This skill should be used when the user asks to "start session", "create session", "session status", "session list", "commit session", "cancel session", "switch session", "record retry", "/session", "/retry", "создать сессию", "начать сессию", "статус сессии", "закоммитить сессию", "отменить сессию", "переключить сессию", or mentions isolated work sessions, Copy-on-Write file handling, or human retry tracking. Provides session lifecycle management with CoW isolation for safe book editing.
User-friendly interface for managing isolated book writing sessions with
Copy-on-Write file handling. Backend: MCP Server session_management_mcp.
/session start <name> [description]Create new session and activate it with CoW isolation.
/session start work-on-chapter-01
/session start experimental-scene-0102 "Trying alternative version"
MCP call: create_session(name, description)
Creates empty session directory (~10 KB), sets up CoW tracking,
updates workspace/session.lock.
/session listList all sessions with status indicators.
MCP call: list_sessions()
Shows table: name, status (ACTIVE/INACTIVE/CRASHED), created date, change count.
/session statusShow detailed status of active session: metadata, modified/created files, human retry count, session size.
MCP call: get_active_session()
/session switch <name>Switch to a different existing session. Updates workspace/session.lock.
MCP call: switch_session(name)
Error if session not found or CRASHED.
/session commit [name]Commit session changes to global files. Two-step process:
force=True: executes commit, archives retries, removes sessionMCP calls: commit_session(name, force=False) then commit_session(name, force=True)
/session cancel [name]Cancel session, discard all changes. Global files remain untouched.
Human retries backed up to workspace/retries-archive/.
MCP call: cancel_session(name, backup_retries=True)
/retry <file> <reason>Record human retry attempt for a file within active session.
/retry scene-0101.md "Too much exposition, needs more action"
MCP call: record_human_retry(file_path, reason, auto_detected=False)
Copies current version to human-retries/, saves reason, assigns retry number.
AI can also auto-detect retry requests from user feedback and call with
auto_detected=True.
| Command | MCP Tool | Key Parameters |
|---|---|---|
start <name> [desc] | create_session | name, description |
list | list_sessions | — |
status | get_active_session | — |
switch <name> | switch_session | name |
commit [name] | commit_session | name, force |
cancel [name] | cancel_session | name, backup_retries |
/retry <file> <reason> | record_human_retry | file_path, reason, auto_detected |
Sessions use CoW for efficient isolation:
For detailed CoW mechanics and file resolution logic, see
references/cow-details.md.
Provide clear, actionable errors:
/session start or /session list/session list/session cancel <name>start, list, status, switch, commit, cancelreferences/cow-details.md — Detailed Copy-on-Write mechanics, file resolution,
commit/cancel logicreferences/interaction-patterns.md — User interaction patterns: full lifecycle,
retry workflow, experimental sessions, parallel sessions, commit workflowRequires MCP server session_management_mcp. Verify with /mcp list.
If not loaded: check mcp-servers/session_management_mcp.py, add to MCP config,
restart Claude Code.