Resume Session — Restore and Orient from a Saved Session

Load the last saved session state and orient fully before doing any work. This skill is the counterpart to the save-session skill.

When to Use

• Starting a new session to continue work from a previous day
• After starting a fresh session due to context limits
• When handing off a session file from another source (just provide the file path)
• Any time you have a session file and want Claude to fully absorb it before proceeding

Usage

/resume-session                                                      # loads most recent file in ~/.claude/sessions/
/resume-session 2026-03-18                                           # loads most recent session for that date
/resume-session ~/.claude/sessions/2026-03-18-apex-trig-session.md   # loads a specific file

Process

Step 1: Find the session file

If no argument provided:

1. Check ~/.claude/sessions/
2. Pick the most recently modified *-session.md file

3. If the folder does not exist or has no matching files, tell the user:

   No session files found in ~/.claude/sessions/
   Run /save-session at the end of a session to create one.

   Then stop.

If an argument is provided:

• If it looks like a date (YYYY-MM-DD), search ~/.claude/sessions/ for matching files and load the most recently modified variant for that date
• If it looks like a file path, read that file directly
• If not found, report clearly and stop

Step 2: Read the entire session file

Read the complete file. Do not summarize yet.

Step 3: Confirm understanding

Respond with a structured briefing in this exact format:

SESSION LOADED: [actual resolved path to the file]

PROJECT: [project name / topic from file]

WHAT WE'RE BUILDING:
[2-3 sentence summary in your own words]

CURRENT STATE:
Working: [count] items confirmed
In Progress: [list files that are in progress]
Not Started: [list planned but untouched]

WHAT NOT TO RETRY:
[list every failed approach with its reason — this is critical]

OPEN QUESTIONS / BLOCKERS:
[list any blockers or unanswered questions]

NEXT STEP:
[exact next step if defined in the file]

Ready to continue. What would you like to do?

Step 4: Wait for the user

Do NOT start working automatically. Do NOT touch any files. Wait for the user to say what to do next.

Edge Cases

Multiple sessions for the same date: Load the most recently modified matching file for that date.

Session file references files that no longer exist: Note this during the briefing — "WARNING: path/to/file.cls referenced in session but not found on disk."

Session file is from more than 7 days ago: Note the gap — "WARNING: This session is from N days ago. Things may have changed." — then proceed normally.

Session file is empty or malformed: Report: "Session file found but appears empty or unreadable. You may need to create a new one with /save-session."

Notes

• Never modify the session file when loading it — it's a read-only historical record
• The briefing format is fixed — do not skip sections even if they are empty
• "What Not To Retry" must always be shown, even if it just says "None"
• After resuming, the user may want to run /save-session again at the end of the new session