Session Begin Pre-Flight

Pre-flight checklist that orients the session: loads context, validates environment, runs health scripts, surfaces warnings, and hands off to the user with a goal-selection prompt.

Time budget: Session-begin SHOULD complete in under 5 minutes. If script issues or staleness require extended remediation, present findings and defer fixes to user decision.

Critical Rules (MUST follow)

1. Duplicate detection first — MUST check before any action (see below).
2. Never double-increment — MUST verify the session counter wasn't already incremented in this conversation or after compaction before incrementing.
3. Announce session number — MUST output "Session #N started on [branch]" after incrementing.
4. Script failures escalate to user — MUST present failures with options (fix now / defer / ignore). Do not decide unilaterally.
5. Stale docs are a user decision — MUST present discrepancies and ask "Update now or defer?" Do not auto-fix.
6. Scope explosion guard — if 3+ scripts failed or 3+ actionable findings surfaced, MUST present a triage list before acting on any.

Duplicate Detection (MUST — before anything)

Check all three:

1. Have I already completed this checklist in the current conversation?
2. Was SESSION_CONTEXT.md "Last Updated" modified today? (date-only field — sub-day relies on checks #1 and #3)
3. Did I already increment the session counter in this conversation?

If ANY true: "Session #N already active. What would you like to work on?" If ALL false: Proceed with full checklist.

When to Use

• Start of every AI work session
• User explicitly invokes /session-begin

When NOT to Use

• Mid-session health check → /alerts
• Session closure → /session-end
• State snapshot → /checkpoint
• Already ran this session → duplicate detection catches it

Hook Boundary

The SessionStart hook handles: consolidation, cross-session validation, dependency install, build. This skill handles: context loading, counter increment, script health checks, warning gates, goal selection. If the hook already completed a step (check its output), skip it.

Warm-Up (MUST — first output after duplicate detection passes)

"Starting Session #N pre-flight on [branch]. Will load context, run 8 health scripts, and surface any warnings."

Phase 1: Environment Setup (MUST)

1.1 Secrets Decryption Check (SHOULD — remote sessions only)

if [ -f ".env.local.encrypted" ] && [ ! -f ".env.local" ]; then
  echo "Encrypted secrets found but not decrypted"
fi

If secrets need decrypting: ask user for passphrase, run: echo "<passphrase>" | node scripts/secrets/decrypt-secrets.js --stdin Verify .env.local exists. Never store or log the passphrase.

If already decrypted or no encrypted file: skip.

1.2 Cross-Session Validation (handled by hook)

Handled by SessionStart hook. If "Cross-Session Warning" appears: check git status, git log --oneline -5, run npm run hooks:health. Update SESSION_CONTEXT.md if prior session missed /session-end.

Phase 2: Context Loading (MUST)

2.1 Load Session Context (MUST)

• Read SESSION_CONTEXT.md — status, blockers, goals
• Increment session counter (MUST — verify not already incremented first)
• Output: "Session #N started on [branch]"
• Read ROADMAP.md lines 1-100 (Active Sprint only)

2.2 Branch Validation (MUST)

Verify SESSION_CONTEXT.md's documented branch matches git branch --show-current. If mismatch, warn user before proceeding.

2.3 Stale Documentation Check (MUST)

git log --oneline -30

Compare commits against ROADMAP.md Active Sprint checkboxes. If discrepancies found, present them: "Docs appear stale: [specifics]. Update now or defer?"

Let the user decide. Do not auto-update.

2.4 Session Gap Detection (handled by scripts)

Automated via npm run session:gaps in Phase 3. If gaps detected, run npm run session:gaps:fix and present suggestions.

2.5 Consolidation Status (handled by hook)

Automated by SessionStart hook. If it failed (check hook output), run: node scripts/run-consolidation.js --apply

2.6 Prior Research Surface (SHOULD)

Check if .research/research-index.jsonl exists and is non-empty. If so, read the last 5 entries and present a brief summary:

Prior research: N topics analyzed. Most recent: {topic} ({date}).

This is non-blocking — if the file is missing or empty, skip silently. The purpose is to surface prior /repo-analysis, /website-analysis, and /deep-research work so the user knows what context is available.

Phase 3: Health Scripts (MUST)

Output: "Running 8 health scripts..."

npm run patterns:check
npm run review:check
npm run lessons:surface
npm run session:gaps
npm run roadmap:hygiene
npm run reviews:lifecycle
npm run hooks:analytics -- --since=$(date -d '7 days ago' +%Y-%m-%d)
node scripts/run-github-health.js --quick

After all scripts: "Scripts complete: N passed, M failed, K warnings."

