Vault Push

/vault-push — Session-End Persistence

The session-level bookend (complement of /recall). Run N times a day — once at the end of each session. Its job: persist enough that a future /recall resumes from exactly here.

Two modes, auto-detected by where you are.

Detect mode & session id (run first)

# Session id: the harness sets $CLAUDE_CODE_SESSION_ID — ALWAYS prefer it. The
# cwd-match heuristic below is only a fallback: parallel sessions share a cwd, so
# "freshest marker by cwd" can resolve to a DIFFERENT live session (and clobber its
# handoff). Use the env var that names THIS session.
SID="$CLAUDE_CODE_SESSION_ID"
[ -z "$SID" ] && SID=$(ls ~/vault/logs/active-sessions/*.json 2>/dev/null | while read -r f; do
  python3 -c "import json;d=json.load(open('$f'));print(d['last_active_ts'],d['session_id'],d['cwd'])" 2>/dev/null
done | awk -v cwd="$PWD" '$3==cwd' | sort -rn | head -1 | awk '{print $2}')
[ -z "$SID" ] && SID="manual-$(date +%H%M%S)"   # last-ditch fallback if no env var + no marker
echo "session: $SID"

Verify before writing: if $SID came from the cwd heuristic (not the env var), sanity-check it against THIS conversation before using it — does the marker's goal/project match what this session actually did? A mismatched SID silently clobbers a parallel session's handoff. If it doesn't match, use the manual-… fallback instead of a wrong live SID.

• Project mode — if $PWD is inside a git repo (i.e. git rev-parse --show-toplevel succeeds). Set PROJECT_DIR="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)" and REPO_NAME="$(basename "$PROJECT_DIR" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')". Structured project knowledge lives in-repo at $PROJECT_DIR/System/handoffs/ and $PROJECT_DIR/Notes/<repo-name>/ (the same <repo-name> convention warm-start.sh uses). If $PROJECT_DIR/Notes/<repo-name>/ doesn't exist yet, mkdir -p it. Treat <repo-name> as <project> everywhere below.
• Default mode — anywhere else (no git repo).

Central-vault override (when $VAULT_DIR is set — the default on this machine): the WRITE target for all vault artifacts below is $VAULT_DIR, not $PROJECT_DIR. Set VAULT="${VAULT_DIR:-$PROJECT_DIR}" and write handoffs / PROJECT_LOG / README / ARC / board to $VAULT/.... <project>/<repo-name> stays the actual cwd repo's basename (so a swing-lab session updates $VAULT/Notes/swing-lab/ + the ## swing-lab board section). Invoke the board writer as python3 "$VAULT_DIR/tools/resume_board.py" update ... (it defaults to $VAULT_DIR's RESUME.md). If $VAULT_DIR is unset (a repo that IS its own vault, e.g. work), behavior is unchanged.

Mode 1: Project persistence

Write these, in order. Each is session-scoped or project-scoped — never a shared aggregate (that's /wrap-up's job), so parallel sessions don't clobber.

a) Session handoff (session-scoped — always)

• Path: $PROJECT_DIR/System/handoffs/<date>/<SID>.md → i.e. $PROJECT_DIR/System/handoffs/$(date +%F)/<SID>.md.
• mkdir -p the dated folder first.
• Fill from System/templates/session-handoff.md: frontmatter (session_id, date, project, type, branch, worktree, goal, status, pr) + body (did / decisions / state-now / open-threads / artifacts). Keep it tight — this is the resume point, not a transcript.

b) PROJECT_LOG entry (project-scoped — always)

• Append to $PROJECT_DIR/Notes/<repo-name>/PROJECT_LOG.md a sliceable dated entry. Header convention: uniform ## YYYY-MM-DD (H2) — do NOT use ### (the earlier ###-vs-## mix caused a miscount; all logs are normalized to ##). Carry the sliceable metadata in the same heading line after the date:

  ## YYYY-MM-DD · <sid8> · <dev|analysis|pm> · <one-line summary>
  - what changed / decided
  - links: [[handoff]], research doc, PR
  

• The ## YYYY-MM-DD · … heading format is the temporal spine /recall slices for "last week in this project" — keep it exact. # Project Log is the H1 title; entries are newest-first with bold sub-labels. Entry count = grep -cE '^## [0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}'.

c) README (project-scoped — only if state changed)

• Update $PROJECT_DIR/Notes/<repo-name>/README.md status/overview only if this session changed the project's current state. Don't churn it every session.

d) PROJECT_ARC (project-scoped — only on a trajectory change)

• Update $PROJECT_DIR/Notes/<repo-name>/PROJECT_ARC.md only if this session moved a phase boundary, made a pivot, or changed the current frontier. Add a dated line under "Key pivots" / advance "Phases" / rewrite "Current frontier". Most sessions touch nothing here.

