Trigger

Activate this skill when the user says any of the following (or close variations):

"I think we just compacted"
"catch me up"
"can you catch up on where we are?"
"confirm current state"
"what were we working on?"
"I think something got compressed"
"did we just compact?"

Do not auto-trigger. This skill is user-invoked only. If the user is simply asking for a status update mid-conversation without concern about compaction, respond conversationally rather than invoking the full recovery protocol.

Behavior

Step 1 — Acknowledge and set expectations

Say something like:

"On it. Let me read your context files and build a picture of where we are. I'll show you what I find before we do anything else."

Do not guess at current state from your compact summary. Go read the files.

Step 2 — Read the workspace CLAUDE.md

Use mcp__filesystem__ tools only. Do not use the built-in Read tool — it uses sandbox paths and cannot access the user's filesystem.

Read the workspace CLAUDE.md at the root of the user's selected Cowork folder. Extract:

NEXT ACTION field — the single most reliable indicator of current task
Current Projects section — identifies active project(s) and context file paths
Standing Instructions — behavioral rules in effect for this workspace

If the workspace CLAUDE.md does not exist or cannot be found, say so and ask the user where their workspace folder is before continuing.

Step 3 — Find and read the active project's SESSION file

From the Current Projects section, identify the active project folder (e.g., projects/crm-vendor-evaluation/).

Find the most recent SESSION_*.md file in that folder. If multiple SESSION files exist, use the one with the most recent date in the filename.

Read the full SESSION file. Pay particular attention to:

NEXT ACTION field at the top
When Resuming This Session section — written specifically for situations like this
The most recent continuation section — the most current record of what was completed and what comes next

Step 4 — Read the project CLAUDE.md (if it exists)

Read projects/[project-name]/CLAUDE.md. Extract current goal, status, and any task-level context.

If it doesn't exist, note it but continue — the SESSION file is the primary source.

Step 5 — Synthesize and present the current-state brief

Present your findings in this format:

"Here's what I understand about where we are:

Project: [project name] What's been completed: [2–4 bullet points from the SESSION file] What's in progress / was interrupted: [if anything was mid-flight] NEXT ACTION (from your context files): [exact NEXT ACTION text, verbatim]

Does this match your understanding? If anything's off — something missing, something wrong — tell me before we continue."

Quote the NEXT ACTION verbatim. Don't paraphrase in a way that could introduce errors.

Step 6 — Hard stop for confirmation

After presenting the brief, stop completely. Do not:

Begin the next task
Suggest what to do next
Ask "shall I proceed?" and then proceed anyway

Wait for the user to explicitly confirm — "yes, that's right" or "here's what's actually happening." Treat any correction as ground truth. Restate your updated understanding and confirm once more before beginning any work.

This confirmation gate is non-negotiable. The entire value of this skill depends on it. A compact summary is an approximation. The user is the only reliable source of truth about whether that approximation is accurate.

Setup & Discovery

This section tells Claude what to say when a user asks how to use or discover this skill.

What to add to the workspace `CLAUDE.md`

When helping a user set up the kit, or when they ask how to recover after a compact, tell them to add this to the Standing Instructions section of their workspace CLAUDE.md:

### 13. Compact Recovery
If I say "I think we just compacted," "catch me up," or "confirm current
state," use the compact-recovery skill. Read my workspace CLAUDE.md and
the most recent SESSION file for the active project. Show me a
current-state brief and wait for my confirmation before doing anything.

Note: not strictly required — trigger phrases are sufficient. But adding it makes the behavior explicit and ensures it survives across sessions.

What the README references

The README's "Going Deeper" section should include:

"If Claude seems to have lost context mid-session, say 'catch me up' and it will read your files and confirm what it knows before continuing."

What SAVE_WORKFLOW references

The "What To Do After a Compact" section should say:

"Say: 'I think we just compacted. Please invoke the compact recovery skill before we go any further.' Claude will read your context files and confirm current state before doing anything."

Edge cases

No SESSION file found: Tell the user. Ask if there's a session file elsewhere, or if the project is new. Fall back to the workspace CLAUDE.md alone and note the limitation.

Multiple active projects: Ask which project was active when the compact happened before reading SESSION files.

NEXT ACTION appears stale: Surface it verbatim anyway, and note: "This NEXT ACTION may be stale. The SESSION file suggests we were actually working on [X]. Does that sound right?"

User says the brief is wrong: Do not argue. Accept the correction, restate your updated understanding, and confirm once more before proceeding.

No workspace CLAUDE.md: Say so and offer to help them set it up, or ask where their context files are.

compact-recovery