mecris-archive

mecris-archive

State serialization skill for the Mecris accountability system. Runs last in every session. Makes the next instance — which wakes with zero memory — whole again.

When to Activate

• After work is complete (or as complete as it's going to get this run)
• Before stopping, always — even if nothing worked
• When the user says "archive", "wrap up", "save state", "we're done", "/mecris-archive"

Slash Command

/mecris-archive

Runs the full archive workflow:

1. Determine completion status — did the work match the plan? fully, partially, or not at all?
2. Close the plan issue with a completion comment
3. Rewrite NEXT_SESSION.md to reflect current reality
4. Append a dated entry to SESSION_LOG
5. Commit all three with a consistent message
6. Stop

Usage: Type /mecris-archive when the work is done. Always runs, even on failure.

Step 1 — Close the Plan Issue

Find the open [plan] issue created this session and close it with a comment:

## ✅ Complete / ⚠️ Partial / ❌ Did not complete

**What happened**: {one paragraph — what was actually done, not what was planned}

**Diverged from spec**: {yes/no — if yes, explain what changed and why}

**Unfinished**: {anything from the plan that didn't get done — carried forward to NEXT_SESSION.md}

**Validation**: {did the validation criterion from the plan pass? cite evidence — test output, git log, issue number}

Use the honest status icon. Partial is not failure — it is accurate.

Step 2 — Rewrite NEXT_SESSION.md

NEXT_SESSION.md is the state noun. It must reflect reality after this session, not before.

Structure:

# Next Session: {one-line description of the most pressing pending item}

## Current Status ({TODAY'S DATE})
{2-5 bullet points describing what is true right now — not aspirations, facts}

## Verified This Session
{Items that were confirmed working — with [x] checkboxes}

## Pending Verification (Next Session)
{Items that need checking — specific, testable, with enough context to act without reading anything else}

## Infrastructure Notes
{Anything about the running system that is non-obvious — cron status, disabled features, schema changes}

Rules:

• Every pending item must be specific enough to act on cold
• If something was verified, move it to Verified — do not leave it in Pending
• If something new was discovered, add it to Pending
• Date the status block with today's date so staleness is visible

Step 3 — Append to SESSION_LOG

Append (do not overwrite) a dated entry:

## {DATE} — {one-line summary of what was done}

**Planned**: {what the plan issue said}
**Done**: {what actually happened}
**Skipped**: {what didn't happen and why}
**Next**: {the single most important thing for the next session}

Step 4 — Commit

git add NEXT_SESSION.md SESSION_LOG scripts/bot-prompt.txt
git commit -m "archive({DATE}): {one-line summary}

Plan: #{issue_number}
Status: complete|partial|incomplete
Next: {most pressing pending item}"

Handling Partial Completion

If the bot ran out of turns, the work failed, or scope expanded mid-run:

• Do not pretend success — the plan issue closes with ⚠️ or ❌
• Carry forward explicitly — every unfinished item goes into Pending with enough context to resume cold
• Record why — one sentence in the SESSION_LOG Skipped field
• Still commit — a partial archive is infinitely better than no archive

The integrity of the loop depends on honesty here. The next instance will trust what it reads.

Notes

• Archive commits on behalf of the bot identity (mecris-bot <mecris-bot@noreply>) — git config is already set in the workflow
• Push is handled by the workflow's final step — archive does not push
• No Plan Issue?: If no plan issue exists, DO NOT create a "placeholder" or "retro" issue unless you actually modified code or reached a significant technical milestone that needs recording. If you just oriented and did nothing, just update NEXT_SESSION.md and stop.
• SESSION_LOG lives at session_log.md in the repo root