e) Research links + entity linking + decisions

• If analysis produced a research doc ($PROJECT_DIR/Notes/<repo-name>/research/<topic>.md), make sure the handoff and PROJECT_LOG entry link it.
• Link canonical entities: in the handoff/log/research, link any person, metric, product, or tool that has a People/ or Glossary/ note (e.g. [[some-person]], [[some-metric]], [[some-tool]]). If a recurring entity has no note yet, create one from System/templates/entity.md.
• Decisions are vault-push-owned — capture them as ADRs. If this session made a real decision (architecture, approach, scope, tool), YOU write $PROJECT_DIR/Notes/<repo-name>/decisions/NNNN-<slug>.md from System/templates/decision-record.md at session end (the L2 "why" peel) — don't leave the rationale only in prose, and don't defer it to /wrap-up. Number sequentially per project.

f) Open Items — project-level (vault-push OWNS) + global inbox

Project todos → $PROJECT_DIR/Notes/<repo-name>/OPEN_ITEMS.md — you own this, write it directly. Per touched project: add new todos surfaced this session, tick done (- [x]) anything resolved, carry the rest. It's project-scoped (one writer) so this is parallel-safe — no inbox indirection. Create it from System/templates/project-open-items.md if absent.

Cross-cutting / ops todos (not tied to one project) → the GLOBAL ledger. Append to the ## Inbox (unsorted) section at the END of System/dashboards/Open Items.md:

- <item> <!-- sid:<sid8> -->

You MAY tick-done a GLOBAL item this session resolved (targeted - [x] on that line), but do NOT rewrite its structured tables — /wrap-up reconciles the global inbox into the ledger.

f2) Resume board — System/handoffs/RESUME.md (L0 pointer — always, if the writer exists)

RESUME.md is the L0 current-state board — one ## <project> section per active thread, current-state only (the append-only history lives in each PROJECT_LOG.md). It's what the warm-start hook and /recall's "where were we" mode read first. Written on EVERY session end.

Use the deterministic writer — do NOT hand-edit the file. Section surgery on a growing board is exactly where a clobber creeps in across parallel tabs, so this is mechanical:

python3 tools/resume_board.py update \
  --project <project> --session "<short slug>" \
  --in-flight "<mid-stream state, or 'clean stop'>" \
  --next "<next concrete step(s)>" \
  --blockers "<person/run/decision, or none>" \
  --resume-with "<literal command(s)/path(s), or 'N/A — clean stop'>"

The script replaces (or inserts) that project's section, moves it to the top, sets last_touched

• updated in frontmatter, sweeps sections dormant >30d into a collapsed ## Archived block, and leaves every other section byte-for-byte — that's what keeps it clobber-safe across parallel tabs. Multiple projects touched: run update once per project; run the primary one LAST so it wins last_touched. Keep each section tight — it's a pointer, not the record (the "what files changed" list belongs in the PROJECT_LOG entry). If tools/resume_board.py isn't present in this vault, skip this step (the per-session handoff in step (a) is the durable fallback resume point).

g) Commit & clean up (session-scoped — PARALLEL-SAFE)

Commit this session's work so the tree is clean — but only this session's files. Parallel sessions share the repo, so NEVER git add -A / git add . (that sweeps a live session's uncommitted work into your commit). The ONE sanctioned exception is /wrap-up's end-of-day commit — it's the single-writer day bookend and stages the whole vault by design; that exception does not extend to session-level pushes. Stage explicitly:

1. Stage your handoff + the project files THIS session created/edited (the ones you wrote in steps a–f). Use exact paths, not wildcards. Include shared files (PROJECT_LOG.md, Open Items.md, README/ARC, CLAUDE.md) ONLY if git diff shows they contain just your additions — if a parallel session also edited them, stage with git add -p to pick only your hunks.
   • Dependencies the script needs but git ignores (e.g. bundled reference data under an ignored data/): git add -f <path> so a rebuild/clone reproduces — a "durable, not orphaned" check.
   • Verify before committing: git diff --cached --stat should list ONLY your files. If anything from another session appears, unstage it (git restore --staged <path>).
2. Commit to the vault's default branch (this repo's established pattern — every prior vault-push: session … commit is direct to main; do NOT branch for vault docs/scripts):

   git commit -m "vault-push: session <sid8> — <one-line summary>" -m "Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>"
   # (use the current session's model name in the co-author if you know it, e.g. "Claude Fable 5" — don't hardcode a stale one)
   

