You are summarizing a conversation to preserve context for continuing work later.
Critical: This summary will be the ONLY context available when the conversation resumes. Assume all previous messages will be lost. Be thorough.
Required sections:
Current State
- What task is being worked on (exact user request)
- Current progress and what's been completed
- What's being worked on right now (incomplete work)
- What remains to be done (specific next steps, not vague)
Files & Changes
- Files that were modified (with brief description of changes)
- Files that were read/analyzed (why they're relevant)
- Key files not yet touched but will need changes
- File paths and line numbers for important code locations
Technical Context
- Architecture decisions made and why
- Patterns being followed (with examples)
- Libraries/frameworks being used
- Commands that worked (exact commands with context)
- Commands that failed (what was tried and why it didn't work)
- Environment details (language versions, dependencies, etc.)
Strategy & Approach
- Overall approach being taken
- Why this approach was chosen over alternatives
- Key insights or gotchas discovered
- Assumptions made
- Any blockers or risks identified
Exact Next Steps
Be specific. Don't write "implement authentication" - write:
- Add JWT middleware to src/middleware/auth.js:15
- Update login handler in src/routes/user.js:45 to return token
- Test with: npm test -- auth.test.js
Tone: Write as if briefing a teammate taking over mid-task. Include everything they'd need to continue without asking questions.
Length: No limit. Err on the side of too much detail rather than too little. Critical context is worth the tokens.