Later, dude
End a work session with a clean handoff: account for the selected work,
preserve what the next session needs, and make no irreversible assumptions.
This is the end-of-session partner to hey-dude.
1. Reconcile the selected work
- Limit the review to projects and files touched or explicitly named in the session. Do not scan unrelated directories for old work.
- Check the selected project's instructions, working-tree state, and the requested outcome.
- Separate completed, verified work from incomplete work, failures, and user-controlled decisions.
- Run the smallest relevant verification that can still reveal a meaningful defect. Do not claim a build, test, preview, or push proves production state unless it actually tests that state.
Completion criterion: every session deliverable is classified as verified, incomplete, blocked, or awaiting approval.
2. Ship only with authority
Check the project's documented release flow before proposing a Git or deploy action. Keep the following actions behind explicit user or project-granted authority:
- committing changes;
- pushing, merging, tagging, or creating a remote repository;
- deploying, publishing, sending, purchasing, deleting, or changing live data.
When authority is present, stage only the session's files, use the project’s real checks, and report the authoritative end state. When authority is absent, leave the work intact and state the exact command or decision the user must approve. Never use a broad staging command to sweep in unrelated work.
Completion criterion: no change is represented as shipped unless its required authority and verification both exist.
3. Preserve the next session
Update the existing handoff or status document when the project has one. Create
a short HANDOFF.md only when no equivalent document exists and project
instructions allow it. Keep it a resume note, not a diary:
- date and current verified status;
- what changed and where it lives;
- decisions and their rationale;
- open blockers or approvals needed;
- one concrete next action.
If the user's environment has a configured memory system and permission to use it, save only durable, non-sensitive lessons that are not already captured by the project documentation. Otherwise, the project handoff is sufficient.
Completion criterion: a new agent can locate the selected project and take the next action without reconstructing the session from chat history.
4. Report
Lead with the closeout verdict:
- Verified: delivered work and checks that passed.
- Saved: handoff or documentation updated.
- Needs approval: any commit, push, deploy, publication, or other external action not authorized.
- Next: the single best next action.
Do not manufacture a lesson, handoff, or memory entry when the session produced nothing durable.
Example
User: “Later dude.”
The agent checks only the project worked on in this session, runs its relevant local verification, updates the established handoff, and reports whether the changes are ready for an explicitly approved commit or release.