checkpoint

Productivity

Mid-session save point: create a descriptive git commit and a brief handoff note, then keep working. Use before a risky change or refactor, when switching tasks, or to bank progress without ending the session. Triggers on: /checkpoint, "checkpoint", "save progress", "commit and handoff", "save state", "pause here", "before a risky change". For the full end-of-session ritual with learning extraction, use /wrap-up instead.

QUICK START

How to use this skill

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Prompt to paste

I want to install this Agent Skill for this project in Codex.

Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit/blob/HEAD/skills/checkpoint/SKILL.md

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/checkpoint

What

A quick mid-session save that banks the known-good state in two moves:

Descriptive git commit — stage relevant changes and commit with a message that summarizes the work.
Brief handoff note — write .claude/handoff.md so a resumed session (or you, after a botched refactor) knows exactly where things stand.

Checkpoint is the mid-session save; /wrap-up is the end-of-session ritual. Checkpoint commits and jots a note, then keeps working. Wrap-up does the full handoff plus learning extraction into MEMORY.md.

When

Before a risky refactor or destructive change — checkpoint the known-good state
When switching to a different task or feature mid-session
After completing a logical unit of work — bank it
User says "checkpoint", "save progress", "save state", "pause here"
If the session is actually ending, use /wrap-up for the full ritual

How

Assess state — git status and git diff to see staged and unstaged changes.
Stage changes — Stage specific files; never git add -A. Exclude generated files, build artifacts, and secrets (.env, credentials).
Commit — Descriptive message following the repo's commit style (conventional prefixes: feat:, fix:, refactor:). New commit, never amend. If there is nothing to commit, skip to the handoff.
Write handoff note — .claude/handoff.md, same format as /wrap-up but abbreviated: Completed, Pending (with specific next steps), Learned (only if something non-obvious surfaced), and Context (branch + commit hash). One file, always overwritten.
Confirm — Report the commit hash and the handoff summary, then resume work.

Safety Rules

Never push, force-push, or touch remote branches
Never commit secrets
Never amend — a checkpoint is a new commit you can return to
No changes to commit? Update the handoff only

Example

User: /checkpoint — about to try the EF Core split-query refactor

Claude: 3 files modified, 1 new.

  Commit a1b2c3d: "feat: add CreateOrder validation with FluentValidation"
  - src/Orders/Features/CreateOrder.cs
  - src/Orders/Features/CreateOrderValidator.cs (new)
  - tests/Orders.Tests/Features/CreateOrderTests.cs

  Handoff updated (.claude/handoff.md):
  ## Completed
  - [x] CreateOrder validation + 3 test scenarios
  ## Pending
  - [ ] Split-query refactor in GetOrderDetails (about to attempt)
  ## Context
  - Branch: feature/order-validation | Checkpoint: a1b2c3d

  Checkpoint saved — safe to proceed with the risky refactor.

/wrap-up — End-of-session ritual: full handoff format definition plus learning extraction into MEMORY.md
/build-fix — Get the build green before checkpointing

Other versions