Amnesia
Overview
Reorient the user after they stepped away. Report what the session is, where it left off, and what changed while they were gone.
Answer from the conversation already in context. Do not re-run builds, re-read files, or start new work to produce this recap.
Output
Report these four sections, in order.
Session started
When this session began. Use timestamps available in the conversation context. If no timestamp is available, say so plainly instead of guessing — an approximation stated as fact is worse than "unknown".
Last user message
When the user last wrote, and the verbatim text of that message — the one before this request, not this request itself. Quote it; do not paraphrase. If it was long, quote the first few lines and mark it as truncated.
Since then
What happened after that message: files created or modified, commands run and their outcome, conclusions reached, questions asked and still unanswered. Include failures and abandoned attempts — those are the part a returning user is most likely to have missed.
Also worth knowing
Significant changes from earlier in the session that are still relevant: decisions made, approaches reversed, work left unfinished, anything agreed to but not yet done. Skip this section entirely if the session holds nothing beyond what the previous section already covered.
Rules
- Be brief. This is a status readout, not a transcript.
- Never invent timestamps, file names, or outcomes. Unknown is an acceptable answer.
- Distinguish what was done from what was only proposed.
- If the session has no prior user message, say that this is the first turn and stop.