Gut Sync

---
name: gut-sync
description: 'Use when a user resumes work and needs an orientation card without full human recall; returns a small card of shape, invariants, and smell locations. Not for packaging context for another agent or session — use handoff; never source or remote-system changes.'
---

# Gut sync

## Contract

| Field | Bound contract |
|---|---|
| Trigger | User resumes work and needs an orientation card without full human recall. |
| Authority | Read-only. No file, VCS, credential, paid, published, deployed, or remote mutation. |
| Side effect | Reads current workspace state, recent artifacts, and session context only. |
| Done | A small orientation card is returned containing shape, invariants, and smell locations. |

## Inputs

- Current workspace directory to orient on (must be supplied).
- Optional: session or handoff notes, plan/todo files, or recent artifacts the user points at. When absent, recover what is reachable from the workspace alone.

## Procedure

1. Bound scope to read-only inspection of the current workspace directory and any session or handoff notes the user supplies. Do not open files outside that scope. Done when: scope is bounded to the supplied workspace directory and user-named notes, and no file outside that scope is opened.
2. List the workspace tree depth-limited and read the most recently modified files, any plan/todo/handoff notes, and reachable session context to recover what work was in flight. Done when: the workspace tree is listed depth-limited, the most recently modified files are read, and any plan/todo/handoff notes and session context are read or confirmed absent.
3. Derive the shape: name the active work unit, its current state, and the next intended action. Done when: the shape names the active work unit, its current state, and the next intended action, each sourced from workspace reads or marked unknown.
4. Derive the invariants: list constraints, contracts, or rules the work must not violate. Done when: the invariants list names every constraint, contract, or rule the work must not violate, each sourced from workspace reads or marked unknown.
5. Derive the smell locations: point at files or areas where decay, drift, risk, or unfinished work is concentrated. Done when: the smell locations point at specific files or areas where decay, drift, risk, or unfinished work is concentrated, each sourced from workspace reads or marked unknown.
6. Assemble the orientation card from steps 3-5 only. Mark any field that could not be recovered as unknown rather than guessing. Done when: the orientation card is assembled from the shape, invariants, and smell locations only, and every field that could not be recovered is marked unknown rather than guessed.

## Failure and recovery
- Empty or unreadable workspace: return a card stating the workspace yielded no recoverable state; do not fabricate shape, invariants, or smells.
- Missing session context: mark the unrecoverable fields as unknown and return the partial card with gaps labeled.
- No mutation occurs, so no rollback is needed.
- Blocked result: a card whose every field is unknown, with the reason stated.

## Output
A small orientation card with three sections - Shape, Invariants, Smell locations - each populated from workspace reads or marked unknown.