v0.6.0

Context CLI v0.6.0

This release replaces shell hook scripts with native Go subcommands and ships hooks and skills as a Claude Code plugin. ctx init is now tool-agnostic: it no longer scaffolds .claude/hooks/ or .claude/skills/. The plugin model eliminates the jq dependency, enables go test coverage for all hook logic, and makes distribution a single install command.

Highlights

• Plugin-based Distribution: Hooks and skills ship as a Claude Code plugin. Install with /plugin marketplace add ActiveMemory/ctx then /plugin install ctx@activememory-ctx. No build step required; the plugin is served directly from source.
• Shell Hooks to Go Subcommands: All 6 shell scripts replaced by ctx system * commands compiled into the binary. Zero external dependencies.
• Obsidian Vault Export: ctx journal obsidian generates a full Obsidian vault from enriched journal entries with wikilinks, MOC pages, and graph-optimized cross-linking.
• Encrypted Scratchpad: ctx pad provides a git-friendly encrypted scratchpad (AES-256-GCM) for sensitive one-liners that travel with the project.
• Security Hardening: Path boundary validation, symlink detection, and user-specific temp directories close the medium-severity findings from the security audit.

Breaking Changes

• ctx init no longer creates .claude/hooks/ or .claude/skills/. Install the ctx plugin instead.
• ctx hook claude-code now prints plugin install instructions instead of generating shell scripts.
• Version jumps from 0.3.0 to 0.6.0 to signal the magnitude of the plugin conversion.

Features

• Add ctx system subcommands: check-context-size, check-persistence, check-journal, post-commit, block-non-path-ctx, cleanup-tmp
• Add Claude Code plugin with marketplace.json, hooks.json, and 25 skills
• Serve plugin directly from internal/tpl/claude/; eliminate make plugin build step
• Add ctx journal obsidian command with wikilink conversion, frontmatter transformation, MOC generation, and related-sessions footer
• Add ctx pad command suite: show, edit, clear, edit --append, edit --prepend
• Add ctx permissions snapshot and ctx permissions restore for settings.local.json management
• Add allow_outside_cwd option to .contextrc for path boundary override
• Add ctx init auto-append of recommended .gitignore entries
• Add Context.File() lookup method for programmatic context file access
• Add journal reminder hook detecting unexported sessions and unenriched entries
• Add SessionEnd cleanup hook removing stale temp files
• Add persistence nudge hook with adaptive frequency based on prompt count
• Add /check-links skill for dead link auditing
• Add /ctx-pad skill for scratchpad interaction
• Add /ctx-worktree skill for parallel agent development with git worktrees
• Add /ctx-borrow skill for extracting and applying deltas between project copies
• Add /sanitize-permissions skill for settings.local.json security auditing

Bug Fixes

• Hooks no longer create partial .context/ (logs only) before ctx init runs
• ctx init treats .context/ with only logs as uninitialized; skips overwrite prompt
• Fix CodeQL int64-to-int truncation warning in persistence state parser
• Fix UTF-8 safe string truncation preventing mid-rune splits
• Fix 18 golangci-lint issues across pad, compact, crypto, and validation packages
• Fix hook output channels: stderr is invisible for UserPromptSubmit hooks
• Fix outdated context-update XML syntax in docs
• Remove all stale session/save references from docs, skills, and source

Security

• Add path boundary validation on --context-dir / CTX_DIR preventing operations outside project root (M-1)
• Add symlink detection with Lstat() before file read/write in .context/ (M-2)
• Use $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/ctx or user-specific temp subdirectory for state files (M-3)
• Add /sanitize-permissions skill for auditing dangerous Bash permissions

Refactoring

• Split config/tpl.go (349 lines) into 4 feature-area files
• Convert formatToolUse switch to dispatch map
• Move 6 utility functions from recall/run.go to recall/fmt.go
• Extract findSessions() and deployHookScript() helpers to reduce duplication
• Unify task archiving into compact.WriteArchive helper
• Fix stale godocs and add doc.go for 6 packages
• Update internal/tpl package doc to reflect dual purpose (templates + plugin assets)

