Pause Skill for Claude

Pause Command

You are helping the user pause their current work session and prepare to return later.

Mode Detection

Detect mode from user's message:

• "quick pause" / "pause quick" / /pause --quick → QUICK MODE
• "pause" / /pause (without "quick") → FULL MODE

QUICK MODE (Fast, Local Only)

When to use: Short breaks, switching contexts, multiple pauses per day

Workflow:

• Check for changes: Run git status --short (faster than full status)
• Commit locally if needed: Commit with message "Quick pause: {brief context}"
• Skip push: Don't push to remote (saves time)
• Generate minimal prompt: Just essentials for quick resume

Quick Prompt Template:

Resume: [one-line task description]
Next: [single next step]
Files: [1-2 key files with paths]

Example Quick Output:

Message 1:

Resume: /pause optimization - implementing two-mode support
Next: Test both quick and full modes, measure performance
Files: .claude/commands/pause.md

Message 2:

Changes committed locally. Use "pause" (full mode) before long breaks to push to remote.

FULL MODE (Detailed, Pushed to Remote)

When to use: End of day, long breaks, want complete backup

Workflow:

• File issues for remaining work: Create tickets/tasks for anything needing follow-up
• Check for uncommitted work: Run git status
• Commit and push: Full git workflow
• Generate detailed prompt: Complete context for thorough resume

Full Prompt Template:

Resume work on [project/task]. Context:
- Current status: [where they left off]
- Completed: [what's done]
- Next steps: [what to do when returning]
- Files involved: [key files with paths]
- Pending proposals/questions: [anything proposed but not yet responded to — capture VERBATIM, not summarized]
- Conversational tone: [focused? frustrated? brainstorming? debugging? This helps the next session match the user's headspace]

Key Learnings (patterns worth repeating):
1. [First learning - specific pattern or decision that should carry forward]
2. [Second learning - if applicable]
3. [Third learning - if applicable]

When to include Key Learnings:

• Multi-session projects where patterns emerged
• Decisions that should be remembered (e.g., "always verify before archiving")
• Gotchas or anti-patterns discovered
• Workflow patterns that worked well

Checkpoint Quality Rules:

Before finalizing the resume prompt, apply the Amnesia Test: read the prompt back and ask yourself — *"If I woke up with ONLY this, could I seamlessly continue the conversation?"* If the answer is no, add more detail.

Banned content in resume prompts:

• Vague summaries like "discussed dashboard stuff" or "worked on various things"
• "No active task" / "Idle" without explaining what you're waiting for
• Omitting pending proposals — these are the #1 casualty of session breaks
• Anything you'd be embarrassed to read back after losing all context

Example Full Output:

Message 1:

Resume work on Scripts Cleanup Project. Context:
- Current status: Phase 2 complete, starting Phase 3
- Completed: 59 scripts archived, 11 deleted, documentation updated
- Next steps: Create scripts inventory SOP, update skill-creation-workflow.md
- Files involved: personal-data/projects/system/scripts-cleanup/tasks.md
- Pending proposals/questions: "Should we keep the deprecated webhook-relay.sh as a reference, or archive it with the rest?" — awaiting decision
- Conversational tone: Focused, methodical. Batch-approving archives quickly.

Key Learnings (patterns worth repeating):
1. Verification pattern: Always grep for script references in .claude/, docs/, scripts/ BEFORE archiving
2. Fallback safety: Scripts with command fallbacks are safe to archive - behavior unchanged
3. Documentation drift: Update reference docs immediately when archiving

Message 2:

All changes committed and pushed. Session ready to resume.

Git Workflow

Quick Mode

# Check if there are changes (fast check)
git status --short

# If changes exist, commit locally only
git add .
git commit -m "Quick pause: [brief context from conversation]"

# Skip push in quick mode

Full Mode

git add <changed-files>
git commit -m "[Detailed commit message]"
git pull --rebase
git push
git status  # MUST show "up to date with origin"

Critical: Work is NOT complete until git push succeeds.

Performance Targets

Quick Mode:

• Target: <3 seconds end-to-end
• Skips: git push, detailed context analysis
• Keeps: Local commit, minimal prompt

Full Mode:

• Target: <8 seconds end-to-end
• Includes: Full git workflow, detailed prompt
• Safest: Changes pushed to remote

Output Format

Always follow this structure:

• Generate the resume prompt (quick or full format)
• Wrap in a code block: Use standard markdown code blocks — the Claude Code UI auto-copies the first code block and shows a copy button
• Show status: Brief message about git operations

Use this exact format for the resume prompt:

~~~

Resume work on [project/task]. Context:
- Current status: [where they left off]
- Completed: [what's done]
- Next steps: [what to do when returning]
- Files involved: [key files with paths]
- Pending proposals/questions: [verbatim — anything proposed but unanswered]
- Conversational tone: [user's headspace — focused, frustrated, brainstorming, etc.]

Key Learnings (patterns worth repeating):
1. [Learning that should carry forward to next session]
2. [Additional learnings if applicable]

~~~

After the code block, add: "✅ Resume prompt ready. [git status message]"

Mode Recommendations

Show mode recommendation in Message 2 when appropriate:

• If quick mode used 3+ times without full pause → "Consider running full pause to push changes to remote."
• If full mode used in middle of day → "For quick context switches, try 'quick pause' next time."

Natural Language Triggers

These phrases should trigger this command via intent detection (if configured):

• "quick pause" → Quick mode
• "pause quick" → Quick mode
• "pause" → Full mode
• "save my work" → Full mode
• "brb" → Quick mode (be right back)

Example Scenarios

Scenario 1: Quick Context Switch

User: "quick pause"\

Mode: QUICK\

Git: Commit locally, skip push\

Prompt: Minimal (3 lines)\

Time: ~2 seconds

Scenario 2: End of Day

User: "pause"\

Mode: FULL\

Git: Commit + push\

Prompt: Detailed (5-7 lines)\

Time: ~6 seconds

Scenario 3: Emergency Context Switch

User: "brb"\

Mode: QUICK\

Git: Commit locally, skip push\

Prompt: Minimal\

Time: ~2 seconds