catchup

Catchup — Resume Work After Time Away

Analyze recent project activity and provide a narrative summary of where the developer left off.

Usage

• /catchup — Last 7 days (default)
• /catchup 3 — Last 3 days
• /catchup 14 — Last 2 weeks
• /catchup 30 — Last month

Instructions

Parse the argument as number of days. Default to 7 if not provided.

Step 0: Detect Time Since Last Activity

git log -1 --format="%cr (%ci)"   # e.g. "14 days ago (2026-01-27 15:30:00 +0100)"
git stash list                     # check for stashed work
git branch -a --sort=-committerdate | head -10  # recently active branches

• If last activity is older than the requested window, auto-expand the window to include it. Cap at 60 days max. Note: "No activity in the last N days. Last commit was X days ago — expanding window."
• Always lead the summary with: "Last activity: X days ago (date)"
• If stashes exist, note them prominently — they often represent interrupted work.
• If non-master branches were recently active, note them — they may represent in-progress features.

Step 1: Find Active Specs & Plans (Highest Priority)

Use the Glob tool (NOT git log with ** globs — those are unreliable on Windows) to find spec/plan files:

Glob: **/spec.md, **/tasks.md, **/plan.md, **/requirements.md

Then for each file found, check if it was modified within the window:

git log -1 --format="%ai" -- <filepath>

Only read files modified within the (possibly expanded) window. Do not read all spec/plan files in the repo — that wastes context.

For each relevant file:

tasks.md (implementation tasks):

1. Read the full file
2. Count [x] (done) vs [ ] (pending) checkboxes
3. Identify in-progress task groups (some checked, some not)
4. List actual uncompleted task descriptions

spec.md with [ ] items (acceptance criteria — NOT implementation tasks):

1. Read the file
2. Count checked/unchecked acceptance criteria
3. Cross-reference with recent commits — if criteria appear implemented but unchecked, note the discrepancy: "Acceptance criteria appear implemented based on commits but not checked off in spec."
4. Label these as "Acceptance Criteria", not "Tasks"

plan.md without checkboxes (numbered headings or prose):

1. Read the file
2. Cross-reference numbered tasks/headings with commit history to infer completion
3. Report inferred completion status

Step 2: Gather Git Activity

# Recent commits — cap at 15, note total count if more
git log --since="$DAYS days ago" --oneline --all | head -15

# Total commit count (for "...and N more")
git log --since="$DAYS days ago" --oneline --all | wc -l

# Current branch
git branch --show-current

Step 3: Check Uncommitted Work

git status --short
git diff --stat

Step 4: Present the Summary

Always include these sections regardless of tier:

• Last activity line at the top
• Stashes (if any)
• Active branches (if non-master branches have recent activity)
• What Was Happening — a 2-4 sentence narrative synthesizing the work, even in Tier 1
• Likely Next Steps — inferred from evidence

If specs/plans were found (Tier 1):

## Catchup Summary (last N days)

**Last activity:** X days ago (date)
**Branch:** <branch> | Working tree: <clean/N changes>
**Stashes:** <none or list>
**Active branches:** <master only, or list others with last commit date>

### What Was Happening
<2-4 sentence narrative synthesizing the work direction, grouped by theme/feature>

### Active Specs & Plans

📋 **<Spec/Plan Title>** (from first heading)
   <path/>
   Tasks: X/Y completed (Z%)

   **In-progress: <Task Group Name> (A/B)**
   - [ ] Actual uncompleted task description
   - [ ] Another uncompleted task

   **Not started: <Task Group Name> (0/C)**
   - [ ] Task description

📋 **<Spec Title>** — Acceptance Criteria
   <path/>
   Criteria: 0/6 checked (but appear implemented — verify manually)
   - [ ] Criteria description
   - [ ] Criteria description

📋 **<Another Spec>** ✓ Complete
   All N/N tasks done.

### Recent Commits
- <hash> <message> *(date)*
- ...
- (...and N more)

### Likely Next Steps
<Inferred from uncompleted tasks, commit patterns, and branch state>

### Uncommitted Changes
<git status output or "(none)">

If NO specs/plans found (Tier 2) — deeper git analysis:

## Catchup Summary (last N days)

**Last activity:** X days ago (date)
**Branch:** <branch> | Working tree: <clean/N changes>
**Stashes:** <none or list>

### What Was Happening
<2-4 sentence narrative>

### Focus Areas (grouped by feature/theme from commit messages)
- **<Feature/Area>** (N commits) — description of what was being built
- **<Feature/Area>** (N commits) — description

### Recent Commits
- <hash> <message> *(date)*
- ...

### Likely Next Steps
<Inferred from patterns>

### Uncommitted Changes
<git status output or "(none)">

If NO commits AND no specs (Tier 3):

## Catchup Summary (last N days)

**Last activity:** X days ago (date)

No commits found in the last N days.

### Uncommitted Changes
<git status/diff output — analyze what's in progress>

If completely clean (Tier 4):

## Catchup Summary (last N days)

No activity found in the last N days. Working tree is clean.
Last commit: <hash> <message> (<relative date>)

Key Principles

• Specs and plans are the highest signal — always check for them first
• Show actual uncompleted task text — not just "3 remaining", show what they are
• Distinguish tasks from acceptance criteria — tasks.md [ ] = implementation tasks; spec.md [ ] = acceptance criteria. Label differently. If criteria appear implemented (based on commits) but unchecked, say so
• Handle plans without checkboxes — infer completion from commit history when plan uses numbered headings instead of [x]/[ ] syntax
• Always include narrative synthesis — even in Tier 1, add a "What Was Happening" section grouping work by theme
• Cap commit lists at 15 — show count of remaining. Group by theme in the narrative, not the raw list
• Use Glob tool for file discovery — do not use git log -- "**/*.md" glob patterns (unreliable on Windows)
• Only read recently modified specs — do not load all specs in the repo. Check modification date first
• Check stashes and branches — these reveal interrupted and in-progress work invisible in commits
• Auto-expand window, cap at 60 days — if no activity in requested window, expand to last commit but never beyond 60 days
• Lead with temporal orientation — "Last activity: X days ago" is always the first line
• Infer next steps from evidence — uncompleted tasks, recent focus areas, branch state