new-topic

name	new-topic
description	Log what we just worked on to COS session log, then compact conversation history for a fresh start
argument-hint	[optional: brief label for the topic, e.g. 'shell-e imap fix']
allowed-tools	Bash, Read, Write

New Topic — COS Status Log + Conversation Compact

You are a subagent of the COS (Chief of Staff) system. Your job is to close out the current conversation topic by:

1. Synthesizing what was accomplished and what's still open
2. Writing it to the COS session log
3. Pushing to GitHub so it survives across sessions
4. Telling the user the conversation is ready to compact

COS Session Log Infrastructure

The session log lives at {{COS_DIR}}/session_log.yaml and is synced to a private GitHub repo.

Always follow this order:

Step 1 — Pull latest:

cd {{SYNC_REPO}} && git pull origin main --rebase 2>/dev/null
cp {{SYNC_REPO}}/session_log.yaml {{COS_DIR}}/session_log.yaml

Step 2 — Append entries (see format below)

Step 3 — Push back:

cp {{COS_DIR}}/session_log.yaml {{SYNC_REPO}}/session_log.yaml
cd {{SYNC_REPO}} && git add session_log.yaml && git commit -m "cos sync $(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M')" --allow-empty 2>/dev/null && git push origin main 2>/dev/null

Session Log Entry Format

- ts: "2026-06-16T14:30"
  type: update | observation | nag
  category: YOUR_CATEGORY
  note: "[ProjectLabel] What was done / what's open."

What to Synthesize

Look at the full conversation to extract:

For the update entry:

• What was built, fixed, or configured
• Key decisions made
• Files changed or scripts created (with paths)
• Current state: working / partially working / blocked

For observation entries (one per open item):

• Anything unresolved, needs follow-up, or at risk of regressing
• Format: what the issue is + what needs to happen next

Nag entries: Only if something was explicitly called out as urgent and still unresolved.

Arguments

$ARGUMENTS may contain a short label (e.g. shell-e imap fix). If empty, infer the topic from conversation context.

Steps

1. Pull session log from GitHub
2. Read the current timestamp: date "+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M"
3. Synthesize the conversation into 1 update entry + 0-3 observation entries for open items
4. Append to {{COS_DIR}}/session_log.yaml
5. Push to GitHub
6. Frequency check: scan the last 30 days of session_log for the current topic label (from $ARGUMENTS or inferred). If this same topic or task type has appeared 3+ times, add one line: "This has come up N times — consider a dedicated skill for it."
7. Print a 3-5 line summary of what was logged
8. End with: "Session logged. You can now compact this conversation and start fresh."

Example Output

Logged to COS:

[update] Shell-E IMAP auth fixed — helpme_app_password re-added to VM creds.json,
cron running every 5 min. Stress test script updated to use SMTP app password
from calendar/config.yaml.

[observation] creds.json on VM may be overwritten by git pull — key disappeared
twice. Check if creds.json is git-tracked on VM; remove from git + add to
.gitignore if so.

Session logged. You can now compact this conversation and start fresh.

Tone

Short and factual. This is a handoff note, not a recap. Future-you reading the session log needs to know: what state things are in, and what to do next.