Log work

Overview

This skill helps you automatically document your development work into a structured markdown file, similar to a changelog. It analyzes recent code changes, git history, and creates comprehensive work logs that track all development activities.

Usage

When invoked, this skill will:

1. Analyze recent changes in the codebase (git diff, git log)
2. Identify what features/fixes/refactors were made
3. Create or update a date-based markdown file in docs/worklog/
4. Include timestamps, categories, and detailed descriptions

Default Behavior

• File: Creates/updates docs/worklog/YYYY-MM-DD.md (e.g., docs/worklog/2026-01-09.md)
• Directory: Automatically creates docs/worklog/ if it doesn't exist
• Format: Entries within the same day are added to the same file (newest first)
• Categories: feat, fix, refactor, docs, style, test, chore, perf

Entry Format

Each work log entry should follow this structure:

## [HH:MM] Category: Brief Title

### Changes
- Detailed change 1
- Detailed change 2
- Detailed change 3

### Files Modified
- `path/to/file1.ext`
- `path/to/file2.ext`

### Notes
Additional context, decisions made, or future considerations.

---

Note: Date is not included in the entry header since it's already in the filename.

Instructions

When the user invokes /log-work:

1. Gather Context

   • Run git status to see current state
   • Run git diff to see unstaged changes
   • Run git log -5 --oneline to see recent commits
   • Get current date in YYYY-MM-DD format

2. Analyze Changes

   • Identify the type of work (feat/fix/refactor/etc.)
   • List all modified files
   • Summarize what was changed and why
   • Note any important decisions or trade-offs

3. Prepare File Path

   • Create docs/worklog/ directory if it doesn't exist
   • Determine file path: docs/worklog/YYYY-MM-DD.md (e.g., docs/worklog/2026-01-09.md)
   • Check if today's file already exists

4. Create Entry

   • Use current date and time for the entry header
   • Create a clear, descriptive title
   • List all changes in bullet points
   • Include file paths
   • Add any relevant notes or context

5. Update File

   • If today's file doesn't exist, create it with a header
   • If today's file exists, add the new entry at the TOP (reverse chronological within the day)
   • Maintain proper markdown formatting
   • Preserve existing entries from today

6. Confirm

   • Show the user what was added
   • Provide the file path where it was logged

For detailed examples and usage scenarios, see EXAMPLES.md.

Options

• --date <YYYY-MM-DD>: Use a specific date instead of today (default: today's date)
• --category <type>: Specify the category (feat/fix/etc.)
• --title <text>: Provide a custom title
• --skip-git: Don't analyze git changes, just create entry from user description

Quick Examples

# Basic usage
/log-work

# With custom title
/log-work --title "Refactor authentication module"

# Specific category
/log-work --category fix --title "Fix memory leak in WebSocket handler"

For more examples and detailed scenarios, see EXAMPLES.md.

Important Guidelines

1. Be Comprehensive: Include all significant changes, not just code
2. Be Clear: Use clear, descriptive language that others can understand
3. Be Consistent: Follow the same format for all entries
4. Be Helpful: Add context and notes that will help future you/team
5. Don't Duplicate: Check existing entries to avoid redundant logs
6. Group Related: If multiple small changes belong together, group them in one entry

Integration Tips

• Use this skill after completing a feature or significant work
• Pair it with /commit for comprehensive documentation
• Review the entry before finalizing to ensure accuracy
• Keep entries focused on one main topic per entry
• Use it daily to maintain a clear development history
• Each day gets its own file in docs/worklog/, making it easy to track daily progress
• You can add multiple entries to the same day's file for different tasks
• Use --date option to retroactively log work from previous days if needed