Brief

---
name: brief
description: Returns a 5-line executive summary of recent work. Checks active session first, falls back to latest report. Activates on messages like "brief", "what happened", "morning update", "overnight summary".
---
# Session Brief

Provide a concise executive summary of recent session activity. Designed for morning check-ins, phone/channel consumption, and quick status updates.

## Always-On Delivery Rule

If `config.always_on` is `true` and channels are configured, send all operator-facing output via the configured channel — the terminal is unmonitored in always-on mode. In interactive mode, output to terminal. This applies to all flags below.

## Flags

### --morning (routine mode)

**Delivery:** After composing the brief, deliver it to the operator (see Always-On Delivery Rule above).

Emphasize forward-looking content:
- Read `.claude-code-hermit/cost-summary.md` for cost context. Include: "Yesterday: $X.XX (12.3K tokens) across N sessions" — read the Date, Cost, and Tokens columns from the trend table for yesterday's row.
- Pending proposals needing review
- OPERATOR.md priorities
- If `config.always_on` is `true`: what happened overnight (activity since evening routine)
- If `config.always_on` is `false`: frame as "here's where things stand" rather than "what happened overnight"
- What's queued (NEXT-TASK.md, open proposals)
- If auto-memory seems sparse (new instance, fresh machine), read the latest S-NNN-REPORT.md for context recovery

<!-- keep in sync with plugins/claude-code-homeassistant-hermit/skills/ha-morning-brief/SKILL.md step 9a — same MP lifecycle protocol -->
After composing the morning brief, check `state/micro-proposals.json → pending` for entries with `status: "pending"`:
- If **one or more** pending entries with `follow_up_count` of 0: append each as a final line: `MP-YYYYMMDD-N (tier N): [question]` — Reply `"MP-YYYYMMDD-N yes"` or `"MP-YYYYMMDD-N no"`. (Bare `yes`/`no` accepted when only one pending.)
- For any entry with `follow_up_count` of 1: append with softer framing: "Still waiting on MP-YYYYMMDD-N: [question] — ignore again to drop it". Increment `follow_up_count` to 2.
- For any entry with `follow_up_count` >= 2: read `question` first, then set `status: "expired"`, remove from `pending`. Append `micro-resolved` event via `append-metrics.js` with `"action":"expired","question":"<question>"`. Do not resurrect unless fresh evidence accumulates from scratch.
- If no pending entries: brief ends without a decision prompt.

### --evening (routine mode)

**Delivery:** After composing the brief, deliver it to the operator (see Always-On Delivery Rule above).

Emphasize backward-looking content:
- Sessions completed today (scan S-NNN reports with today's date in frontmatter `date` field, or `## Summary` for pre-Observatory reports, plus current SHELL.md progress log)
- Read `.claude-code-hermit/cost-summary.md` for today's cost and token total. If the summary is stale (its frontmatter `updated` date is not today), the cost-tracker will regenerate it on the next interaction — use the trend table's today row (Cost and Tokens columns) or fall back to scanning reports.
- Key findings or patterns noticed
- What to look at tomorrow
- After generating summary: if SHELL.md Status is `in_progress` or has progress entries since last report, note it in the brief (e.g., "Session still open — run /session-close to archive.") and let the operator close explicitly. Idle transitions are owned by the `session` skill and `session-mgr`; brief does not trigger them.

### No flag (default)

Current behavior — general purpose summary as described below.

## Plan

1. Check if `.claude-code-hermit/sessions/SHELL.md` exists:
   - If Status is `in_progress`: summarize the active task (existing behavior below)
   - If Status is `idle` (session between tasks): format as:
     ```
     [Brief] YYYY-MM-DD | idle | N tasks completed
     Session: since [start date]
     Last: [latest Session Summary entry] — [status]
     Cumulative: $X.XX (12.3K tokens) across N tasks
     Status: Idle — ready for what's next
     ```
     Then check for auto-detected proposals (step after Output Format) and return.
2. If no active session: find the most recent `.claude-code-hermit/sessions/S-*-REPORT.md` (sort by filename, take the highest number):
   - If found: summarize that report
3. If neither exists: respond "No session history yet. Run `/claude-code-hermit:session` to start."

## Output Format

Keep the output to 5 lines, plus an optional 6th line for pending proposals (see Rules below):

```
[Brief] YYYY-MM-DD | [tags if present]
Working on: one-line description
Status: completed/partial/blocked (X/Y tasks) | $cost spent (12.3K tokens)
Done: step1, step2, step3
Next: description of next action (or "Session complete" if all done)
```

## Rules

- Never exceed 6 lines total (5 content lines + optional proposal line) — this is designed for phone/channel consumption
- Use the session's date, not today's date
- Include tags in the header only if they exist
- For the "Done" line: list completed task subjects from `TaskList`, comma-separated. If too many, show first 3 and "+ N more"
- For the "Next" line: show the first pending or in_progress task from `TaskList`. If blocked, show "Blocked: reason"
- If summarizing a completed report: "Next" becomes the report's "Next Start Point" content
- After composing the 5-line output: scan `.claude-code-hermit/proposals/` for files with `source: auto-detected` and `status: proposed` (read from YAML frontmatter if present, fall back to bullet metadata). If any exist, append a 6th line: `Proposals: N auto-detected proposal(s) pending review`

## Daily Summary Format

When invoked with "brief today", "daily summary", or "what happened today":

Scan all session reports archived today (match `date` in YAML frontmatter, or `Date` in `## Summary` for pre-Observatory reports) plus the current SHELL.md progress log. Read `.claude-code-hermit/cost-summary.md` for aggregated cost data. Format as a day-level summary covering: work done, cost, and proposals created/resolved.