checkpointlisted

# Checkpoint — save state, clear, resume cheap Every turn re-sends the whole conversation. Deep into a session you pay for 100k+ tokens of history on every exchange; after a checkpoint-and-clear, the next session starts from a ~500-token handoff file instead. Unlike auto-compaction, *you* choose what survives — nothing load-bearing is summarized away. ## Writing a checkpoint 1. **Verify the path is ignored before writing** — projects scaffolded before this skill existed may lack the ignore entry, and the file contains session state that must never be committable: ```bash git check-ignore -q .agents/tmp/checkpoint.md 2>/dev/null \ || printf '\n# Session handoff files (checkpoint skill)\n.agents/tmp/\n' >> .gitignore ``` Then write the handoff to `.agents/tmp/checkpoint.md` (create the directory if needed). 2. Use exactly this structure — every section, one line each unless more is genuinely load-bearing: ```markdown # Checkpoint <ISO date> ## Task <issue number + one-line goal> ## Done (verified) <only work backed by a passing test or completed command> ## Decisions <choices made and WHY — the part a fresh session can't rediscover> ## Next steps <ordered, concrete — first item should be startable immediately> ## Open files / branch <branch name; files mid-edit with line areas> ## Test state <last suite result; known failures> ``` 3. Keep it under ~60 lines. If a section would be long, that content