session-continuation

name	session-continuation
description	Detect interruption, classify the resumption type, and send a resume packet so the project-lead continues a session without losing context.

session-continuation

Purpose

When a session is interrupted (crash, timeout, user pause, context overflow), classify what happened and produce a resume packet so the project-lead — or the next agent in the chain — can pick up where it left off without re-doing work or losing state.

When to use

• At the start of every new session (the project-lead checks for a prior session).
• When a delegate times out or crashes mid-task.
• When the project-lead detects an interrupted workflow and needs to resume.

Procedure

1. Detect interruption — check for signals of a prior session:
   • Active feature pointer with phase not in terminal state
   • Open task packets with [~] (in-progress) markers in TASKS.md
   • Uncommitted changes in git status that match the active feature's scope
   • A REVIEW_NEEDED artifact from a capped delegate
2. Classify resumption type:
   • Pause — user explicitly paused; work is clean and checkpointed. Resume from the next task in the sequence.
   • Crash — unexpected termination; work may be in an unknown state. Check git status and last task marker; re-run the gate to assess.
   • Timeout — delegate exceeded turn cap; the task packet has a REVIEW_NEEDED or partial result. Escalate or re-delegate with tighter scope.
   • Left — delegate returned but project-lead didn't process the result. Recontextualize the return and decide the next action.
3. Build the resume packet — produce a 5-field packet (INTENT · CONTEXT · CONSTRAINTS · REFERENCES · EXPECTED OUTCOME) that:
   • States what was in progress (feature, task, phase)
   • Summarizes what's known from the last checkpoint
   • Identifies what needs to happen next
   • Flags any blockers or degraded state
4. Set the resume point — update the active feature's phase and the task markers to reflect the current position so the next session starts clean.

Outputs

• A resume packet ready for the project-lead or the owning lead.
• Classified interruption type with the appropriate action.
• Updated feature/task state so the next session knows where it is.

Anti-patterns

• Restarting from scratch without checking for prior session state — wastes work and creates duplicate artifacts.
• Assuming a crash didn't corrupt state — always run aspis preflight and the gate before resuming after a crash.
• Treating a timeout the same as a crash — a timeout means the delegate hit its cap, which is a different recovery path (escalate or re-delegate, not just re-run).
• Skipping the resume packet — the next agent needs context; don't expect it to derive the state from raw project files.