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name: context-read description: Read and display project context from CLAUDE.md and all referenced [CONTEXT] commits for session initialization or review

Read Project Context

This skill guides you through reading and understanding all project context stored in [CONTEXT] commits.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Starting a new Claude session with a project
• User requests to "show context" or "review project docs"
• Need to refresh understanding of project requirements
• Verifying context setup is working correctly
• Onboarding to an unfamiliar project

Context Reading Workflow

1. Read CLAUDE.md

Start by reading the context index:

cat CLAUDE.md

This shows you:

• List of context commit references
• Session initialization instructions
• Any project-specific guidance

2. Extract Context References

Parse CLAUDE.md to identify:

• Commit hashes that need to be read
• Branch names (like context-progress)
• Number and description of each context entry

Example CLAUDE.md format:

READ THESE COMMIT MESSAGES FOR CONTEXT:
 1. [abc1234] Project requirements
 2. [def5678] TDD workflow
 3. [context-progress] Current progress

3. Read Each Context Commit

For each referenced commit, retrieve the full message:

# For commit hash references
git log [commit-hash] -1 --format=%B

# For branch references (like context-progress)
git log [branch-name] -1 --format=%B

# Example
git log abc1234 -1 --format=%B
git log context-progress -1 --format=%B

4. Organize and Summarize

After reading all context, provide a summary organized by type:

• Requirements: What the project needs to accomplish
• Technical Specs: Technologies, platforms, versions
• Workflows: Development processes, TDD, review practices
• Architecture: Design decisions, patterns, trade-offs
• Progress: Current status, completed work, next tasks

5. Acknowledge Understanding

Confirm you've read and understood the context:

"I've read all context commits and understand:

• Project goals and requirements
• Development workflow and TDD practices
• Current progress and next tasks
• [Any other key context areas]

Ready to assist with specific tasks."

Complete Read Example

Here's a complete context reading flow:

# 1. Read the index
cat CLAUDE.md

# Output shows:
# READ THESE COMMIT MESSAGES FOR CONTEXT:
#  1. [e7b0129] Project requirements
#  2. [ae291fc] Context pattern explanation
#  3. [7cc3e39] TDD workflow
#  4. [c8da0e3] Progress tracking workflow
#  5. [context-progress] Current project progress

# 2. Read each context commit
git log e7b0129 -1 --format=%B
git log ae291fc -1 --format=%B
git log 7cc3e39 -1 --format=%B
git log c8da0e3 -1 --format=%B
git log context-progress -1 --format=%B

# 3. Summarize understanding
# (Provide organized summary to user)

Batch Reading Command

To read all context at once, use this helper:

# For a CLAUDE.md with known structure
for hash in e7b0129 ae291fc 7cc3e39 c8da0e3; do
  echo "=== Context: $(git log $hash -1 --format=%s) ==="
  git log $hash -1 --format=%B
  echo ""
done

# Read progress
echo "=== Current Progress ==="
git log context-progress -1 --format=%B

Automated Context Loading

Claude Code automatically reads CLAUDE.md on session start. This skill is useful for:

• Manual verification
• Re-reading during a session
• Understanding unfamiliar projects
• Debugging context setup

Context Types and What to Extract

From Requirements Context

Extract:

• Project goals and objectives
• Target platforms and environments
• Key features and functionality
• Technical constraints
• Success criteria

From Workflow Context

Extract:

• Development process (TDD, reviews, etc.)
• Testing requirements
• Code quality standards
• Commit and PR conventions
• Timeline expectations

From Architecture Context

Extract:

• Technology stack
• Design patterns in use
• Key architectural decisions
• Trade-offs and rationale
• Performance requirements

From Progress Context

Extract:

• Completed features/tasks
• Current work in progress
• Blocking issues
• Next planned tasks
• Status metrics (tests, coverage, etc.)

Verifying Context Integrity

Check that context setup is valid:

# 1. Verify CLAUDE.md exists
test -f CLAUDE.md && echo "✓ CLAUDE.md exists" || echo "✗ CLAUDE.md missing"

# 2. Verify referenced commits exist
git log e7b0129 -1 --oneline > /dev/null 2>&1 && echo "✓ Commit exists" || echo "✗ Commit not found"

# 3. Verify context-progress branch exists
git rev-parse --verify context-progress > /dev/null 2>&1 && echo "✓ context-progress branch exists" || echo "✗ Branch missing"

# 4. Check commit messages have [CONTEXT] prefix
git log abc1234 -1 --format=%s | grep -q "^\[CONTEXT\]" && echo "✓ Has [CONTEXT] prefix" || echo "✗ Missing [CONTEXT]"

Presenting Context to User

When reading context for the user, structure the output:

📋 Project Context Summary

## Requirements
[Summary of project goals, features, technical specs]

## Development Workflow
[Summary of TDD, code standards, review process]

## Architecture
[Summary of design decisions, patterns, tech stack]

## Current Progress
[Summary of completed work, current tasks, next steps]

## Key Takeaways
- [Important point 1]
- [Important point 2]
- [Important point 3]

I'm ready to help with specific tasks!

Common Context Reading Patterns

Session Start Pattern

# Quick context refresh at session start
cat CLAUDE.md
git log context-progress -1 --format=%B

# Focus on progress to see where to pick up

Deep Dive Pattern

# Read all context for complete understanding
cat CLAUDE.md

# Read each commit in detail
for ref in [list of all refs]; do
  git log $ref -1 --format=%B
done

# Summarize and ask clarifying questions

Verification Pattern

# Check context setup is correct
cat CLAUDE.md
git log context-progress -1 --oneline
git log [each-hash] -1 --oneline

# Verify all references are valid

Troubleshooting

CLAUDE.md not found:

# Project may not have context workflow initialized
# Recommend using context-init skill

Commit hash not found:

# Hash may be incorrect or from different repository
git log --oneline | grep CONTEXT  # Find actual context commits

context-progress branch missing:

# Check if it exists
git branch -a | grep context-progress

# May need to initialize it
# Use context-init skill

Empty context commit:

# Verify it's a [CONTEXT] commit
git log [hash] -1 --format=%s

# Check the full message
git log [hash] -1 --format=%B

Quick Reference Commands

# Read index
cat CLAUDE.md

# Read specific context commit
git log [hash] -1 --format=%B

# Read progress
git log context-progress -1 --format=%B

# List all [CONTEXT] commits
git log --oneline --grep="^\[CONTEXT\]"

# Show commit subject only
git log [hash] -1 --format=%s

# Show commit body only
git log [hash] -1 --format=%b

Integration with Other Skills

• After context-init: Read context to verify setup
• After context-add: Read new context commit to confirm
• Before context-progress: Read current progress before updating
• Session start: Always read to understand current state

Summary

The context-read skill helps you:

• Efficiently load all project context
• Verify context setup is working
• Summarize and understand requirements, workflows, and progress
• Get up to speed on unfamiliar projects
• Provide clear acknowledgment of understanding to the user