| name | orient-to-recent-work |
| description | Build a compact mental model of recent project activity before any non-trivial task. Use proactively at the start of a session and before any investigation, planning, refactor, or multi-file change. Skip only for trivial fixes (typos, isolated docs, version bumps, mechanical refactors with a known target). |
Orient to recent work
Before starting a non-trivial task, build a compact mental model of what has happened recently in this repository. This prevents re-litigating settled decisions and surfaces context that may not be in code or docs.
When to use
Use proactively:
- At the start of a session (before the first task)
- Before any investigation, planning, refactor, or multi-file change
- When picking up a thread after a break
Skip for:
- Single-line typo fixes
- Isolated documentation updates
- Dependency version bumps without logic changes
- Mechanical refactors with a known target
Protocol (do once per session, hold the result)
- Read
CHANGELOG.md [Unreleased] — pending changes the team is preparing. Skip if the file is missing; note "No CHANGELOG found."
- Read the most recent released section of
CHANGELOG.md — what just shipped. Skip if absent.
- Run
git log --oneline -20 — recent commits at a glance. If git history is unavailable (e.g. not a git repo), note "No git history" and continue.
- For commits that touch files you'll modify, run
git show <hash> --stat — scope only, not the full diff. Skip if step 3 was unavailable.
- Hold this mental model in working memory for the session; re-run only if task scope changes dramatically
Output format
A 3–5 line summary capturing:
- What's in flight (Unreleased highlights)
- What just shipped (last release)
- Any recent decisions affecting your task (naming, refactor, schema)
- If your task touches recently-modified files, append:
Recent touch on <files>: <commit summary>
Why
- Decisions have non-code context (commit messages, PR descriptions)
- Fresh sessions have no memory — this creates session-level orientation
- Prevents re-litigating recently-settled questions
