description: Recover context from decision graph and recent activity - USE THIS ON SESSION START arguments:

name: FOCUS description: Optional focus area to filter by (e.g. auth, ui, cli, api) required: false

Context Recovery#

RUN THIS AT SESSION START. The decision graph is your persistent memory.

Step 1: Query the Graph#

# See all decisions (look for recent ones and pending status)
deciduous nodes

# Filter by current branch (useful for feature work)
deciduous nodes --branch $(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)

# See how decisions connect
deciduous edges

# What commands were recently run?
deciduous commands

# Check for attached documents
deciduous doc list

Branch-scoped context: If working on a feature branch, filter nodes to see only decisions relevant to this branch. Main branch nodes are tagged with [branch: main].

Step 1.5: Audit Graph Integrity#

CRITICAL: Check that all nodes are logically connected.

# Find nodes with no incoming edges (potential missing connections)
deciduous edges | cut -d'>' -f2 | cut -d' ' -f2 | sort -u > /tmp/has_parent.txt
deciduous nodes | tail -n+3 | awk '{print $1}' | while read id; do
  grep -q "^$id$" /tmp/has_parent.txt || echo "CHECK: $id"
done

Review each flagged node (flow: goal -> options -> decision -> actions -> outcomes):

Root goal nodes are VALID without parents
option nodes MUST link to their parent goal
decision nodes MUST link from the option(s) being chosen
action nodes MUST link to their parent decision
outcome nodes MUST link back to their action

Fix missing connections:

deciduous link <parent_id> <child_id> -r "Retroactive connection - <reason>"

Step 2: Check Git State#

git status
git log --oneline -10
git diff --stat

Step 3: Check Session Log#

cat git.log | tail -30

After Gathering Context, Report:#

Current branch and pending changes
Branch-specific decisions (filter by branch if on feature branch)
Recent decisions (especially pending/active ones)
Last actions from git log and command log
Open questions or unresolved observations
Attached documents - diagrams, specs, or screenshots on key nodes
Suggested next steps

Branch Configuration#

Check .deciduous/config.toml for branch settings:

[branch]
main_branches = ["main", "master"]  # Which branches are "main"
auto_detect = true                    # Auto-detect branch on node creation

REMEMBER: Real-Time Logging Required#

After recovering context, you MUST follow the logging workflow:

EVERY USER REQUEST -> Log goal/decision first
BEFORE CODE CHANGES -> Log action
AFTER CHANGES -> Log outcome, link nodes
BEFORE GIT PUSH -> deciduous sync

The user is watching the graph live. Log as you go, not after.

Quick Logging Commands#

# Root goal with user prompt (capture what the user asked for)
deciduous add goal "What we're trying to do" -c 90 -p "User asked: <their request>"

deciduous add action "What I'm about to implement" -c 85
deciduous add outcome "What happened" -c 95
deciduous link FROM TO -r "Connection reason"

# Capture prompt when user redirects mid-stream
deciduous add action "Switching approach" -c 85 -p "User said: use X instead"

deciduous sync  # Do this frequently!

When to use --prompt: On root goals (always) and when user gives new direction mid-stream. Downstream nodes inherit context via edges.

Focus Areas#

If $FOCUS specifies a focus, prioritize context for:

auth: Authentication-related decisions
ui / graph: UI and graph viewer state
cli: Command-line interface changes
api: API endpoints and data structures

The Memory Loop#

SESSION START
    |
Run /recover -> See past decisions
    |
AUDIT -> Fix any orphan nodes first!
    |
DO WORK -> Log BEFORE each action
    |
CONNECT -> Link new nodes immediately
    |
AFTER CHANGES -> Log outcomes, observations
    |
AUDIT AGAIN -> Any new orphans?
    |
BEFORE PUSH -> deciduous sync
    |
PUSH -> Live graph updates
    |
SESSION END -> Final audit
    |
(repeat)

Multi-User Sync#

If working in a team, sync decision graphs automatically via events:

# Check sync status
deciduous events status

# Apply teammate events (after git pull)
deciduous events rebuild

# Periodic maintenance (compact old events)
deciduous events checkpoint --clear-events

Events are auto-emitted when you use add, link, status, etc. Git handles merging everyone's event files automatically.

Why This Matters#

Context loss during compaction loses your reasoning
The graph survives - query it early, query it often
Retroactive logging misses details - log in the moment
The user sees the graph live - show your work
Patches share reasoning with teammates

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