Documentation

• Add migration guide for upgrading from shell hooks to plugin model
• Add first-session walkthrough with end-to-end interaction examples
• Add agent security docs and defense-in-depth blog post
• Add scratchpad docs, recipes, and autonomous loop hardening guide
• Add agent team decision framework recipe
• Reorder docs nav: promote recipes, demote adopting/upgrading
• Add recipe TL;DR admonitions for long recipes
• Add cross-references between blog posts and documentation pages
• 8 new blog posts covering skills anatomy, IRC bouncers, worktrees, and more

---

Full changelog: v0.3.0...v0.6.0

---

Below is the auto-generated release notes:

What's Changed

• fix: UTF-8 safe string truncation by @usirin in #12
• fix: add required flags to decision example in quickstart by @doguhanniltextra in #13
• ctx v0.6.0: Convert shell hooks to Go plugin by @josealekhine in #14

New Contributors

• @usirin made their first contribution in #12
• @doguhanniltextra made their first contribution in #13

Full Changelog: v0.3.0...v0.6.0

v0.3.0

Context CLI v0.3.0

This release is a major evolution in how ctx works with AI agents. Slash commands are replaced by a full Agent Skills system, a new autonomous mode (--ralph) enables unattended operation, and a comprehensive suite of hooks keeps context healthy during long sessions. Under the hood, two consolidation sweeps eliminated magic strings, deshadowed variables, and split large files into focused modules.

Highlights

• Agent Skills System: All 21 slash commands migrated to directory-based skills following the agentskills.io spec, each with frontmatter, quality gates, usage examples, and "When NOT to Use" triggers
• Autonomous Loop Mode: ctx init --ralph creates PROMPT.md and IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md configured for independent agent operation without clarifying questions
• Context Health Hooks: New UserPromptSubmit hooks for context size checkpoints, backup staleness warnings, and a deployed context-watch.sh monitor tool
• Code Consolidation: Two systematic sweeps replaced magic strings/numbers with constants, deshadowed variables across all packages, and split large files (journal/site.go into 12 files, recall/export.go into 4 files)

Features

• Convert all .claude/commands/*.md to .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md directory structure with structured frontmatter
• Add ctx init --ralph flag for autonomous agent mode with dedicated PROMPT.md template
• Add context size checkpoint hook (check-context-size.sh) with adaptive reminder cadence (silent for 15 prompts, then every 5th, then every 3rd)
• Add ctx-context-monitor skill teaching agents how to respond to checkpoint signals
• Deploy context-watch.sh to .context/tools/ via ctx init for all users
• Add backup staleness hook (check-backup-age.sh) warning when backups are >2 days old
• Add global backup support (hack/backup-global.sh) for ~/.claude/ with make backup-global
• Add /consolidate skill with 9 project-specific drift checks
• Add /brainstorm skill for design-before-implementation workflow
• Add ctx agent --cooldown and --session flags with tombstone debounce
• Add "Update When" triggers to all context file templates (CONSTITUTION, TASKS, CONVENTIONS, etc.)
• Add Anti-Patterns section to AGENT_PLAYBOOK.md (Stale Context, Context Sprawl, Implicit Context, etc.)
• Deploy Makefile.ctx template via ctx init (amend, never overwrite)
• Add journal site /files/ index with popular/long-tail split
• Add journal site /types/ pages grouping sessions by type
• Change ctx recall export default to update mode preserving YAML frontmatter (--skip-existing for old behavior, --force for full overwrite)
• Add 7 deterministic normalize scripts for journal fence/metadata repair
• Add ctx-journal-normalize skill for clean journal site rendering

Bug Fixes

• Fix all 137 journal files: complete fence reconstruction (8 broken files with stray markers)
• Fix consolidateToolRuns root cause: (xN) on its own line creating broken fences
• Fix session export reliability and browser performance
• Resolve all golangci-lint v2 errcheck and staticcheck warnings
• Remove unnecessary nl parameter in recall/fmt.go
• Fix task insertion placement in TASKS.md
• Restore release-notes and release skills dropped during commands-to-skills migration

Refactoring

• Replace magic strings/numbers with config constants (ExtJSONL, IssueType*, DefaultSessionFilename, ClaudeField*, session headings, template strings)
• Deshadow err/ok variables with descriptive names across drift, recall, session, task, context, and validation packages
• Split journal/site.go into 12 focused files; split recall/export.go into 4 files
• Extract error constructors to err.go files
• Move Claude raw types to types.go with project-standard godoc
• Extract hook matcher into internal/claude/matcher.go
• Simplify defer file.Close() patterns
• Replace cmd.Printf("\n") with cmd.Println(fmt.Sprintf(...))

