session-review

SkillDev tools

Generate a structured session summary for cross-session continuity. Captures key decisions, hypotheses, partial work, and knowledge references. Output is written to .Codex/session-handoff.json for the next session to load automatically.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the session-review skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by kastalien-research/thoughtbox in .agents/skills/session-review/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Generate a structured session summary for cross-session continuity.

Context

$ARGUMENTS

Loop Building Blocks

LoopPurposeReference
Consistency CheckValidate session summary against evidence@loops/refinement/consistency-check.md
DocumentationGenerate structured session review@loops/authoring/documentation.md

See @loops/README.md for the full loop library.

Workflow

Phase 1: Gather Session State (Observe)

  1. Run git log --oneline -20 to see recent commits this session
  2. Run git status to see uncommitted work
  3. Run git diff --stat to see scope of changes
  4. Check .Codex/state/memory-calibration.json for pattern detection state
  5. Read MEMORY.md for any updates made this session

Phase 2: Synthesize Session Context (Orient)

From the gathered data, identify:

  1. Key Decisions: What architectural or design choices were made and why
  2. Open Hypotheses: What questions remain unanswered, what investigations are pending
  3. Partial Work: What was started but not finished, with enough context to resume
  4. Knowledge Discovered: New patterns, gotchas, or insights worth preserving
  5. Blocked Items: What's blocked and on what
  6. Next Steps: What the next session should prioritize

Phase 3: Write Session Handoff (Act)

Write the session summary to .Codex/session-handoff.json (single file, overwritten each time) using this schema:

{
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "session_id": "<from git>",
  "timestamp": "<ISO 8601>",
  "branch": "<current git branch>",
  "duration_estimate": "<approximate session duration>",
  "summary": "<1-2 sentence summary of what happened>",
  "key_decisions": [
    {
      "decision": "<what was decided>",
      "reasoning": "<why>",
      "alternatives_considered": ["<alt1>", "<alt2>"],
      "files_affected": ["<file1>", "<file2>"]
    }
  ],
  "hypotheses": [
    {
      "hypothesis": "<what's being investigated>",
      "evidence_for": ["<supporting evidence>"],
      "evidence_against": ["<counter evidence>"],
      "next_test": "<what to try next>"
    }
  ],
  "partial_work": [
    {
      "description": "<what was started>",
      "status": "<how far along>",
      "resume_from": "<specific file:line or commit to resume from>"
    }
  ],
  "knowledge_references": [
    {
      "store": "<MEMORY.md | Thoughtbox | git>",
      "reference": "<specific entity/issue/commit>",
      "relevance": "<why the next session needs this>"
    }
  ],
  "blocked_items": [
    {
      "item": "<what's blocked>",
      "blocker": "<what's blocking it>",
      "workaround": "<if any>"
    }
  ],
  "failed_approaches": [
    {
      "what": "<what was tried>",
      "why": "<why it failed>",
      "lesson": "<what to do instead>"
    }
  ],
  "next_priorities": ["<priority 1>", "<priority 2>", "<priority 3>"],
  "warnings": ["<things the next session should watch out for>"]
}

Phase 4: Verify and Report (Decide)

  1. Verify the handoff file was written successfully
  2. Print a human-readable summary to the console
  3. If there are uncommitted changes, warn about them

Output

Present a concise summary:

## Session Handoff Written

File: .Codex/session-handoff.json
Branch: {branch}
Commits this session: {N}
Open hypotheses: {N}
Partial work items: {N}

### Top 3 Priorities for Next Session
1. {priority}
2. {priority}
3. {priority}

### Warnings
- {warning}

Signals

GitHub stars
64
Forks
20
Last commit
Jul 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
session-review
Source
github.com/kastalien-research/thoughtbox