3. Push this session's commit to the remote default branch — the session bookend persists all the way to origin (don't wait for /wrap-up). Rebase-first so a parallel session's / another machine's pushed commits aren't clobbered, and only YOUR commit rides up:

   git pull --rebase --autostash origin main && git push origin HEAD:main
   

   Rebase conflict (rare — two sessions touched the SAME shared file's SAME lines): resolve the hunk (keep BOTH sessions' additions), git rebase --continue, then push. If push still races (non-fast-forward), re-run the pull-rebase-push line. Leave other sessions' files untouched.
4. Clean up any scratch you created outside the vault (temp scripts in the scratchpad are fine to leave; don't delete other sessions' artifacts).
5. Sweep worktrees — if this session touched a code repo you've been working in, sweep managed worktrees after committing/merging this session's repo work:

   tools/worktree.sh clean        # all enforced repos (or `clean <repo>` for one)
   

   SAFE by construction: it auto-removes a managed worktree only when it is clean (no uncommitted changes) AND fully merged into the repo's default branch — then deletes that merged wt/* branch. Anything dirty, unmerged, or hand-made is reported, never deleted, so its report doubles as a "still-open repo work" reminder — eyeball it before finishing. Never rm -rf a worktree by hand (strands git's admin refs) — use tools/worktree.sh rm / clean. Skip only if no code repo was touched this session (or the repo has no tools/worktree.sh).

h) Mark pushed + reindex

touch ~/vault/logs/active-sessions/$SID.pushed   # clears the "unpushed" warning at next start
qmd update && qmd embed
echo '{"ts":"'$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)'","skill":"vault-push","mode":"project","project":"<repo-name>","sid":"'$SID'"}' >> ~/vault/logs/workflow.jsonl

If qmd is missing or errors, don't fail the push — the commit is the durable artifact; note "qmd reindex skipped" in the confirmation and move on (next /start-work or a manual qmd update catches it up).

Confirm briefly: "Pushed + committed session <sid8> → handoff + PROJECT_LOG (+ README/ARC if changed)."

End Session Checklist (Mode 1)

Run through this before finishing — it's the parallel-safe superset of the old checklist, re-pointed at the per-session/_day.md architecture:

- [ ] Session handoff written → System/handoffs/<date>/<SID>.md (step a)
- [ ] PROJECT_LOG.md entry appended per touched project — uniform `## YYYY-MM-DD · …` header (step b)
- [ ] README.md status updated if state changed (step c)
- [ ] PROJECT_ARC.md updated only on a trajectory change (step d)
- [ ] Research links wired + canonical entities linked ([[…]]) (step e)
- [ ] Decisions (if any) peeled into ADRs → $PROJECT_DIR/Notes/<repo-name>/decisions/NNNN-<slug>.md (step e)
- [ ] Project todos written to `$PROJECT_DIR/Notes/<repo-name>/OPEN_ITEMS.md` (add/tick/carry — vault-push owns it);
      cross-cutting todos appended to the GLOBAL Open Items `## Inbox (unsorted)` (step f)
- [ ] RESUME board updated — `python3 tools/resume_board.py update --project …` per touched
      project (primary last, so it wins last_touched); skip if the writer is absent (step f2)
- [ ] Git commit — explicit paths only, NEVER `git add -A`; rebase-first push to origin (step g)
- [ ] Worktrees swept — `tools/worktree.sh clean` (removes merged+clean; reports dirty/unmerged —
      eyeball it) if a code repo was touched (step g)
- [ ] `touch …/$SID.pushed` + `qmd update && qmd embed` + workflow.jsonl line (step h)

Two Open-Items scopes. vault-push owns each project's $PROJECT_DIR/Notes/<repo-name>/OPEN_ITEMS.md (writes/ticks/carries directly — parallel-safe because it's project-scoped, like PROJECT_LOG). For the GLOBAL Open Items.md it only appends to ## Inbox (unsorted) (+ may tick-done a resolved item); the day-end /wrap-up is the sole writer that reconciles the global inbox into the structured tables and bumps its updated: date — that split keeps parallel sessions from clobbering the shared dashboard.

Mode 2: Default (outside a vault project)

Lightweight daily-journal append (legacy behavior).

• Append to ~/vault/daily/YYYY-MM-DD.md (create if missing) a ## Session — HH:MM block: ### What was worked on / ### Key decisions / ### Open threads (5–10 lines).
• Frontmatter projects: lists all projects touched that day.
• Then touch ~/vault/logs/active-sessions/$SID.pushed and qmd update && qmd embed.

Ad-hoc note (/vault push note <topic>)

• Write/update ~/vault/notes/<topic-slug>.md (frontmatter title/created/updated/tags); update updated on edit; one topic per note.

Proactive push

At natural stopping points in a substantive session (multiple tasks done, a decision reached, a doc produced), offer: "Want me to /vault-push this session before we lose the context?" Don't push for trivial interactions.