From alive
Loads context for named or mentioned walnuts (projects/ventures/experiments) by reading _kernel/key.md, now.json, insights.md; resolves people, active bundles, surfaces observations and next steps. Lists available walnuts if none named.
npx claudepluginhub alivecontext/alive --plugin aliveThis skill uses the workspace's default tool permissions.
Load a walnut. See where things are. Work.
Renders live dashboard of projects grouped by ALIVE domain, showing active, stale, attention items from WORLD_INDEX or .alive/_index.yaml. Routes to open, tidy, find, history, map; checks inbox, unsigned items via bash/python.
Recalls project context via ctx CLI: loads context packet, reads TASKS.md/DECISIONS.md, lists recent sessions, presents structured readback of last session, active tasks, recent decisions, next steps. For memory questions or session starts.
Guides Next.js Cache Components and Partial Prerendering (PPR): 'use cache' directives, cacheLife(), cacheTag(), revalidateTag() for caching, invalidation, static/dynamic optimization. Auto-activates on cacheComponents: true.
Share bugs, ideas, or general feedback.
Load a walnut. See where things are. Work.
Default: single-walnut focus. But people involved are loaded automatically (frontmatter only) — you can't work on a venture without knowing who's in it.
Show available walnuts as a numbered list grouped by domain:
╭─ 🐿️ pick a walnut
│
│ Life
│ 1. identity active Mars visa application
│ 2. health quiet Sleep study results
│
│ Ventures
│ 3. nova-station active Orbital test window
│ 4. paper-lantern quiet Menu redesign
│
│ Experiments
│ 5. midnight-frequency active Episode 12 edit
│ 6. glass-cathedral waiting Decide: gallery or festival
│
│ ▸ Number to load, or name one.
╰─
Read these three files. That's it — everything you need to orient.
_kernel/key.md — full file (identity, people, links, rhythm)_kernel/now.json — full file (phase, next action, bundle statuses with task summaries, recent sessions, nested walnut state, blockers, context paragraph)_kernel/insights.md — frontmatter only (what domain knowledge sections exist)DO NOT read any other files at this stage. No log.md. No bundle manifests. No tasks files. No squirrel entries. All of that data is already in now.json — the projection script aggregated it. Reading source files at load wastes context window on data you already have.
Inbox triage (background): After reading the brief pack, check if 03_Inbox/ has items (ls 03_Inbox/ 2>/dev/null). If yes, dispatch a background triage agent (same spec as in the world skill — reads items, tags type/destination/priority, returns structured report). Don't wait for it — continue with people resolution and the Spark. Results arrive while you work.
Show > reads as you go:
> _kernel/key.md Lock-in Lab — launching, weekly rhythm, 3 people
> _kernel/now.json Phase: launching. Bundle: official-launch. Next: Draft PCM essay.
Active bundles: 2 (official-launch: 1 urgent, 18 todo; research: 4 todo)
Blockers: none. Recent: 3 sessions.
> _kernel/insights.md 4 domain knowledge sections
Backward compat fallback chain:
_kernel/now.json (v3)_kernel/_generated/now.json (v2)now.md at walnut root or _core/now.md (v1)If a legacy format is found, surface the upgrade warning before continuing:
╭─ 🐿️ this walnut is on an older version
│ Found v2 state at _kernel/_generated/now.json.
│ The system works but projections, tasks, and world speed are degraded.
│
│ ▸ Run /alive:system-upgrade to migrate.
╰─
If NOTHING is found, the walnut has no state — read _kernel/log.md as last resort.
Extract and display from now.json's structure:
next is an object with action, bundle, and why fieldschildren field, show any child walnut state worth notingAfter loading the brief pack, resolve key.md people: to person walnuts. For each person listed, read their person walnut's _kernel/key.md frontmatter only — name, role, tags, last updated, rhythm. This is lightweight (3-5 small reads) and always happens.
> people/ryn-okata/key.md engineering lead, updated 2 days ago
> people/jax-stellara/key.md vendor contact, updated 22 days ago !
> people/orion-vex/key.md systems architect, updated 5 days ago
If any person has relevant recent activity — a dispatch routed from another session, a stash note tagged to this walnut, or staleness worth flagging — surface it:
╭─ 🐿️ people
│ Ryn Okata — engineering lead, updated 2 days ago
│ Dispatch from [[heavy-revive]]: "prefers async comms"
│ Jax Stellara — vendor contact, 22 days ago !
