/save

/save authorizes branch creation, record upkeep, spec reconciliation, commit, push, PR updates and CI fixes; ask for anything else. Never force push, bypass hooks, amend merged commits or merge: /ship owns archive/merge, and the gate is never a local check.

/save [note]: a Status value sets Status; other notes seed the Decision log. Cold-resume context belongs in pushed files with repo-relative paths: another computer reads it.

1. Protect credentials and select the route

Keep every credential supplied, rotated, read or written this session out of tracked files, changes, facts, messages, PR text and reports. Values stay in working memory and their intended ignored live file; record only names and sources.

Load each matching procedure before its actions; conditions combine:

Check preconditions, then fetch main before comparing; errors stop.

git fetch origin main
openspec context --json
openspec list --json
bash "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.claude/skills/save/scripts/change-candidates.sh" --json

Save the change this work touched, found by the rungs, never a plan merely because it is the only one open. Keep BRANCH, NAME, CHANGE_ROOT separate; never rename or duplicate a change to match its branch.

A save changing repo files takes the normal route, except the validated record-only procedure above. Nothing learned, decided, or changed → report and stop.

2. Maintain the handoff and capture context

Keep the feature branch. On default/detached HEAD, git checkout -b "$SLUG": change/topic name, else worktree name for an unreadable session; append a short SHA on collision. Create required plan artifacts before checkpointing.

Maintain the living handoff:

• Proposal header: current **Status:**, actual **Branch:**, and **Open questions:** (none when empty).
• Plan sections: the current intent from the latest agreed plan and diff, self-contained, edited in place under existing headings. Tasks: true checked state and agreed additions.
• ## Decision log: append one dated entry; never change earlier ones: a cold reader inherits the why from them.
• Session facts: write them through the memory write gate with "session": "current" and "source": "save". A spooled result does not block the save.

For an active change, reconcile its deltas. Read artifact and task progress from the CLI.

The archived handoff

Keep exact CHANGE_ROOT; infer NAME from its dated folder only if absent. Retain actual Branch and append a dated archive-checkpoint entry. The archive is the record: never rebuild the plan or recreate an active folder; archive already reconciled deltas. Stage archive, tracked removals and implementation; pass --mode archive and report its path.

3. Stage, exclude values, and commit

Stage intended implementation, handoff and removals, never git add .; check for unrelated staged work. A plan-only save commits its artifacts. Write, outside the repo, a one-line repo-style commit message ending Co-Authored-By: Claude, and the PR summary.

4. Publish and wait for the gate

One command runs the gate, review page to preview:

node "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.claude/skills/save/scripts/checkpoint.mjs" \
  --message-file "$MESSAGE" --summary-file "$SUMMARY" \
  --change-root "$CHANGE_ROOT" --mode active --scan-keys "$KEYS"

--scan-keys names every credential handled this session; a match stops the save. No change → omit --change-root and --mode. Use the host's longest wait and wait again, silently, until it ends; then follow its NEXT: line.

5. Report

Report outcome and one link in plain words. Inside a verb or on request, include branch/commit, PR, change/archive Status, fact counts and stored/spooled/skipped state, CI fixes/uncertainty and preview/absence. Return the command's SAVE_HEAD, RECEIPT and SAVE_GATE_RESULT lines; always print the last inside a verb. Explicit errors; continue command only for active changes.

Direct invocation asks next steps with the question tool: continue, publish or stop; failed/unverified gates offer repairs.