Context Anchor Skill

Helps agents recover context after compaction by scanning memory files and generating a "here's where you are" briefing.

Why This Exists

Context compaction loses memory. Files survive. But after waking up fresh, you need to:

1. Know what you were working on
2. See decisions that were made
3. Find open loops that need closing
4. Get oriented fast

This skill automates that recovery.

Quick Start

# Full briefing (default)
./scripts/anchor.sh

# Just show current task
./scripts/anchor.sh --task

# Just show active context files
./scripts/anchor.sh --active

# Just show recent decisions
./scripts/anchor.sh --decisions

# Show open loops / questions
./scripts/anchor.sh --loops

# Scan specific number of days back
./scripts/anchor.sh --days 3

What It Scans

Output Format

The script outputs a structured briefing:

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                    CONTEXT ANCHOR
              Where You Left Off
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

📋 CURRENT TASK
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[Contents of memory/current-task.md or "No current task set"]

📂 ACTIVE CONTEXT FILES
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
• context/active/project-name.md (updated 2h ago)
  └─ First line preview...

🎯 RECENT DECISIONS (last 2 days)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[2026-01-30] Decision: Use Cloudflare Pages for hosting
[2026-01-30] ✅ Completed email capture setup

❓ OPEN LOOPS
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[2026-01-30] Need to enable SFTP on NAS
[2026-01-30] TODO: Create Product Hunt account

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Integration with AGENTS.md

Add to your "Every Session" routine:

## Every Session

Before doing anything else:
1. Run `./skills/context-anchor/scripts/anchor.sh` for orientation
2. Read `SOUL.md` — this is who you are
3. Read `USER.md` — this is who you're helping
...

Or use it manually when you feel lost about context.

Customization

Change workspace root

WORKSPACE=/path/to/workspace ./scripts/anchor.sh

Change days to scan

./scripts/anchor.sh --days 5  # Scan 5 days back

No Dependencies

Pure bash. Uses only:

• find, grep, head, tail, date, stat
• Works on macOS and Linux
• No external tools required

When to Use

• Session start: Quick orientation on what's happening
• After compaction: Recover lost context
• Feeling lost: "Wait, what was I doing?"
• Handoff: Show another agent where things stand
• Daily review: See what decisions were made