CI

• Upgrade to golangci-lint v2 for CI compatibility
• Fix goinstall mode removal and v2 security warnings

Documentation

• Add architecture docs and remove DRIFT.md (superseded by /consolidate skill)
• Add quick-reference table to CLI reference
• Add copyright headers to normalize scripts
• Add 3 blog posts: "The Attention Budget", "You Can't Import Expertise", "The Anatomy of a Skill That Works"
• Add blog post topic frontmatter to all 6 existing posts
• Add journal pipeline docs (session-journal.md)

---

Full changelog: v0.2.0...v0.3.0

v0.2.0

Context CLI v0.2.0

This release brings significant improvements to session recall, code quality, and documentation. The new journal system enables AI-powered analysis of exported sessions, while extensive refactoring consolidates configuration constants and adds thread safety throughout the codebase.

Highlights

• Session Recall & Journal System: Browse, search, and export AI session history with ctx recall, then analyze sessions with ctx journal
• Quick Reference Indexes: DECISIONS.md and LEARNINGS.md now include auto-generated indexes for faster scanning
• Improved CLI Flags: Global --context-dir and --no-color flags, plus required structured flags for decisions and learnings
• Code Quality: Consolidated configuration constants, thread-safe runtime config, and comprehensive test coverage

Features

• Add ctx recall command for browsing AI session history across projects
• Add ctx journal command with site generation for session analysis
• Add quick reference index to DECISIONS.md and LEARNINGS.md with ctx decisions reindex and ctx learnings reindex
• Add global flags: --context-dir to override context directory, --no-color to disable colored output
• Add .contextrc configuration file support for project-level settings
• Add structured attributes to <context-update> XML format for richer metadata
• Require --context, --rationale, --consequences flags for ctx add decision
• Require --context, --lesson, --application flags for ctx add learning
• Add shell completion support via ctx completion (bash, zsh, fish, powershell)

Bug Fixes

• Fix ctx tasks archive to handle nested content correctly
• Fix shell script linter warnings in release and tag scripts

Refactoring

• Consolidate hardcoded strings into config constants (file names, env vars, Claude API types)
• Add thread safety with RWMutex for runtime configuration
• Extract shared helpers to eliminate code duplication (ReindexFile, ScanDirectory)
• Rename internal/templates to internal/tpl
• Use iota for enum-like constants
• Add CRLF-aware newline handling

Documentation

• Add security page with vulnerability reporting guidelines
• Add version history page with release documentation links
• Update demo project with AGENT_PLAYBOOK.md, LEARNINGS.md, and specs examples
• Standardize Go docstrings with Parameters/Returns/Fields sections
• Add CLI output convention (use cmd.Print* instead of fmt.Print*)
• Document ctx completion command and --all-projects flag for recall commands

Dependencies

• Bump golangci/golangci-lint-action from 6 to 9
• Bump actions/setup-go from 5 to 6
• Bump actions/checkout from 4 to 6

---

Full changelog: v0.1.2...v0.2.0

---

Below is autogenerated release notes:

What's Changed

• deps: Bump actions/setup-go from 5 to 6 by @dependabot[bot] in #2
• deps: Bump golangci/golangci-lint-action from 6 to 9 by @dependabot[bot] in #3
• deps: Bump actions/checkout from 4 to 6 by @dependabot[bot] in #1
• Cleanup (part one) before release cut. by @josealekhine in #4
• cleanup before v0.2.0 release cut. by @josealekhine in #5

New Contributors

• @dependabot[bot] made their first contribution in #2
• @josealekhine made their first contribution in #4

Full Changelog: v0.1.2...v0.2.0

v0.1.2

Context CLI v0.1.2

This release improves the out-of-box experience for new users by automatically
configuring Claude Code permissions during ctx init. It also adds a new
Prompting Guide to help users get the most out of AI-assisted workflows.

Highlights

• ctx init now pre-seeds all required permissions for /ctx-* slash commands
• New Prompting Guide documentation with effective prompts for AI sessions
• Added make site-setup, make site, and make site-serve targets

Features

• Automatic permission configuration: ctx init now adds Bash(ctx status:*),
  Bash(ctx agent:*), Bash(ctx add:*), Bash(ctx session:*), Bash(ctx tasks:*),
  and Bash(ctx loop:*) to .claude/settings.local.json. Permissions are merged
  additively to preserve any existing user customizations.

