/session-log
Write the session's log entry — what shipped, what was decided, what's still open. Reads the day's commits and conversation. Outputs a markdown entry with gates fired, sources read, and discoveries surfaced. Renamed from /chronicle.
/session-log/session-log defaultType it bare, or paste it with loose context after — Claude figures out the rest.
Session logs get lost between mid-session interrupts and Stop hook races. Next session has no memory.
One log entry that names what shipped and what was decided and what's still open.
Takes in
- Optional Gate Evidence auto-populate flag
Returns
- Session log entry at chronicle/*
- Gate Evidence table populated
What it does
A timestamped markdown record of what happened this session. /session-log reads the day's commits, walks the conversation, and outputs a session log entry with frontmatter (timing, closes) plus body sections (Entry State, Work Done, Decisions, Open Threads, Key Files Changed). The Gate Evidence table lands with authoritative counts from marker files. The next session reads Open Threads first. /session-log was called /chronicle before 2026-07-17; both names work through 2026-10-31.
Run /session-log at session end before close. /session-end calls it as part of the MUST tier. If you want to write the log alone (rare — usually it composes with a longer close), invoke /session-log directly.
Read the full skill
The complete instructions live at .claude/skills/session-log/SKILL.md in your repo after bassclef-sync. Open with your editor for phases, rules, and worked examples.
Where in the SDLC
Why this phase: Write the session narrative record.
Related
- Skills catalog — browse all skills grouped by lifecycle phase
- Tier system — what each tier gives you
FAQ
Terms from bassclef vocabulary that appear on this page.
- temperance
- The pause-and-think gate that fires before any non-trivial work. Two questions — am I building the right thing AND am I building it the right way? Bassclef enforces it with a pre-build hook that BLOCKs edits until a temperance marker exists on the branch. See: /docs/skills/temperance
- chronicle
- A narrative log of what a session shipped — what worked, what did not, what got deferred. Written at session-end. Bassclef's chronicles live under `docs/chronicles/YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md`. Chronicles are how future sessions understand context that the code alone cannot show. See: /docs/skills/session-log
- whereami
- The authoritative project-state snapshot — current phase, active goals, subsystem status, gate progress, session recap history. Read at session-start; updated at session-end. The one file every new session should read first to know where the project stands. See: /docs/skills/whereami
- hook
- A shell script bassclef wires into Claude Code's tool-invocation lifecycle. Hooks fire at events like PreToolUse (before an Edit lands) or SessionStart (when a session opens). Hooks enforce rules mechanically — a rule says 'don't do X'; a hook fires and BLOCKs if X happens.
- rule
- A markdown file auto-loaded into every session's context. Rules pin discipline the agent applies to every response (plain-English writing, blocked-items protocol, temperance gates). Different from a hook — rules are steering; hooks are enforcement.
- skill
- A user-invocable command (like `/kiss` or `/temperance`) that runs a specific bassclef workflow. Every skill lives at `.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md` with frontmatter + procedure. Adopters type the slash command; Claude Code loads the skill and runs it.
- adopter
- A repo that has bassclef installed — either via `bassclef init` (lite tier from npm) or via the symlink pattern (standard tier with an Anthropic key). Bassclef's discipline: never break adopters. Every change to a downstream-observable surface ships with a compat shim.
- bassclef-upstream
- The private repo where bassclef substrate is authored. Ships to a public `bassclef` npm package + a public `bassclef-web` docs site. Adopters read the public tier; the operator maintains upstream.
- session log
- Same shape as a chronicle — narrative record of what a session shipped. `/session-log` skill drafts it from the session's commits + branch state. Feeds into `/journal` when the operator wants an audience-tuned draft. See: /docs/skills/session-log
Shipped by @kingofrock · Read the essays
/session-end
Close the session cleanly. Writes the session log, pushes artifacts, updates whereami. Run when the Stop hook fails or when you want to end deliberately. Three tiers of obligation: MUST, SHOULD, MAY.
/onboard-repo
Bootstrap the bassclef framework in a new repo. Installs the sync hook. Scaffolds config, whereami, and CLAUDE.md. Modes: default, --with-deploy-host, --with-secrets, --full, --greenfield-from-intent (starts a new repo from a short intent paragraph).