Resume Development Work

Quickly get back into context after a break. Use this to resume work on an existing feature or branch.

Mindset: Resuming requires understanding assumptions made and verifying context is complete. Apply /pb-preamble thinking: challenge what was decided and why. Apply /pb-design-rules thinking: is the code clear, simple, and robust?

Resource Hint: sonnet - context recovery, state assessment, health check

Modes

/pb-resume             → Standard (default): git state, sync, load context, health check
/pb-resume deep        → Deep: standard + verify/regenerate stale layers + run tests

When to use deep: After long breaks (days/weeks), picking up someone else’s work, or when standard mode flags stale context layers.

Standard Mode (Default)

Step 1: Check Current State

git branch --show-current
git status
git log --oneline -5
git stash list

Step 2: Sync with Remote

git fetch origin
git log --oneline HEAD..origin/main

If main has moved ahead, review what changed before rebasing:

git log --oneline HEAD..origin/main    # What you missed
git diff origin/main...HEAD            # Your full branch diff
git rebase origin/main

Step 3: Review Recent Work

git log origin/main..HEAD --oneline    # Branch commits
git diff                                # Uncommitted changes
git diff --staged                       # Staged changes

Step 4: Load Session State + Context Health Check

Load session state:

cat todos/1-working-context.md         # Project snapshot
cat todos/pause-notes.md               # Where you left off

If pause notes exist: Follow documented next steps, verify blockers resolved.

Context health check — report actual sizes:

wc -l ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md              # Global (target: ~140)
wc -l .claude/CLAUDE.md                # Project (target: ~160)
# memory/MEMORY.md                     # Auto-loaded (target: ~100)
wc -l todos/1-working-context.md       # Working context (target: ~50)
wc -l todos/pause-notes.md             # Pause notes (target: ~30)

Flag issues:

• Working context version doesn’t match git describe --tags → stale, consider /pb-resume deep
• Pause notes has multiple entries → old entries should have been archived by /pb-pause
• Any layer missing → run the appropriate regeneration command

Deep Mode

Run standard mode first, then continue with these steps.

Step 5: Verify and Regenerate Context Layers

Check each layer for staleness and regenerate as needed:

git describe --tags                    # Current version

• Working context stale (version mismatch) → run /pb-context
• Project CLAUDE.md stale (structural changes since last update) → run /pb-claude-project
• Global CLAUDE.md stale (playbook version changed) → run /pb-claude-global

Step 6: Verify Baseline

# Run project tests (adapt to your project)
python3 -m pytest tests/ -q            # or: make test, npm test, go test ./...

# Verify CI status
gh run list --limit 1

Confirm baseline is green before starting new work.

Recovery Checklist

Before continuing work:

• On correct branch
• Branch is up to date with main
• Checked pause notes
• Understand what was last done
• Know what’s next
• Working context is current

Quick Commands

If Completely Lost

git branch -a                          # What branches exist?
git reflog | head -20                  # What branch was I on?
git log --all --oneline --graph -20    # What work exists?
cat todos/pause-notes.md               # Any breadcrumbs?

Related Commands

• /pb-start - Begin work on a new feature or fix
• /pb-pause - Gracefully pause work and preserve context
• /pb-cycle - Self-review and peer review during development

Context is expensive to rebuild. Leave breadcrumbs for future you.