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:

Know what you were working on

See decisions that were made

Find open loops that need closing

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

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What It Scans

Source

What It Extracts

memory/current-task.md	Current task status, blockers, next steps
memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md	Recent daily logs (last 2 days by default)
context/active/*.md	In-progress task files
Daily logs	Decisions (lines with "Decision:", "Decided:", "✅")
Daily logs	Open loops (lines with "?", "TODO:", "Blocker:", "Need to")

---

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

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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