| name | retro |
| description | Run a session retrospective analyzing what went well, what took longer than expected, and what to do differently next time. Use when the user says "/retro", "retrospective", "what went wrong", "session review", or wants to reflect on process and effectiveness after a session. Produces RETRO.md with honest assessment and actionable improvements. |
Retro
Session retrospective — honest reflection on process, not just outcomes. Compose the body in conversation; sk write-artifact writes durably, appends the ledger, and mirrors to cwd/.stoobz/RETRO.md.
Process
-
Rolling history — read the previous archive first. If ~/.stoobz/sessions/<project>/<sid>-active/RETRO.md exists, preserve its prior content under a ## Previous Retros heading; new entry goes on top with a fresh timestamp.
-
Analyze the session across these dimensions:
- Time well spent — what activities moved the needle?
- Time wasted — what rabbit holes, false starts, or unnecessary detours happened?
- Approach effectiveness — was the strategy right? Would a different order have worked better?
- Tool / skill usage — which skills helped? Which were missing?
- Communication — were instructions clear? Did misunderstandings cause rework?
-
Identify patterns — if previous retros exist, look for recurring themes. That's where real improvement lives.
-
Compose RETRO_BODY in the Output Format below, then a single bash invocation:
sk write-artifact --skill retro --artifact RETRO.md --content-stdin <<< "$RETRO_BODY"
Output Format
# Retro
**Date:** {YYYY-MM-DD}
**Session:** {branch or topic}
**Duration:** {approximate — short/medium/long}
---
## What Went Well
- {Specific thing that was effective — with why}
- {Approach or decision that saved time}
## What Took Longer Than Expected
- {Activity}: {why it took longer} — {how to avoid next time}
## What I'd Do Differently
- {Concrete change for next time — not vague aspirations}
## Tool & Skill Notes
- {Skill that was useful}: {what it helped with}
- {Skill that was missing}: {what it would have helped with}
- {Process improvement}: {workflow change to try}
## Recurring Patterns
{Only if previous retros exist — themes that keep showing up}
---
_Generated by /retro — improving the process, not just the output._
Exit Codes
sk write-artifact returns:
| Code | Meaning | Caller behavior |
|---|
0 | Durable write + mirror both succeeded | Done |
1 | Durability failure | Surface error; do not claim success |
2 | Durable write succeeded; cwd mirror failed | Mention the warning; archive is authoritative |
3 | Usage error | Fix invocation |
Rules
- Honest over polite — if the session was unproductive, say so. If the user's prompt was vague, note it.
- Specific over generic — "Spent 20 minutes on X before realizing Y" beats "could have been more efficient."
- Actionable items only — every "do differently" must be something concrete you can actually do.
- Credit the wins — don't only focus on problems. Note what worked so it can be repeated.
- Pattern recognition — when previous retros exist, flag recurring issues.
- The canonical write location is
<active-archive>/RETRO.md; cwd/.stoobz/RETRO.md is the best-effort mirror.
- The ledger entry's
name is RETRO.md.
See also