│ Last interaction was pre-testing phase — context may be stale
│ Orion Vex — systems architect, updated 5 days ago
│ 3 stash items routed here from session c2f8e7f2
│
│ ▸ Deep load anyone?
│ 1. Load Orion's routed stash
│ 2. Load all people context (now.json + recent log)
│ 3. Just the summary above
╰─
If no relevant activity: Show the summary inline with the brief pack reads. No separate prompt — keep it lightweight.
Resolving people to walnuts: Match people: names against 02_Life/people/ folder names (kebab-case). Legacy person walnuts at 02_Life/people/ are still recognized. If no walnut exists for a person, note it but don't flag — not everyone needs a person walnut.
If now.json has a bundle: field pointing to an active bundle, offer to deep-load it. The brief pack already told you the bundle name, status, task counts, and urgency — this tier gives you the full working context.
╭─ 🐿️ active bundle: shielding-review
│ Status: draft (v0.3)
│ Goal: Evaluate radiation shielding vendors
│ 2 active sessions: squirrel:a8c95e9 (working on v0.3)
│ 3 tasks open, 1 in progress
│
│ ▸ Load bundle context?
│ 1. Deep load (manifest + live tasks)
│ 2. Just the summary above
│ 3. Switch to a different bundle
╰─
Deep load reads:
bundles/{name}/context.manifest.yaml — full file (context, changelog, work log, session history)tasks.py list --walnut {path} --bundle {name} — call the script for the detailed task view. Do NOT read tasks.json directly; the script is the interface.active_sessions: entry to the bundle's context.manifest.yaml — claim this session so other agents know you're here.If active_sessions: shows another agent is working on this bundle, warn:
╭─ 🐿️ heads up
│ squirrel:a8c95e9 is currently working on v0.3 of this bundle.
│ Coordinate or work on something else to avoid conflicts.
╰─
One observation before asking what to work on. Fires after the load sequence, grounded in the context just loaded.
The brief pack gives you everything: phase, bundles, tasks, blockers, recent sessions, nested walnuts. Find something worth noticing — a blocker that's been sitting, a bundle with no recent sessions, a next action that's overdue, a pattern across task counts.
╭─ 🐿️ spotted
│ The official-launch bundle has 1 urgent task but no sessions
│ in 4 days. The PCM essay draft might be blocking everything else.
╰─
If there's not enough context for a genuine observation, skip it. An obvious one is worse than none.
After the Spotted observation, prompt with bundle awareness:
╭─ 🐿️ nova-station
│ Goal: Build the first civilian orbital tourism platform
│ Phase: testing
│ Next: Review telemetry from test window
│ Bundle: shielding-review (draft, draft-02)
│
│ ▸ What are you working on?
│ 1. Continue from next (review telemetry)
│ 2. Continue bundle (shielding-review)
│ 3. Start something new (creates bundle)
│ 4. Go deeper (log history, linked walnuts, full insights)
│ 5. Just chat
If the human picks "start something new" -> invoke alive:bundle (create operation).
If no active bundle exists, show options 1, 3, 4, 5 only (skip option 2).
If the Bundle Prompt section is used, skip this. This section remains for backward compatibility with walnuts that don't use bundles.
╭─ 🐿️ nova-station
│ Goal: Build the first civilian orbital tourism platform
│ Phase: testing
│ Next: Review telemetry from test window
│
│ ▸ What to work on?
│ 1. Continue from next (review telemetry)
│ 2. Load full context (log entries, linked walnuts)
│ 3. Just chat
╰─
"Continue from next" — jump straight into the next action. "Load full context" — reads log frontmatter, recent entries, expands linked walnuts. "Just chat" — freestyle, the squirrel loads more later if needed.
If another walnut becomes relevant during work ("this references [[glass-cathedral]]"), ask before loading it. The primary walnut stays focused.
╭─ 🐿️ cross-reference
│ This mentions [[glass-cathedral]]. Load its context?
│
│ ▸ How much?
│ 1. Frontmatter only (quick scan)
│ 2. Full brief pack
│ 3. Skip
╰─
The default is single-walnut focus. But alive:load-context walnut-a walnut-b is valid for cross-walnut sessions:
_kernel/key.md frontmatter + _kernel/now.json only. Enough to reference, not enough to distract.This is rare. Most cross-walnut context comes naturally from the people tier (Tier 2) — loading a venture automatically gives you lightweight context on everyone involved.