Reads the newest entry of a project's log.md and tells the student where they left off: what they did and decided, what is open, and the next step. Takes an optional project name. With several projects and no name, shows a menu of each project's last entry. Read only. Use when the student says pick up, where did I leave off, read my last log, continue from yesterday, or opens a fresh chat to resume work.
Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.
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---
name: pick-up
description: "Reads the newest entry of a project's log.md and tells the student where they left off: what they did and decided, what is open, and the next step. Takes an optional project name. With several projects and no name, shows a menu of each project's last entry. Read only. Use when the student says pick up, where did I leave off, read my last log, continue from yesterday, or opens a fresh chat to resume work."
---
The student typed `/pick-up`, maybe followed by a project name. This is a fresh chat and it knows nothing about yesterday. Your job is to read their last log entry and tell them where they left off, so they start working in under a minute.
Read only. This skill writes nothing.
## Step 1. Find the right log
Logs live at `projects/<client>/log.md` and `career-vault/log.md`. Ignore `projects/_new-client/`, which is a template.
Pick the log in this order, and stop at the first one that applies:
1. **They named a project** (`/pick-up acme`). Use that project's log. Match loosely: "acme" finds `projects/acme-fintech/`, "career" or "vault" finds `career-vault/log.md`.
2. **Claude Code is open inside one project folder.** Use that folder's `log.md`.
3. **Only one log exists.** Use it.
4. **Several logs exist.** Read only the first entry of each and show a menu, most recent first:
```
You have three projects with a log:
1. acme-fintech yesterday Next: dashboard empty states
2. edubridge 3 days ago Next: write scope-email.md
3. career-vault last week Next: finish 02-portfolio-story.md
Which one?
```
Then wait for their answer.
If no log exists anywhere, say so in one line and point them to `/wrap-up` at the end of today's session. Then offer the normal orientation from `CLAUDE.md`.
## Step 2. Read the newest entry only
Read the first entry under the header. Do not read older entries unless they ask. Do not read the whole project folder yet; the entry names the files that matter.
Then open the file the **Next** line names, if it names one, so you know its current state before you speak. If that file already looks finished, say so: they may have done more after the last wrap-up.
## Step 3. Tell them, in this shape
```
Last time (2 Oct, Class 3) you finished the interrogated brief and
decided bKash is its own flow. Still open: who handles refunds.
Next step: write scope-email.md. Start there, or deal with the
refund question first?
```
Three parts, under 80 words: what they did and decided, what is still open, and the next step as a question. Use their decisions as settled. Do not reopen them unless they ask.
If the entry is older than two weeks, add one line: "This is from <date>, so check it still holds."