# Chronicle

> Preserve operational history and intent across agent sessions. Use when resuming work, recording a decision, preparing a destructive or bulk operation, verifying a deployment, correcting a claim, reconstructing a captured file version, or handing off unfinished work.

- Skill: `antreasantoniou/chronicle` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 7 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add antreasantoniou/chronicle`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/antreasantoniou/chronicle/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: AntreasAntoniou (https://skillmd.com/u/antreasantoniou)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/antreasantoniou/chronicle

---


# Chronicle

Chronicle separates observed events from the intent only the person or agent doing the
work can state. Capture requires installed, active hooks; check coverage before assuming
the trace is complete.

## Resume first

Run `chron resume` in the project root. Read unresolved questions and state declarations.
Then record what you are taking up:

```bash
chron open "continue search" --state "empty results are intentional staging"
```

If the CLI is missing, install with
`pipx install 'git+https://github.com/AntreasAntoniou/chronicle.git'`. Installing the skill
does not install hooks or establish capture coverage.

## Five moments worth recording

| Command | What to record |
| --- | --- |
| `chron open` | Your belief about current state and what you are taking up |
| `chron arm` | The operation, intent, reversibility class, and verified restore path |
| `chron decision` | The choice, reason, and any ambiguous state that is intentional |
| `chron landed` | A verified external change with resource/version and rollback references |
| `chron close` | Where work stopped, what remains undone, and open questions |

Before a destructive or bulk operation:

```bash
chron arm "replace the staging index" \
  --intent "load the verified replacement" \
  --class R1 \
  --restore "snapshot path and tested restoration command" \
  --verified "restoration tested on a disposable copy"
```

R0 is fully reversible, R1 needs a recovery artifact, and R2 is irreversible. An ARM does
not grant user authority or prove that a host gate is active. Follow the user's scope and
verify hook integration separately.

After publication or deployment, record observed state using `chron landed --ext` and
`--verified`. A successful command alone does not prove an external change.

## Correct and recover

Append `chron correct` with the original entry ID, truth, and evidence. Preserve history.

```bash
chron history src/app.py
chron show src/app.py --at 2h
chron restore src/app.py --at 2h --to /tmp/recovered-app.py
chron search "search index"
chron doctor
```

Only captured versions can be recovered. State gaps explicitly. Use `chron experiment`
and `chron abandoned` for attempts and dead ends, quoting measured results only.

## Inference and privacy

- Narrated entries marked `inferred` are hypotheses. Inspect anchored events before
  acting; append a firsthand statement when you can resolve an uncertainty.
- Narration requires an explicit model, can incur cost, and sends trace content to that
  provider. Review its dry-run prompt first.
- Keep secrets out of narrative entries and keep the ledger, CAS, transcripts, and canvas
  private. Redaction does not guarantee detection of every embedded secret.
- Keep operational history here; route commitments to a task tracker and lasting
  knowledge to canonical project documentation.

Read [references/codex.md](references/codex.md) before experimenting with Codex hooks.
Configuration, trust, execution, and verified coverage are separate states.