If any script fails (MUST): Present to user: "Script X failed: [error]. Fix now / Defer / Ignore?" Do not silently decide.

Record results — these must be marked as "Ran" or "Failed (reason)" in /session-end audit.

3.1 Cross-Document Dependency Check (SHOULD)

npm run crossdoc:check

3.2 Task Dependencies (SHOULD)

node scripts/tasks/resolve-dependencies.js 2>/dev/null || true

Note: Velocity reporting was removed in commit 7e74fada (/alerts --full consolidation). Do not re-add scripts/velocity/ references without first restoring the script.

Phase 4: Warning Gates (MUST)

4.1 Hook Anomaly Gate (MUST)

Check for anomalies (best-effort — skip files that don't exist):

1. Override trend: Read .claude/override-log.jsonl. Count overrides in last 7 days vs previous 7 days. If 50%+ higher and 5+ more → warn.
2. Hook warnings: Read .claude/state/hook-warnings-log.jsonl. If 10+ in last 7 days → warn.
3. Health grade drop: Read .claude/state/health-score-log.jsonl. If grade dropped 2+ levels → warn.

If anomalies found, present and recommend /alerts --full. If none: skip silently.

4.2 Warning Acknowledgment Gate (MUST)

Read .claude/hook-warnings.json. If unacknowledged warnings exist (added since lastCleared):

Unacknowledged hook warnings (N):
  1. [type] message (occurrences)
  2. ...

  Acknowledge all? [Y] or review individually? [R]

Y: Record timestamp in hook-warnings.json, proceed. R: Present each for individual decision. No warnings: Skip silently.

After all acknowledgments: Run node scripts/sync-warnings-ack.js to sync lastCleared with per-type acks. This updates the statusline unacked count.

4.3 Infrastructure Failure Gate (MUST)

Check for state files written by session-start.js passive-surfacing fixes:

1. Build failures: Read .claude/state/session-start-failures.json. If it exists and has entries, present each failure with its Fix: command:

   Session-start build failures (N):
     1. [description] — Fix: [command]
     2. ...
   
   Fix now / Acknowledge / Defer?

2. Pending test registry: Read .claude/state/pending-test-registry.json. If it exists, remind: "Test registry needs update. Run: npm run tests:registry"
3. Pending decisions: Read .claude/hook-warnings.json for decision-documentation type entries. Surface undocumented decisions.

All items require acknowledgment before proceeding. Do not skip silently.

4.4 Technical Debt Snapshot (SHOULD)

Read Technical Debt INDEX. Note S0/S1 counts for the summary.

Phase 5: Summary & Goal Selection (MUST)

Summary Template

Present using this format:

Session #N — Pre-Flight Summary
Branch: [branch]

| Script | Status |
|--------|--------|
| patterns:check | Pass/Fail |
| review:check | Pass/Warn |
| ... | ... |

Warnings: N acknowledged | Tech Debt: N S0, M S1
Next Goals (from SESSION_CONTEXT.md):
  [list ALL goals from both "Immediate Priority" and "After Debt-Runner"
   sections — do not truncate or cap the list]

Goal Selection (MUST)

After the summary: "Which goal would you like to focus on, or something else?" Reference the surfaced goals — do not use a generic open-ended prompt.

Closure Signal (MUST)

"Session #N pre-flight complete. [N] scripts ran, [M] warnings acknowledged. Ready to work."

Done when: Session counter incremented, context loaded, all scripts ran (or failures escalated to user), warnings acknowledged, goal selected.

Guard Rails

• Scope explosion: If 3+ scripts failed or 3+ findings surfaced, present a triage list: "Multiple issues found. Which to address now vs defer?" Do not auto-fix multiple issues.
• Disengagement: If user says "skip" or "let's work" mid-checklist, stop immediately. Present what's completed vs remaining. Proceed to goal selection.
• Compaction recovery: If compaction occurs mid-session-begin, re-read SESSION_CONTEXT.md. If counter was already incremented, do not re-increment. Resume from the last unfinished phase.

Integration

• Neighbors: session-end (receives session context), checkpoint (mid-session state), alerts (detailed health drill-down)
  • Note: /alerts uses .claude/tmp/alerts-progress-{date}.json for compaction resilience. If this file exists and is <2h old, alerts will offer to resume a previous session.
• Handoff to session-end: SESSION_CONTEXT.md updated with session number and current work. Script results marked as "Ran" or "Failed."
• Reference material: See REFERENCE.md for skill routing, code review procedures, and anti-pattern guidance.

Version History