jzills Auto-Rewind
Overview
When something goes wrong, the instinct is to fix forward. That instinct is wrong here. When a trigger fires, stop and guide a /rewind instead.
Trigger Recognition
Three signals activate this skill:
- Hook injection — context contains
[AUTO-REWIND] Tests failed:— this is a directive from the harness, not instrumentation to debug - User rejection — user says "wrong", "broken", "undo", "not what I wanted", "revert", "that's not right", "not quite", "that's not what I meant", "not really what I was after", or similar
- Self-detection — you realize prior edits were based on a wrong assumption, wrong interface, or misunderstood requirement
Why /rewind, Not Fix-Forward
| Rationalization | Why It's Wrong |
|---|---|
| "I can fix the code myself" | Fixing forward leaves a misleading conversation trail of wrong reasoning |
| "A targeted fix is faster" | When the wrong path was taken, forward fixes compound the error |
| "Manual revert keeps me in control" | Manual reversion leaves conversation history intact but misleading — /rewind restores both code AND conversation |
| "I'll lose conversation context" | You lose the wrong context. That's the point. |
"[AUTO-REWIND] is just a test result" |
It is a directive from the harness. Treat it as a command to stop and rewind. |
| "The rest of the work was probably fine" | You don't know that. Rewind to a clean state and re-approach. |
Reading Config
Check .claude/auto-rewind.md in the project root for mode settings. All keys are optional — the skill works without any config.
---
test_command: dotnet test ./Tests # used by the hook; not read by the skill
behavior_mode: ask # ask (default) | auto
checkpoint_mode: last-prompt # last-prompt (default) | claude-picks
---
If the file doesn't exist, defaults apply: behavior_mode: ask, checkpoint_mode: last-prompt.
Rewind Protocol
Step 1 — Identify the checkpoint
last-prompt(default): target the checkpoint just before the prompt that introduced the problem — which may be earlier than the most recent prompt (e.g., a user rejection message is not the problem; the edit prompt before it is)claude-picks: analyze the error, trace to root cause, select the earliest clean checkpoint, briefly explain why you chose it
Step 2 — Output the rewind block
[AUTO-REWIND] I detected an issue: <brief explanation of what went wrong>
Proposed rewind target: the checkpoint before "<summary of the failing prompt>"
To rewind:
1. Press Esc Esc (or type /rewind)
2. Select: "<checkpoint description>"
3. Choose "Restore code and conversation"
Step 3 — ask vs auto mode
ask(default): end the rewind block with — "Shall I proceed with a revised plan once you've rewound, or would you like to adjust the approach first?"auto: skip the question and immediately follow the rewind block with your revised plan for the re-attempt — briefly state what you'll do differently, without asking questions
Safety Guardrail
If you output the rewind block three consecutive times on the same prompt without resolution: stop looping, say you're stuck, and ask the user for explicit guidance. Do not continue issuing rewind instructions.