work-summarize

/work-summarize

Provide a summary of current work state at requested detail level.

Purpose

This skill enables the Manager pattern where a lean Manager session requests summaries from other sessions without loading full context. Sessions provide self-contained summaries at varying detail levels.

Detail Levels

Level	Content	Use Case
1	Task + step (one line)	Routing decisions
3	+ status + notes (default)	Status overview
10	+ files + next steps + blockers	Reviving work
full	Complete checkpoint dump	Deep investigation

Implementation Steps

1. Determine current session

Check if there's an active session for current directory:

PROJECT=$(basename "$PWD")

Read session from ~/.varie/sessions/ matching current project.

If no session:

No active session. Status: idle

2. Check checkpoint staleness (CRITICAL for crash recovery)

Before generating summary, verify checkpoint accuracy:

# Get checkpoint's recorded git state
# Compare to current git state
git status --porcelain
git rev-parse --short HEAD

Staleness indicators:

• last_active > 1 hour ago
• git_state.last_commit doesn't match current HEAD
• git_state.dirty_files doesn't match current git status

If stale:

⚠️ Checkpoint may be stale (last: {time} ago)

Checkpoint says: "{step} - {notes}"
Git shows: {current reality}

Run /work-recover for accurate state, or /work-resume to continue.

This ensures Manager knows when session state is uncertain after a crash.

3. Parse detail level

Default to 3 if not specified. Accept: 1, 3, 10, "full"

3. Generate summary at requested level

Level 1 (one line):

{Task Name}: Step {N}/{total} - {step_name} ({status})

Example:

Character API Migration: Step 3/5 - frontend_api_client (in_progress)

Level 3 (default):

{Task Name} ({repo})
Step {N}/{total}: {step_name}
Notes: "{current notes}"

Example:

Character API Migration (webapp)
Step 3/5: frontend_api_client
Notes: "Working on response type definitions"

Level 10 (detailed):

{Task Name} ({repo})
Session: {id} | Branch: {branch}
Step {N}/{total}: {step_name} - {status}

Recent progress:
- {completed step 1}: {outcome}
- {completed step 2}: {outcome}
- {current step}: {notes}

Files touched:
- {file1}
- {file2}

Next steps:
- {pending step 1}
- {pending step 2}

Blockers: {none or description}
Last checkpoint: {time} ago

Level full: Output the entire checkpoint YAML content.

4. Output summary

Just output the summary text. No additional commentary needed - this is meant for machine consumption by orchestrator.

Examples

User: /work-summarize

Output (level 3):

Character API Migration (webapp)
Step 3/5: frontend_api_client
Notes: "Working on response type definitions"

User: /work-summarize 1

Output:

Character API Migration: Step 3/5 - frontend_api_client (in_progress)

User: /work-summarize 10

Output:

Character API Migration (webapp)
Session: abc123 | Branch: feature/character-api
Step 3/5: frontend_api_client - in_progress

Recent progress:
- update_api_contract: Added /companions endpoint
- backend_implementation: Handler + 5 tests passing
- frontend_api_client: Working on response types

Files touched:
- src/api/client.ts
- src/types/companion.ts

Next steps:
- frontend_components
- integration_test

Blockers: none
Last checkpoint: 15 min ago

Manager Integration

The Manager uses this to stay lean:

Manager: "Session webapp, /work-summarize 1"
Session: "Character API Migration: Step 3/5 - frontend_api_client (in_progress)"
Manager: (makes routing decision with minimal context)

If Manager needs more detail:

Manager: "Session webapp, /work-summarize 10"
Session: (provides detailed summary)
Manager: (has enough context to revive or assist)