| name | context-prime |
| description | Use when a coding session begins, when resuming work after a break, or when you land in an unfamiliar or in-progress repository and need to orient before acting. Loads the last handoff, git state, the project constitution, and active-work signals so a fresh agent reconstructs intent instead of guessing. Triggers on "prime", "catch me up", "where were we", "get up to speed", or the first substantive request in a new session. |
| version | 0.2.1 |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| allowed-tools | ["read","grep","ls","find","git","context","code_nav","ask_user"] |
| registry-id | iowarp/clio-coder |
| source-url | https://github.com/iowarp/clio-coder/tree/main/skills/context-prime |
| audit | pass |
Context Prime
Reconstruct the state a previous session left behind, in one bounded pass,
before taking any non-trivial action. A fresh agent has the code but not the
intent; this rebuilds the intent.
This is the read-side bookend of context-handoff. It consumes what context-handoff wrote.
It is not /resume — that restores an engine session's transcript; this
reconstructs orientation a transcript alone doesn't carry.
When to use
- The first substantive request of a new session.
- Resuming a project after time away, or picking up another agent's work.
- The user says "catch me up", "where were we", "prime", "get up to speed".
Skip it for a one-line question in a repo you already have full context on.
Procedure
Work top to bottom; stop early once you have enough to state where things stand.
-
Constitution. Read the project's instruction file if present, in order of
preference: CLIO.md, then AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, else README.md. Note
hard invariants and workflow rules. Do not re-derive what it already states.
-
Last handoff. Read the newest .clio/handoffs/handoff-*.md; if none,
fall back to NEXT-SESSION.md at the repo root. This is the previous
session's brief: focus, work-in-progress, blockers, suggested skills.
-
Git state. Capture branch, uncommitted changes, and recent commits
(context(scope="workspace") and git (op=status) when available, else
git status -sb and git log --oneline -10). Reconcile against the
handoff's "work in progress" — flag anything that drifted (committed
since, reverted, conflicts).
-
Active signals. Check .clio/state.json and codewiki freshness if
present. Treat stale summaries as hints, never as authority over source.
A v1 or missing .clio/codewiki.json may rebuild on demand through
codewiki tools, but source files remain authoritative.
-
Skills. List installed skills with context(scope="skills") and note
any the handoff suggested for the next step; do not scan the filesystem
for them.
-
Orient. Produce a short orientation (template below) and confirm the
focus with the user before non-trivial action — via ask_user with the
handoff's suggested focus as the first option when the tool is available,
else in plain text. If the handoff and git state disagree, surface the
conflict rather than picking silently.
Orientation template
## Session orientation — [YYYY-MM-DD]
- **Project**: [name] · branch `[branch]` · [N] uncommitted file(s)
- **Last session focus**: [from handoff, or "no handoff found"]
- **State**: [1–2 lines: what's done, what's mid-flight]
- **Next**: [the focus to confirm]
- **Blockers / open questions**: [if any]
- **Suggested skills**: [from handoff, or omit]
Boundaries
- Bounded by design: summarize and reference by path; do not dump file trees or
copy long documents into context.
- Read-only. context-prime orients; it does not start editing. The user confirms
the focus first.
- Degrade gracefully: missing
CLIO.md → next constitution file; missing Clio
tools → plain git; no handoff → say so and orient from git + constitution.
