Context Save

/context-save

Save the current session's load-bearing state to a checkpoint file so a fresh session can resume cold. Use before context bloat hits productivity, OR when handing off to a teammate, OR when ending a session mid-task.

When to use

• Token watcher fired a warning (~50k tokens or more) and you want to restart in a fresh session
• You're ending a multi-day task mid-flight and the next session needs the full picture
• You're handing the session off to a teammate
• Before running /clean (it offers to call this first)

When NOT to use

• Single short task that doesn't span sessions — save is overkill
• Pure question / lookup tasks — nothing stateful to save

Inputs

• No required arguments. The skill reads:

  • Current branch via git branch --show-current
  • SLUG via _context_repo_slug from bin/_context.sh (native — basename of the repo root; no external binary)
  • Recent uncommitted work via git status -s + git diff --stat HEAD
  • Active TODOs (this skill's own TodoWrite state if available, else .claude/plans/todo.md)
  • Last 3 user turns (operator pastes them if not introspectable)

• Optional argument: a short label describing the in-flight task (used as filename suffix, passed to context_save_path as [label]). --label covers the named-snapshot use case — the former standalone snapshot skill is folded into this one (its old name routes here via config/aliases.yaml).

Workflow

1. Resolve slug + branch + timestamp.

2. Compute the checkpoint path via the mechanical core (bin/_context.sh owns naming + directory creation; checkpoint CONTENT stays LLM-written):

   source "${LINTEL_SOURCE_ROOT:-$LINTEL_REPO_ROOT}/bin/_context.sh"   # fallback: "${LINTEL_SOURCE_ROOT:-$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)}/bin/_context.sh"
   path=$(context_save_path [label])
   

   context_save_path echoes .claude/runtime/sessions/<branch>/<YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS>-r<repository-key>-<slug>[-<label>]-context-save.md and creates the directory. The key identifies the canonical repository path, including in the shared legacy directory. The filename ends -context-save.md so restore/warm globs match.

3. Gather:

   • What the task is — one-line description (operator-provided or inferred from recent turns).
   • What got done — bulleted from todo-list completed items + recent commit messages on this branch.
   • What's in-flight — active todo items + dirty git tree summary.
   • What's next — top 1-3 next steps.
   • Decisions taken — surface any AskUserQuestion answers from the session (operator-noted).
   • Failed attempts — patterns/approaches tried that didn't work (so next session doesn't re-try).
   • Files touched — git diff --name-only HEAD + any uncommitted-but-staged files.

4. Write the checkpoint content to $path with this structure:

# Checkpoint — <one-line task description>

**Slug:** <slug>
**Repository:** <canonical absolute repository root from _context_repo_identity>
**Branch:** <branch>
**Timestamp:** <ISO 8601>
**Last commit:** <sha> — <message>

## Task

<2-3 sentences on what's being done and why>

## Done

- [x] item 1
- [x] item 2

## In flight

- [ ] item 3 — <current state, what's blocking>
- [ ] item 4

## Next

1. <very specific next step>
2. <step 2>
3. <step 3>

## Decisions taken

- D1: <decision> — <one-line rationale>
- D2: ...

## Failed attempts

- <approach tried> — <why it didn't work>

## Files touched

- file1.ts
- file2.md

## Resume command

To restore this session: `/context-restore <checkpoint-path>` OR paste this file into a fresh session.

5. Print the path so operator can copy/share it.

Report format

✓ Checkpoint saved
  Path: <full path>
  Size: <bytes>
  Resume: /context-restore <path>

Edge cases

• No git repo: still save, but branch field is no-git. Slug derived from cwd basename.
• No .claude/runtime/sessions/<branch>/: context_save_path creates it.
• Existing checkpoint with same timestamp: suffix with -2, -3, etc. Never overwrite.
• Operator pastes recent turns inline: capture them verbatim under a ## Recent turns (operator-pasted) section.

Compliance integration

This skill writes a checkpoint outside the committed tree (to the gitignored .claude/runtime/sessions/). Per Lintel Layer 2:

• The checkpoint file may contain references to in-flight work that touched files in the repo. Operator confirms NO customer-data is captured in the checkpoint before saving.
• Default sanity-grep before write: if the checkpoint text matches secret-shaped patterns, halt and surface to operator.

Failure modes

• Write fails (disk full / permission denied): report error, print checkpoint content to stdout so operator can copy it manually.
• Slug resolution fails: fall back to unknown-project.
• Branch resolution fails: no-git placeholder.

Examples

Mid-task save with label:

> /context-save phase-2-skills-batch-1
✓ Checkpoint saved
  Path: .claude/runtime/sessions/main/20260527-153022-lintel-phase-2-skills-batch-1-context-save.md
  Resume: /context-restore .claude/runtime/sessions/main/20260527-153022-lintel-phase-2-skills-batch-1-context-save.md

No label:

> /context-save
✓ Checkpoint saved
  Path: .claude/runtime/sessions/main/20260527-153455-lintel-context-save.md

See also

• /context-restore — read a checkpoint into a fresh session
• /li:resume — paired with this skill: resume discovers these checkpoints (newest-first via context_latest) and, when no cycle ledger exists, offers /li:context-restore <path> instead of misdirecting to a fresh cycle
• /clean — manual self-maintenance trigger (offers to call this first)
• Layer 4 li-token-watcher hook — surfaces this skill when token thresholds hit