",
"details": ["daily-agenda", "session-summary", "draft-email", "quick-research", "meeting-notes"],
"rationale": "Complete v1.0.0 core functionality that was documented but not implemented",
"impact": "High",
"owner": "Alex",
"alternatives_considered": []
}
],
"action_items": [
{
"action": "Create daily-agenda skill",
"estimated_size": "17 KB",
"owner": "Self",
"due_date": "2026-03-27",
"priority": "High",
"status": "pending"
},
...
],
"learnings": [
"Core skills need 3 progressive tiers (L1: Guided, L2: Advanced, L3: Expert)",
"Skill integration points should be explicit for better discovery",
"Session unlocks should be staggered for progressive capability growth"
],
"topics": ["PersonalOS v1.1.0 development", "Skill design patterns"],
"attachments": [
{
"name": "phase6-planning-notes.md",
"path": "personal-os/logs/sessions/phase6-notes.md",
"size_bytes": 4521
}
]
}
JSON saved to: personal-os/logs/summaries/ses-20240327-personal-os-v1.1.0.json
Advanced Best Practices
- Regularly analyze patterns - Run pattern analysis weekly or monthly
- Cross-reference before big decisions - See what's been decided on the topic before
- Use structured formats for sharing - JSON for integrations, PDF for reports
- Search across all summaries - Full-text search is powerful for recall
- Track incomplete action items - Review overdue items weekly
- Build topic knowledge trees - See how topics evolve over time
Advanced Common Mistakes
❌ Mistake 1: Never analyzing patterns across sessions
- Fix: Run pattern analysis weekly to identify trends
❌ Mistake 2: Making decisions without cross-referencing past sessions
- Fix: Search topic history before major decisions
❌ Mistake 3: Not using structured formats for team sharing
- Fix: Export to PDF for reports, JSON for integrations
❌ Mistake 4: Losing track of incomplete action items
- Fix: Review overdue items weekly in your agenda
❌ Mistake 5: No system for finding old summaries
- Fix: Store in central location, use consistent file naming, enable search
Tier 3: Auto-Summarization & Knowledge Integration
Expert Capabilities
Real-Time Auto-Summarization:
- Automatically summarize sessions as they complete
- Generate draft summaries while session is ongoing
- Extract decisions and action items in real-time
- Prompt for clarification on ambiguous items
- Auto-tag topics based on content analysis
Knowledge Graph Integration:
- Link sessions to knowledge graph nodes
- Create topic relationships automatically
- Trace decision lineage and evolution
- Identify knowledge gaps needing coverage
- Suggest related sessions for context
Predictive Forecasting:
- Predict session duration based on topic and goals
- Estimate completion probability
- Identify potential blockers before they occur
- Suggest optimal session sequencing
- Forecast resource needs
Automated Action Item Tracking:
- Auto-extract action items from all sessions
- Track due dates and send reminders
- Escalate overdue items
- Link action items to deliverables
- Generate completion reports
Expert Examples
Example 1: Real-Time Auto-Summarization
User: (Completing a session on product roadmap)
PersonalOS:
⚙️ Auto-summarizing session...
Session Summary Draft - Product Roadmap Discussion (March 27, 3:00-4:30 PM)
Captured from session:
✓ Topic: Product roadmap planning for Q2-Q4 2026
✓ Participants: Self, Product Lead, Engineering Lead
Key Decisions (Auto-detected):
1. Mobile app deferred to Q4 2026
- Detected from: "We'll push mobile to Q4, focus on web MVP first"
- Owner: Product team
- Impact: High
2. AI assistant feature approved for v2.0
- Detected from: "Let's add AI to v2.0, user research shows demand"
- Owner: Engineering team
- Impact: Medium
Action Items (Auto-extracted):
- [ ] Update roadmap document - Owner: Self - Due: March 28
- [ ] Schedule AI feature planning session - Owner: Engineering - Due: April 5
- [ ] Communicate mobile timeline to stakeholders - Owner: Product - Due: March 29
Unclear Items (need clarification):
? "We'll figure out pricing later" - Specific timeline? Owner?
? "Need to talk to finance" - Who? When?
