digest

name	digest
description	Capture meaningful session state (current cursor, in-flight work, live hypotheses, open questions, do-NOT-carry-forward, success criteria) to state/digests/latest.md so the next session — including one after auto-compaction — can re-enter without re-discovering context cold. Distinct from /learnings (which captures surprises). Validates against docs/contracts/digest-schema.json.
allowed-tools	Bash, Read, Write, Edit
last_verified	"2026-05-14T00:00:00.000Z"
karpathy_rules	["R1-think-before-coding","R4-goal-driven-execution"]

/digest

Captures the meaningful state of the current session to state/digests/latest.md. The .claude/hooks/sessionstart-digest.ps1 hook reads it on the next session start and emits it as additionalContext for the model. Pairs with .claude/hooks/precompact-digest.ps1 which provides a metadata-only fallback when /digest isn't invoked before auto-compaction.

When to run

• Before compaction is imminent (context feels >60% full).
• At a natural breakpoint — after finishing a feature, before a risky operation, before handing off to another agent.
• Before launching long-running background work.

Do NOT invoke on every message or tool call. The digest is for meaningful state changes, not transcript capture.

What it captures

---
schema_version: 1
session_id: <session_id>
written_at: <RFC3339 UTC>
trigger: digest-skill
branch: <git branch>
head_sha: <short SHA>
head_subject: <commit subject>
open_pr: <"#N" or null>
last_model_update: <RFC3339 UTC>
success_criteria:
  - criterion: "<testable assertion for the Next action>"
    status: pending | in-progress | achieved | abandoned
    evidence: "<file:line | PR# | metric path | null>"
---

# Session digest — <branch> @ <sha>

## Next action

ONE imperative sentence. The Next action must map 1:1 to entries in the
`success_criteria` frontmatter array — each criterion testable, not vibes.

## In-flight

Bulleted list of work currently mid-execution. For each item: the
file/feature, current step number out of total, and immediate next sub-step.

## Live hypotheses

Bulleted list of working hypotheses the next session should inherit.
*Unconfirmed*; do not promote to MEMORY.md until validated.

## Open questions

Numbered. Questions you would ask the user if they walked in right now.

## Do NOT carry forward

**Highest-leverage field.** Things the next session must NOT re-propose:
rejected designs, abandoned approaches, paths the user explicitly closed.

## Prior success criteria status (Karpathy R4)

When a prior digest exists, this section reports the status delta:

- ✅ achieved: <prior criterion> — evidence: <file:line | commit | PR>
- ⏳ in-progress: <prior criterion> — last touched: <where>
- ⛔ abandoned: <prior criterion> — reason: <one sentence>

How to run

1. Read existing state/digests/latest.md if present — preserve content sections still current; rewrite stale ones.
2. Karpathy R4 — review prior success criteria if the prior digest had them. Mark achieved with evidence, in-progress with where parked, or abandoned with a one-sentence reason.
3. Capture git state via Bash:

   git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD
   git rev-parse --short HEAD
   git log -1 --format='%s'
   gh pr view --json number 2>$null
   

4. Synthesize the content sections from your current working context. Derive 1–3 testable success_criteria entries from the Next action.
5. Write the full digest to state/digests/latest.md (overwrite). Set trigger: digest-skill and last_model_update to current RFC3339 UTC.
6. Reset the activity counter:

   rm -f state/digests/.activity-counter
   

7. Validate against the schema (Karpathy R11):

   pwsh -NoProfile -File .claude/hooks/digest-validate.ps1
   

   Non-zero exit = malformed; fix and rewrite.
8. Report: Digest updated: <branch>@<sha> · next: <one-line> · criteria: <N>.

Driving criteria autonomously with /goal

After writing the digest, consider /goal <condition> (native Claude Code v2.1.139+) for substantial autonomous work. /goal mechanizes Karpathy R4: a small fast model evaluates after every turn whether the condition holds and either fires another turn or clears the goal.

Use /goal when the Next action has:

• A verifiable end state (build green, tests pass, file count under budget)
• 5+ minutes of expected autonomous work
• An evaluator-checkable result (checked against the transcript — no tool calls)

Skip /goal for short tasks, visual/UX judgement, or ambiguous specs.

When /goal lands a "yes," the next /digest should mark the corresponding success_criteria entry as achieved with the /goal evidence.

Anti-patterns

• Transcript capture. Git log is the transcript. Write the cursor.
• Empty digest. "Continue" with no In-flight is noise. If nothing is in flight, don't write — the prior digest still applies.
• Forgetting "Do NOT carry forward." Always populate, or write "none".

Related

• /learnings — captures surprises into docs/solutions/ (different artifact).
• /correct — captures user corrections as permanent CLAUDE.md rules.
• .claude/hooks/precompact-digest.ps1 — automatic fallback.
• .claude/hooks/sessionstart-digest.ps1 — reads latest.md back.
• state/digests/README.md — directory layout.