Context packet builder

Context packet builder

Use this skill when a project has more durable state than a fresh agent should load into context. It converts normalized current state into a compact handoff, prioritizing decisions and next actions over history.

Inputs

• A normalized JSON state file containing:
  • objective;
  • current decisions;
  • work items;
  • risks;
  • optional status counts.
• A maximum number of work items to include.

The example input is examples/input/project-state.json.

Outputs

• A deterministic Markdown context packet containing:
  • current objective;
  • decisions that constrain future work;
  • highest-priority active items;
  • blockers and risks;
  • compact status counts.

The reference output is examples/expected-context-packet.md.

Workflow

1. Read current canonical state, not full historical logs.
2. Normalize records before ranking them.
3. Exclude completed items unless they constrain current work.
4. Rank active work by:
   • blocking status;
   • explicit priority;
   • due date;
   • stable identifier.
5. Include only decisions that affect the next agent’s behavior.
6. Render the packet deterministically with scripts/build_context_packet.py.
7. Treat the packet as a derived view; update canonical state first when reality changes.

Failure handling

• If required input fields are missing, stop with a field-specific error.
• If dates are invalid, report the record identifier and do not guess ordering.
• If canonical sources disagree, flag the conflict rather than hiding it in the summary.
• If the packet exceeds the requested item limit, truncate only after deterministic ranking and report the omitted count.

Boundaries

• Do not treat the packet as the canonical database.
• Do not include secrets, personal communications, or verbose historical logs.
• Do not carry completed or stale work forward merely because it appeared in an old handoff.
• Do not infer approval or execution state from a planned next action.
• Do not compress away blockers, safety constraints, or irreversible decisions.