The Chronicle Protocol

A platform-agnostic checkpoint system for long-running projects. Use the current conversation and verified project artifacts to preserve enough state for a fresh session to continue.

Trigger

Treat "Chronicle" as a checkpoint request when the user uses it as an instruction, including "Chronicle this", "let's Chronicle", and "time to Chronicle". Ordinary conversation, quoted text, and requests to edit this protocol are not triggers. Create a checkpoint only on that explicit request; resuming reads an existing checkpoint.

The plain-language trigger requires these instructions to be available to the assistant. This skill does not register a separate command or a session-start hook. For a check at every new session, the host's always-loaded project instructions must direct the assistant to this protocol; installing an on-demand skill alone does not guarantee that behavior.

Write a checkpoint

1. Inspect the file-write capabilities available in this session: file tools, shell access, or writable project storage. Choose the project's existing checkpoint location; otherwise use a chronicles/ directory at the project root when working in a repository, or the platform's working-file location.
2. Establish the project name and current date from available context. Ask if either is unclear. Use a filesystem-safe project name and the filename chronicle_<project-name>_<YYYY-MM-DD>.md. Check whether that file already exists; ask before replacing it or choosing an alternative filename.
3. Build the checkpoint using the seven sections below, in order. Record only supported facts, distinguish completed work from proposed work, and mark unresolved information as unclear. Ask when unsure whether something belongs in the checkpoint.
4. If a write tool is available, attempt the write and verify success from the tool result or a read-back. Uncertainty about capability is a reason to inspect and try an available tool, not to skip the checkpoint.
5. If writing is unavailable or fails, report that explicitly and output the complete checkpoint in a Markdown code block. State that it has not been persisted and requires manual saving outside the chat. Never report a failed write as a saved checkpoint.
6. Confirm in one line where the checkpoint went: the verified file path, or that it was pasted into the conversation and has not been saved.