load.md 13 KB
description: "Restore session context with plan awareness. Shows plan progress, restores TodoWrite tasks, displays what changed since last save."
Load - Restore Session Context
Restore your session context from a previous save. Shows plan progress, restores tasks, and displays what's changed.
Architecture
/load
│
├─→ Read .claude/session-cache.json
│ ├─ TodoWrite tasks
│ ├─ Plan context
│ └─ Git context at save time
│
├─→ Analyze changes since save
│ ├─ New commits
│ ├─ File modifications
│ └─ Plan updates
│
├─→ Restore TodoWrite state
│ └─ Populate with saved tasks
│
└─→ Display unified summary
├─ Plan context
├─ Restored tasks
├─ What changed
└─ Suggested next action
Output Format
📂 Session Loaded
┌─ Time ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Saved: 2 hours ago (2025-11-27 10:30 AM) │
│ Branch: feature/auth │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ Plan Context ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Goal: Add user authentication with OAuth2 │
│ │
│ ✓ Step 1: Research OAuth providers │
│ ✓ Step 2: Set up Google OAuth app │
│ ◐ Step 3: Implement OAuth flow ← YOU WERE HERE │
│ ○ Step 4: Add token refresh │
│ ○ Step 5: Write integration tests │
│ │
│ Progress: ██████░░░░ 40% (2/5) │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ Restored Tasks ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ◐ Fix callback URL handling │
│ ○ Add token refresh logic │
│ ✓ Set up OAuth credentials │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ Since Last Save ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Commits: 0 new │
│ Files: 3 still uncommitted (+45/-12) │
│ Plan: unchanged │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ Notes ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ "Stopped at callback URL issue - need to fix redirect" │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ Suggested Next Action ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Continue with: Fix callback URL handling │
│ │
│ Context: You were implementing OAuth flow (Plan Step 3) and stopped at a redirect issue. │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Execution Steps
Step 1: Check for State Files
ls -la .claude/session-cache.json 2>/dev/null
If missing:
┌─ Session ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ⚠ State: No saved state found in .claude/session-cache.json │
│ │
│ To create one, use: /save │
│ Or check current status: /status │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Step 2: Read State
Parse .claude/session-cache.json:
- Extract todos (completed, in_progress, pending)
- Extract plan context (goal, current step, progress)
- Extract git context (branch, last commit)
- Extract notes
Step 3: Calculate Time Since Save
# Compare timestamps
# Format as: "2 hours ago", "3 days ago"
Step 4: Analyze Changes
# Commits since save
git log --oneline <saved_commit>..HEAD
# Current uncommitted
git status --porcelain
# Check if plan was modified
git log -1 --format="%H" -- docs/PLAN.md
Step 5: Restore TodoWrite
Use TodoWrite tool:
{
"todos": [
{"content": "Fix callback URL handling", "status": "in_progress"},
{"content": "Add token refresh logic", "status": "pending"},
{"content": "Set up OAuth credentials", "status": "completed"}
]
}
Step 6: Generate Suggestion
Based on saved state:
- If
in_progresstask exists → "Continue with: " - If all complete → "Start next pending task"
- If blocked → "Resolve blocker: "
Edge Cases
Stale State (>7 days)
⚠ Saved state is 12 days old
A lot may have changed since then.
Options:
1. Load anyway (tasks may still be relevant)
2. Check current status: /status
3. Start fresh: /load --clear
Branch Changed
⚠ Branch changed since save
Saved on: feature/old-branch
Current: feature/new-branch
The saved context may not apply. Options:
1. Switch back: git checkout feature/old-branch
2. Load anyway (some tasks may apply)
3. Clear and start fresh: /load --clear
Plan Updated Since Save
ℹ Plan was updated since you saved
Changes to docs/PLAN.md:
• Step 3 marked complete (was in-progress)
• Step 4 now in-progress
Your saved context shows Step 3, but plan shows Step 4.
Consider: /plan --review to see current state
Flags
| Flag | Effect |
|---|---|
--verbose |
Show full git log since save |
--no-restore |
Preview without restoring TodoWrite |
--clear |
Clear saved state after loading |
--force |
Load even if stale or branch mismatch |
Usage Examples
# Basic load
/load
# Preview without restoring
/load --no-restore
# Load with full git history
/load --verbose
# Load and clear state
/load --clear
Integration
Part of the session management suite:
Session Lifecycle
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ │
│ │ START │ │ WORK │ │ END │ │
│ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ │
│ │ │ │ │
│ ▼ ▼ ▼ │
│ ┌────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌────────┐ │
│ │ /load │──────────────────▶│ /status │──────────────────▶│ /save │ │
│ └────────┘ └──────────┘ └────┬───┘ │
│ │ │ │ │
│ Restore Dashboard Persist │
│ context view state │
│ │ │ │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ .claude/session-cache.json │
│ docs/PLAN.md │
│ │ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
Next Session │
Notes
- Automatically restores TodoWrite unless
--no-restore - Shows plan context from saved state + current plan
- Detects and warns about state/branch mismatches
- Notes from
/saveare prominently displayed