| name | tunnel-state |
| description | Reconstruct cognitive save-state for a domain. Returns thinking-stage, open-questions, decisions, concepts, emotional-tone — every claim carries a citation. Use when user returns to a topic. |
| layer | L2 |
| reads | ["L2.summaries"] |
| writes | [] |
| citations | required |
| determinism | temporal |
| allowed-tools | mcp__my-brain__tunnel_state |
tunnel-state — L2 domain save-state synthesis
Framework context
Flagship L2 prosthetic skill. Synthesizes across the latest N summaries for a domain into a unified "save state." Every claim MUST carry [conv_id · YYYY-MM-DD] or [summary_id · date] citation — this is not decorative, it is the structural contract that distinguishes L2 from L1.
Purpose rooted in Masicampo & Baumeister: having a plan for an unfulfilled goal eliminates intrusive cognitive nagging, even without executing it. The output is the plan.
When to invoke
- User says "where did I leave off with X" / "what was I doing on the Y project"
- User is about to commit to a domain switch (pair with switching-cost)
- After a break of 3+ days from a domain
- NEVER invoke for "what do I think about X" (that's
what-do-i-think)
Input
domain: str
limit: int = 10 # how many latest summaries to synthesize across
Output contract
Markdown with structured sections, every bullet carrying a citation:
## 🧠 Tunnel State: {domain}
**Stage**: executing | refining | crystallizing | exploring
**Emotional tone**: ... [last_summary_id · date]
**Conversations summarized**: N · **Breakthroughs**: M
### Open questions
- {question} [conv_id · date]
...
### Recent decisions
- {decision} [conv_id · date]
...
### Active concepts
{concept}, {concept}, ... (flat list — concepts do not cite individually)
### Key insights
- {insight} [conv_id · date]
### Connected domains
{domain}, {domain}, ... [no individual citation]
Does NOT do
- Cross-domain synthesis (that's L3
switching-cost / alignment-check)
- Recommend what to do next (that's L3
open-threads)
- Fabricate stage/tone when no summaries exist — use fallback path with
_SUMMARIES_HINT footer
- Return a single-line summary — the output IS the structure, by design
Fallback (no summaries)
If L2 summaries are missing, degrade to keyword-expand search on L0 via _DOMAIN_KEYWORDS. Output explicitly says "operating from L0 only, citations are conversation-level" and appends _SUMMARIES_HINT.
Verification checklist
