# Postmortem

> Recall or record confirmed reusable failure lessons. Use after a verified recurrence, review escape, failed gate, or explicit user request.

- Skill: `dimon94/postmortem` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add dimon94/postmortem`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/dimon94/postmortem/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: Dimon94 (https://skillmd.com/u/dimon94)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/dimon94/postmortem

---


# Postmortem

`postmortem` owns reusable failure memory. It does not own workflow state,
review findings, remote delivery, or ordinary failure logs.

Use exactly one mode:

- `recall`: a recurrence, failed verification, or review escape may match a
  prior lesson;
- `interrogate`: evidence is too thin to classify the lesson;
- `record`: a confirmed reusable lesson, review escape, or explicit user
  request needs durable memory.

Use `scripts/postmortem-contract.js#decidePostmortem` before any filesystem
write. Ordinary failures and unconfirmed lessons do not record. Recall does not
make historical evidence current; revalidate it against the present repro and
code.

When recall is needed, search `docs/postmortems/` only if it exists. Search by
module, exact error, violated contract, failure class, and stable recurrence
signature. A recurring pattern applies broadly; a special case applies only
when its narrow recall condition matches.

Before recording, require the symptom, evidence, root-cause status, lesson
type, recall condition, and stable recurrence key. A suspected or unknown cause
must never be written as confirmed. Update an existing matching recurrence
rather than create a competing lesson.

Durable records live under:

```text
docs/postmortems/<lowercase-kebab-slug>.md
```

Call `scripts/postmortem-contract.js#recordPostmortem` only after the decision
says `record: true`. The function creates the directory at that moment; the
directory is never eagerly created.