Load Context

Load pre-built context files into the current conversation so you can immediately proceed with planning or implementation — no research phase needed.

This is the complement to /build-context. Use /build-context to create context files. Use /load-context to reload them in a new conversation. Use /update-context to update stale project context without re-extracting API docs.

Instructions

Step 1: Detect Branch and Find Context Files

1. Get the current git branch: git branch --show-current
2. Glob for context files: contexts/{branch-name}/**/*.md
3. If no context files found:
   • Tell the user: "No context files found for branch {branch-name}. Run /build-context first."
   • Stop here.

Step 2: Read Context Files (tier-aware)

Read files in this order for optimal context placement:

1. context.md (Tier 3 — combined summary) — read first for orientation
2. api-context.md (Tier 1 — cached API reference) — read second for provider knowledge
3. project-context.md (Tier 2 — dynamic project state) — read third for current state

If the tiered files don't exist (legacy single-file format), read whatever .md files are present.

Step 3: Check Freshness

Parse the YAML front matter from each tier file:

• api-context.md: check generated_at — this is cached and rarely stale
• project-context.md: check generated_at — if older than 1 day, warn the user:

  ⚠ Project context was built on {date}. Plans, reviews, and code may have changed.
  Run `/update-context` to update it (~1 min) or `/build-context` for a full rebuild.

Step 4: Read Must-Read Files

1. From the context files, find the Must-Read Files section
2. Extract file paths from Critical and Important tables (skip Reference)
3. Deduplicate across all context files
4. Verify each file exists (skip missing with a note)
5. Read all existing critical and important files using parallel agents if there are many files (>10)

Step 5: Summary

Context loaded for branch `{branch-name}`.

Tiers:
  - API context: {generated_at} {(N days old)}
  - Project context: {generated_at} {(N days old)} {⚠ stale if > 1 day}

Context files read: {N}
Must-read files read: {N} critical, {N} important ({N} skipped — not found)

Critical path:
  1. {from context file}
  2. ...

Plan status:
  - Completed: {summary}
  - In progress: {summary}

Reference files available (not loaded): {N}

Ready for the next task.

Critical Rules

• Never modify context files — this skill is read-only
• Read in tier order — context.md first (orientation), then api-context.md (reference), then project-context.md (current state)
• Skip reference-priority files — only read critical and important; mention reference files are available
• Warn on stale project context — if project-context.md is older than 1 day, suggest /update-context
• Deduplicate across files — if multiple files list the same must-read path, read it once
• Fail fast if no context exists — suggest /build-context

Reference

• .agents/skills/build-context/SKILL.md — creates context files (tiered)
• .agents/skills/update-context/SKILL.md — lightweight update of project context