Documentation

• Prompting Guide: New documentation page with effective prompts for working
  with AI assistants in ctx-enabled projects. Covers session start, debugging,
  reflection, and exploration patterns.
• Added Makefile targets for documentation site management (site-setup, site,
  site-serve)

---

Full changelog: v0.1.1...v0.1.2

v0.1.1

Context CLI v0.1.1

This release focuses on stability improvements and better Claude Code integration. Key fixes address JSON settings handling and hook configuration, while new features include a session reflection command and improved documentation.

Highlights

• Fixed JSON unicode escaping issues in settings.local.json
• Corrected Claude Code hook schema keys for proper integration
• Added /ctx-reflect slash command for session reflection
• New comparison documentation page for evaluating Context against alternatives

Features

• Session Reflection Command: New /ctx-reflect slash command helps AI agents reflect on sessions and suggest what context to persist
• Proactive Context Persistence: Added task lifecycle timestamps and improved context persistence workflows
• Template Consolidation: Reorganized Claude templates under internal/templates/ for better maintainability

Bug Fixes

• JSON Unicode Escaping: Fixed issue where settings.local.json incorrectly escaped unicode characters
• Hook Schema Keys: Corrected Claude Code hook configuration to use proper schema keys
• Init Command: Fixed ctx init to insert content after H1 heading instead of appending to end
• Deferred Error Handling: Properly check error return of os.Chdir in defer statements

Documentation

• Added comparison page documenting how Context compares to alternative solutions
• Improved mental model section and formatting in AGENT_PLAYBOOK
• Added learnings about JSON unicode escaping and Claude Code hook schema keys

CI/CD

• Added Dependabot configuration for automated dependency updates
• Set CTX_SKIP_PATH_CHECK=1 for tests to improve CI reliability
• Build golangci-lint from source to support Go 1.25

---

Full changelog: v0.1.0...v0.1.1

v0.1.0

Context CLI v0.1.0

Initial release of the Context CLI (ctx) - a tool for persistent AI context management.

What's New

This is the first stable release of ctx, providing:

• Context Management: Create and maintain .context/ directories with structured markdown files
• AI Integration: Built-in support for Claude Code with hooks and slash commands
• Session Persistence: Automatic session saving and transcript management
• Drift Detection: Track staleness of context files
• Multi-tool Support: Integration guides for Claude Code, Cursor, Aider, Copilot, and Windsurf

Installation

Linux (x86_64)

curl -LO https://github.com/ActiveMemory/ctx/releases/download/v0.1.0/ctx-0.1.0-linux-amd64
chmod +x ctx-0.1.0-linux-amd64
sudo mv ctx-0.1.0-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/ctx

Linux (ARM64)

curl -LO https://github.com/ActiveMemory/ctx/releases/download/v0.1.0/ctx-0.1.0-linux-arm64
chmod +x ctx-0.1.0-linux-arm64
sudo mv ctx-0.1.0-linux-arm64 /usr/local/bin/ctx

macOS (Apple Silicon)

curl -LO https://github.com/ActiveMemory/ctx/releases/download/v0.1.0/ctx-0.1.0-darwin-arm64
chmod +x ctx-0.1.0-darwin-arm64
sudo mv ctx-0.1.0-darwin-arm64 /usr/local/bin/ctx

macOS (Intel)

curl -LO https://github.com/ActiveMemory/ctx/releases/download/v0.1.0/ctx-0.1.0-darwin-amd64
chmod +x ctx-0.1.0-darwin-amd64
sudo mv ctx-0.1.0-darwin-amd64 /usr/local/bin/ctx

Windows

Download ctx-0.1.0-windows-amd64.exe or ctx-0.1.0-windows-arm64.exe and add to your PATH.

Verifying Checksums

Each binary has a .sha256 file. Verify with:

curl -LO https://github.com/ActiveMemory/ctx/releases/download/v0.1.0/ctx-0.1.0-linux-amd64.sha256
sha256sum -c ctx-0.1.0-linux-amd64.sha256

Quick Start

# Initialize context in your project
ctx init

# Check context status
ctx status

# Get AI-ready context packet
ctx agent --budget 4000

Documentation

Full documentation available at ctx.ist

Checksums

Each binary has a corresponding .sha256 file for verification.