Context Restore

/context-restore

Read a checkpoint file (written by /context-save) into a fresh session. Outputs a concise summary so you can pick up cold. The former cross-session dump skill is folded into this one — its old name routes here via config/aliases.yaml.

When to use

• Starting a fresh session that continues yesterday's (or a teammate's) in-flight work
• After /clean led you to restart with reduced context
• When picking up a checkpoint shared by another SE on the team

When NOT to use

• Starting fresh on a NEW task — there's no checkpoint to read
• Pure question / lookup — you don't need state restoration

Inputs

• Optional argument: path to a specific checkpoint file.
• No argument: skill auto-discovers the most recent checkpoint for the current slug + branch.

Workflow

1. Resolve slug + branch via _context_repo_slug and _context_branch from bin/_context.sh; both use the selected target repository.

2. Find checkpoint via the mechanical core (no raw ls/find):

   source "${LINTEL_SOURCE_ROOT:-$LINTEL_REPO_ROOT}/bin/_context.sh"   # fallback: "${LINTEL_SOURCE_ROOT:-$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)}/bin/_context.sh"
   path=$(context_latest)        # newest checkpoint for the current branch
   context_list [branch]         # all checkpoints newest-first, when the operator wants to pick one
   

   • If argument provided: validate the path exists, read it (skip discovery).
   • Else: read $(context_latest). Discovery includes only legacy files whose repository key or explicit **Repository:** line matches this repository (read-only; grace window to 2026-09-12). Unattributed legacy files remain available through an explicitly selected path; never infer ownership from the branch or basename alone.

3. Parse checkpoint structure — extract: task description, done, in-flight, next, decisions, failed attempts, files touched.

4. Read referenced files — for each file under "Files touched," Read it so subsequent edits land on accurate state (post-checkpoint changes may exist).

5. Diff check — git log <last-commit-in-checkpoint>..HEAD to surface any commits landed since checkpoint was written.

6. Print restoration summary.

Report format

✓ Restored from <path>
  Original timestamp: <ISO>
  Slug/branch: <slug>/<branch>
  Last commit at save: <sha> (now: <current-sha> — <N commits since>)

## Task
<one-line>

## Where we were
- Done: <count> items
- In-flight: <count> items — <first item summary>
- Next: <count> steps — <first step summary>

## Important context
- <decision summaries, max 5>
- <failed attempts to avoid, max 3>

## Files in-flight
<list>

## Ready to continue
Suggested next action: <verbatim "next" step #1 from checkpoint>

Edge cases

• No checkpoint found: report "no checkpoint for /. Start fresh or specify --path." Don't error — just inform.
• Checkpoint references files that no longer exist: flag each missing file, don't fail. Operator decides if it matters.
• Commits landed since checkpoint: state count + suggest git log <checkpoint-sha>..HEAD to review.
• Checkpoint older than 7 days: warn — "stale checkpoint, project state may have drifted significantly."
• Multiple branches share checkpoints (rebase happened): restore reads only checkpoints matching the current branch name.

Compliance integration

• This skill READS a file outside the repo. The file may contain decisions, failed attempts, file paths.
• Operator confirms the checkpoint is theirs (or shared with them by an authorized teammate) before reading. Sharing checkpoints across SEs is fine for same project; cross-customer checkpoints are NOT fine.

Failure modes

• Checkpoint file unreadable: report error, suggest operator pastes content inline as fallback.
• Slug/branch mismatch: the checkpoint was for a different project. Surface, ask operator if they want to continue anyway.
• Files referenced moved/renamed since checkpoint: flag, operator clarifies new paths.

Examples

Auto-discover latest:

> /context-restore
✓ Restored from .claude/runtime/sessions/main/20260527-153022-lintel-phase-2-skills-batch-1-context-save.md
  Original timestamp: 2026-05-27T15:30:22Z
  Slug/branch: lintel/main
  Last commit at save: 7e7a021 (now: 7e7a021 — 0 commits since)

## Task
Phase 2 internal-voice skills, batch 1 (5 skills)

## Where we were
- Done: 2 items (Phase 1, voice eval skeletons)
- In-flight: 1 item — writing 5 operational skills
- Next: 3 steps — finish remaining skills, commit, push

## Files in-flight
- scaffolding/01-foundation/skills/context-save/SKILL.md
- scaffolding/01-foundation/skills/context-restore/SKILL.md

## Ready to continue
Suggested next action: complete /clean, /help, /health skills

With explicit path:

> /context-restore .claude/runtime/sessions/main/20260526-225146-lintel-context-save.md
...

See also

• /context-save — write the checkpoint this skill reads
• /li:resume — paired with this skill: resume discovers context-save checkpoints (newest-first via context_latest) and, when no cycle ledger exists, routes the operator here with /li:context-restore <path>
• /clean — companion self-maintenance command