context-capsule

/context-capsule — the capsule verb

The entire job: reconcile → write the capsule → confirm it → chronicle → sync the vault → STOP. The capsule absorbs /close: there is no separate close ceremony, and no separate stamping step — writing a valid capsule (content gate passes, required fields non-empty) and folding the session into durable memory is the capsule contract.

When this skill fires vs the automatic verb

A rolling, best-effort version of this write already runs on every Stop event via daemons/stop-capsule-writer.mjs — you don't need this skill for ordinary turn-by-turn capture. Invoke /context-capsule for the explicit cases: a mid-session checkpoint before risky work, a completion capsule when a thread ships, or a handoff.

Operator sovereignty (never violate)

• The capsule is best-effort autosave, never a gate. An operator /clear passes through whether or not a capsule landed; never tell the operator to wait on capsule machinery.

Fences (never cross)

• Do NOT write a narration capsule. Reconcile-from-memory is the value: a capsule that restates the transcript instead of the live memory/git state is the trap this verb exists to prevent.

Steps (tight + terminal)

1. RECONCILE from live memory — re-read the session log, active priorities, and this session's git commits. Record what happened, not what was said. Budget: 2–4 reads, no more.
2. WRITE vault/memory/capsules/<YYYY-MM-DD>-<slug>.md:
   • Frontmatter — all four REQUIRED fields non-empty, no inline # comments on them, waiting_on quoted (never bare null): id, objective, waiting_on, next_valid_action; plus parent_capsule_id, status: active, trigger, expires, tags, created_at. Stamp created_at with the real current date-time at this write, ISO-8601 with offset (e.g. 2026-07-25T11:12:04-07:00) — the selector parses this field, and a date-only stamp backdates the capsule to midnight UTC where it loses to every same-day autosave. resume_trigger and success_criteria are OPTIONAL — include them when they add real signal, omit otherwise.
   • Body — [REFERENCE ONLY] banner, then: Done (don't redo) · Historical-Errors → Resolutions · Historical-Rejected-Approaches · Files-Read / Files-Modified · Operating-Facts · Pending-Gates · Claimed-Rows. Historical- prefixes and latest-wins stay (anti-zombie).
   • waiting_on is the resume contract: write it so a fresh session can act from it alone — concrete items, owners, gates.
3. CONFIRM the write. Re-read the exact file you just wrote: it landed at the path you think it did, id matches the filename, and every required field is populated. Self-check the frontmatter against the field list and the content gate (injection echo / ceremony action, daemons/capsule-content-gate.mjs). There is no separate trusted-writer pass to catch a mistake after the fact, so an unread write is an unverified one. Repair before continuing.
4. CHRONICLE — the close-parity pass. This verb absorbed /close, so it has to absorb what /close actually did, or the durable record stops growing the moment you stop running the old verb:
   • Memory-delta pass — fold this session's real changes into the durable notes that changed (typically 2 to 6 files under vault/memory/). Precise edits, not a transcript dump.
   • Stage directives — anything decision-shaped or instruction-shaped that isn't already banked goes to vault/memory/MEMORY_CANDIDATES.md. A directive that exists only inside a capsule dies with that capsule: the capsule is spent on the next resume, and the directive is not meant to be.
   • One vault/memory/SESSION_LOG.md line, newest first: - <YYYY-MM-DD> <capsule-id>: <one-line summary>.
5. SYNC fail-soft. After the capsule and any memory edits land, run node daemons/vault-sync.mjs. It resolves the installed root from .aigent/state.json, stages only capsule/memory changes, and handles no-remote or push-failure outcomes without prompting or gating the lifecycle. Fail-soft is deliberate: a fresh install has no remote, and the lifecycle must never wedge because one is absent. But if it reports a failure and a remote IS configured, that is a real finding — say so plainly rather than moving on, because unsynced memory is memory you will lose.
6. EXTENSION ACK, only if this install declares one. Run this and act on what it prints: