Work Recover

/work-recover

Compare checkpoint state vs actual state and determine true position.

Usage

/work-recover

Behavior

1. Read current checkpoint from ~/.varie/sessions/{id}.yaml
2. Inspect actual state:
   • git status — what files are modified
   • git diff — what changes exist
   • File contents — what's actually implemented
   • Test results — does the code work
3. Compare expected vs actual:
   • Checkpoint says step X in progress with notes Y
   • Reality shows different progress
4. Determine true position:
   • Step actually complete? Mark it and move on
   • Step partially complete? Identify exact resume point
   • Step broken? Identify what needs fixing
5. Update checkpoint with corrected state
6. Output recovery assessment and recommended action

When to Use

• After app crash
• When checkpoint feels stale
• When resuming after long break
• Automatically called by /work-resume if checkpoint is old

Example: Normal Recovery

> /work-recover

Reading checkpoint: abc123
Task: Character API Migration
Checkpoint step: frontend_api_client (in_progress)
Checkpoint notes: "Working on response type definitions"
Checkpoint time: 2 hours ago

Inspecting actual state...

Git status:
  modified: src/api/client.ts
  new file: src/types/companion.ts

Analyzing src/api/client.ts...
  - CompanionResponse type: ✓ defined
  - CompanionListResponse type: ✓ defined
  - fetchCompanions(): ✓ updated
  - useCompanions(): ✗ not updated

Conclusion:
  Checkpoint was stale. More progress than recorded.

  Step frontend_api_client:
    Checkpoint said: "Working on response types"
    Reality shows: Types complete, fetch updated, hook pending

  Resuming from: useCompanions() hook in client.ts:145

Checkpoint updated with current state.

Example: Step Actually Complete

> /work-recover

Reading checkpoint: def456
Checkpoint step: union_mask_implementation (in_progress)
Checkpoint notes: "Implementing mask union logic"

Inspecting actual state...

Git log shows commit: "feat: implement union mask for hair decorations"
Tests passing: test_hair_decoration.py (3/3)
Files complete and committed.

Conclusion:
  Step union_mask_implementation is COMPLETE.
  Moving to next step: stage_3b_integration

Checkpoint updated. Ready to continue.

Example: Broken State

> /work-recover

Reading checkpoint: ghi789
Checkpoint step: backend_implementation (in_progress)

Inspecting actual state...

Git status: clean (no changes?)
Last commit: "feat: add API contract" (step 1)
Step 2 files: not modified

Conclusion:
  Checkpoint says step 2 in progress, but no evidence of work.
  Possible causes:
    - Work was done but not saved
    - Work was on a different branch
    - Checkpoint was incorrect

  Current branch: feature/user-prefs
  Expected files: subscription.py (unmodified)

  Recommendation: Start step backend_implementation fresh.

Continue? [y/n]

Recovery Heuristics