---
name: Catchup
slug: catchup
category: Automation
description: Catchup summarizes what changed while you were away by collecting recent PRs, commits, Linear tickets, and meetings into one prioritized brief. Use it after time off to review missed work without reading every update.
github: "https://github.com/oliver-kriska/claude-elixir-phoenix/tree/main/plugins/catchup/skills/catchup"
language: Python
stars: 533
forks: 38
install: "npx degit https://github.com/oliver-kriska/claude-elixir-phoenix/tree/main/plugins/catchup/skills/catchup ~/.claude/skills/catchup"
installs_to: ~/.claude/skills/catchup
source_path: plugins/catchup/skills/catchup/SKILL.md
collection_size: 25
category_size: 1523
collection_url: "https://dirskills.com/collections/oliver-kriska/claude-elixir-phoenix"
added: 2026-08-26T05:11:31.140Z
last_synced: 2026-08-26T05:11:31.140Z
canonical_url: "https://dirskills.com/skills/catchup"
---

# Catchup

Catchup summarizes what changed while you were away by collecting recent PRs, commits, Linear tickets, and meetings into one prioritized brief. Use it after time off to review missed work without reading every update.

**Install:**

```bash
npx degit https://github.com/oliver-kriska/claude-elixir-phoenix/tree/main/plugins/catchup/skills/catchup ~/.claude/skills/catchup
```

## README

# Catchup — Async-Team Return Briefing

You've been away. This skill is a **thin orchestrator**: it resolves
the window + sources here, then delegates the I/O fan-out, impact
analysis, and brief assembly to the `catchup-runner` agent (Sonnet) so
your (often Opus) session does not pay for summarization. You only
print what the agent returns.

## Usage

```
/catchup                                  # since you were last active
/catchup --since "friday"
/catchup --since "2h" --focus reviews-requested
/catchup --since last-commit --depth deep
/catchup --scope all                      # include cross-repo pings/reviews
```

Default is **repo-scoped**: every GitHub signal (reviews requested,
notifications, mentions) is filtered to the repo you ran it in. Pass
`--scope all` to also include cross-repo activity, which is then listed
in its own separate section — never mixed into this repo's lists.

## Iron Laws

1. **Delegate the heavy work** — spawn `catchup-runner` (sonnet) for
   fan-out + assembly. Do NOT run the `gh`/`git` fan-out in this
   session; that defeats the cost/speed purpose.
2. **Resolve the window here, once** — the agent must never re-resolve
   it. Pass absolute `SINCE_*` values.
3. **MCP runs here, not in the agent** — Linear/Calendar MCP tools are
   unreliable in subagents. If present, fetch in this context and pass
   the text to the agent; else mark absent.
4. **Validate `--since` before any shell** — match the grammar; on no
   match fall back to 24h and note the assumption.
5. **Stop after the brief** — print the agent's summary, never
   auto-transition to another command.
6. **Repo-scoped by default** — pass `SCOPE=repo` unless the user
   passed `--scope all`. A brief run inside one repo must not leak
   another repo's reviews/notifications. Cross-repo is opt-in only.

## Workflow

### 1. Parse arguments

From `$ARGUMENTS`: `--since`, `--scope`, `--sources`, `--depth`,
`--focus`. Defaults: `--since last-active`, **`--scope repo`**, all
detected sources, `--depth standard`, no focus. `--scope` accepts
`repo` (default — every GitHub signal filtered to the current repo) or
`all` (cross-repo allowed, listed in its own section).

### 2. Resolve the time window (here, in this context)

Read `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/time-window.md`. Resolve calendar
words (`friday`, `yesterday`, a date) in the **user's local timezone**
(this machine = the user's TZ), pivot through `SINCE_EPOCH`, derive
`SINCE_ISO` (UTC) + `SINCE_LABEL` (with TZ abbrev) + `LOCAL_TZ`.

Default `last-active` = MAX of: newest Claude session mtime for this
repo, your last own commit (`git log --author=<you> -1 --format=%ct`),
your last own PR **in this repo** (`gh pr list --repo <repo> --author
@me --state all`, repo-scoped — a global search would anchor to other
repos). The latest footprint is "you were last here". Record which
signal won. Variants: `last-session` (sessions only),
`last-commit`/`last-mine` (your git/PR only). No signal → 24h, noted.

### 3. Detect sources + pull MCP data (here)

```
gh:   command -v gh && gh auth status               → github ON
git:  git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree           → git ON
linear/calendar: a Linear / Google-Calendar MCP tool present?
```

If Linear/Calendar MCP is present, query it **in this context now**
(assigned/updated tickets since `SINCE_ISO`; missed + today's
meetings in `LOCAL_TZ`) and keep the short text as `LINEAR_DATA` /
`CALENDAR_DATA`. If absent, set them to `absent` (the agent will
proxy-harvest `XXX-####` refs for Linear; skip calendar with a note).

### 4. Delegate to `catchup-runner` (Sonnet)

Spawn one agent, foreground, passing a self-contained prompt:

```
Agent(subagent_type: "catchup-runner", prompt: """
SINCE_EPOCH={…}  SINCE_ISO={…Z}  SINCE_LABEL="{… local TZ}"
LOCAL_TZ={…}  SOURCES={github,git}  SCOPE={repo|all}  DEPTH={…}  FOCUS={…}
OUT_PATH={cwd}/.claude/catchup/brief-{YYYY-MM-DD}.md   # local date (date +%F), not UTC
LINEAR_DATA={text or "absent"}
CALENDAR_DATA={text or "absent"}
Window anchor signal: {which one won, for the Risks note}
Do the gh+git fan-out, impact analysis, and brief assembly per your
instructions. Write the file. Return ONLY the inline summary.
""")
```

The agent inlines all recipes (it cannot read this plugin's
references). Do not re-implement its work here.

### 5. Present + stop

Print the agent's returned summary verbatim and the brief path.

**If the agent returned no summary** (e.g. it hit its turn budget
mid-assembly — the brief file is usually already written): do NOT
re-summarize the brief yourself; that pulls the expensive step back
into this (often Opus) session, defeating the delegation. Instead
`SendMessage` the agent by the `agentId` from its stop usage:
*"Return only the inline summary now."* — it finishes cheaply in
Sonnet. Only if that also fails, read the brief's Intent + Top
priorities section (not the whole file) and print that.

**Do NOT** auto-invoke any other command. The user decides what's
first.

## Sources at MVP

GitHub (`gh`), Git (`git`), Linear MCP (optional), Google Calendar MCP
(optional). Slack/Gmail are **v2 opt-in** — never queried, never piped
raw. Scheduling + per-project config are designed in
`${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/config-schema.md`, not built at MVP.

## Graceful degradation contract

A missing source degrades the brief, never breaks it. `git log` alone
(always available in a repo) is a valid minimum brief. Every absent or
failed source becomes one honest line under the brief's
Risks/assumptions block, so the reader knows what it does *not* cover.