Please review and confirm:
1. Are all decisions accurate?
2. Are action item owners and due dates correct?
3. Any additional outcomes to add?
4. Clarification needed on unclear items?
Example 2: Knowledge Graph Integration
User: /session-summary link-topics --knowledge-graph
PersonalOS:
✓ Session summaries integrated with knowledge graph
Topics Mapped:
- "PersonalOS development" → Connected to 7 session summaries, 3 decisions
- "Pricing strategy" → Connected to 3 session summaries, 5 decisions (evolution traced)
- "Client proposals" → Connected to 2 session summaries, 4 action items
Decision Lineage Trace: Pricing Strategy
Session 1 (March 10): Monthly $49 baseline
↓ spawns
Session 2 (March 15): Annual discount (20% off)
↓ influences
Session 3 (March 27): Enterprise annual-only
↓ current state
Knowledge Gaps Identified:
- "Mobile app" - No recent decisions, needs strategy session
- "AI features" - New topic, first decision (v2.0), may need refinement
- "Competitive analysis" - No dedicated session, scattered across topics
Suggestions:
1. Schedule dedicated session for mobile app strategy (gap identified)
2. Create AI feature topic node and track related decisions
3. Consider cross-referencing competitive analysis in existing sessions
Example 3: Predictive Forecasting
User: /session-summary forecast --based-on-history
PersonalOS:
Session Forecast Based on Historical Patterns:
Upcoming Session: "Q2 Planning Session" (Scheduled March 30)
Predicted Outcomes:
- Expected duration: 90-120 minutes (based on 5 previous planning sessions)
- Decisions expected: 4-6 decisions (avg 5 per planning session)
- Action items expected: 6-8 items (avg 7 per planning session)
- Completion probability: 85% (historical)
Risk Factors:
⚠️ Risk 1: Scope creep likely (occurred in 40% of planning sessions)
- Mitigation: Set clear agenda and timebox topics
⚠️ Risk 2: Action item assignments unclear (occurred in 30% of planning sessions)
- Mitigation: Confirm owners and due dates during session
⚠️ Risk 3: Decision deferred due to missing info (occurred in 20% of planning sessions)
- Mitigation: Prep research materials beforehand
Recommendations:
1. Create detailed agenda with timeboxes
2. Prepare research materials on budget, resources, and competitors
3. Have owner list ready for action item assignment
4. Schedule follow-up session for deferred decisions
Historical Pattern:
Last 3 planning sessions all ran 15-30 minutes over due to scope expansion
Recommendation: Start with 75-min agenda, leave 45-min buffer
Expert Best Practices
- Enable real-time summarization - Capture immediately, review later
- Integrate with knowledge graph - Build topic relationships over time
- Review auto-generated drafts - Confirm accuracy and add missing items
- Use forecasting for planning - Predict duration and risks before sessions
- Track decision lineage - See how decisions evolve and influence each other
- Identify knowledge gaps - Find topics that need dedicated sessions
- Automate action item tracking - Set reminders for due dates and escalations
Expert Common Mistakes
❌ Mistake 1: Blindly accepting auto-generated summaries
- Fix: Always review and confirm, especially decisions and action items
❌ Mistake 2: Not integrating with knowledge graph
- Fix: Enable integration to build topic relationships over time
❌ Mistake 3: Ignoring predictive forecasts
- Fix: Use forecasts to identify risks and prepare accordingly
❌ Mistake 4: Not clarifying ambiguous items during auto-summarization
- Fix: Respond to clarification prompts immediately
❌ Mistake 5: Letting action items fall through cracks
- Fix: Enable automated tracking and reminders
Integration with Other Skills
- knowledge-graph: Link sessions to knowledge nodes and topic trees
- spaced-repetition: Review important decisions and learnings periodically
- message-review: Ensure messages include key session outcomes
- quick-research: Find related information during summary creation
- task-automation: Auto-generate summaries and extract action items
Troubleshooting
Issue: Can't remember details from old sessions
- Fix: Use full-text search across all summaries; cross-reference by topic
Issue: Action items keep getting forgotten
- Fix: Enable automated tracking; review overdue items weekly in agenda
Issue: Making decisions that conflict with past decisions
- Fix: Always cross-reference topic history before major decisions
Issue: Summaries are too time-consuming to create
- Fix: Enable auto-summarization; review and confirm instead of writing from scratch
Issue: Can't find relevant summaries when needed
- Fix: Use consistent file naming, tag topics, enable search
Success Metrics
- Session summaries created within 24 hours > 90%
- Action items with owners and due dates > 95%
- Action item completion rate > 80%
- Decisions documented with rationale > 90%
- Summaries searchable by topic > 100%
- Pattern analysis run weekly > 80% compliance
After This Skill
| If session contained... | Suggest... |
|---|
| Decisions made | "I can log those to your decision log. Want me to?" → memory/decisions.md |
| Recurring pattern detected | "I noticed you did [X] again. Want to save it as a shortcut?" |
| Priority progress | Update memory/current-priorities.md silently |
| End of week | "Want me to generate a weekly summary?" → skills/session-summary.md with weekly mode |
