open_skill

Overview

This skill re-orients the agent to the current session context and loads companion tracker skills when needed. Use it when you missed startup orientation, changed directories, or want a deeper read of the project handoff and tracker state. It pairs with ground and close to manage the session lifecycle.

How this skill works

On invocation the skill verifies local infrastructure, ensures required companion skills (bon, optionally todoist-gtd or garde) are loaded, and reads per-project context files and the latest handoff. It synthesizes a concise briefing (Done, Next, Gotchas, ready work) and offers a small set of next actions. If context files are missing or the helper script fails, it stops and guides the user through diagnostics.

When to use it

• Mid-session re-orientation: "what were we working on" or "where did we leave off"
• After cd'ing into a different project where the startup hook didn't run
• When you want full handoff detail or the complete bon hierarchy beyond the startup briefing
• To ensure tracker skills (bon, todoist-gtd) are loaded before drawing down work
• When the user seems disoriented about past work or wants a rescue of local handoffs

Best practices

• Run the pre-flight checks and stop if open-context.sh or symlinks are broken
• Only load todoist-gtd when handoff or context explicitly references Todoist
• Read bon.txt and handoff markdown files and present their contents as text — do not run commands whose output will be collapsed
• Always break chosen work into explicit steps and pause for confirmation if the task will take >10 minutes
• If orphaned local .handoff* files exist, offer to move them to the central handoff location

Example use cases

• You cd into a different repository mid-session and need the project's last handoff and bon state
• You missed the startup briefing and want the full Done/Next/Gotchas summary and ready bon items
• You want to load bon so subsequent actions follow the draw-down pattern and persist tactical steps
• A script failed while generating context; the skill halts and instructs how to diagnose symlink or script errors
• You found local .handoff* files and want them rescued into the central handoffs directory