Desk Journal
Manage a desk's journal — the persistent memory that survives
session boundaries.
When to use
-
End of session: Write what was done, current state, next step
-
Start of session: Read the journal to pick up where you left off
-
Mid-session checkpoint: Note significant progress or decisions
-
Desk wind-down: Write a final summary when a desk is being closed
How to write a journal entry
Append to desks/<desk-name>/journal.md. Each entry is a section:
## <date> — <short summary>
- **Worked on:** <what was done this session>
- **Current state:** <where things stand right now>
- **Next step:** <what the next session should pick up>
Guidelines
-
Be specific. "Worked on security scanning" is useless to the
next session. "Scanned repos A, B, C for CWE-502; found 3
findings in A, 0 in B and C; findings triaged to bench" — that's
a trail.
-
Include what didn't work. Dead ends are valuable — they prevent
the next session from walking the same path.
-
Keep it short. The journal is a trail marker, not a diary.
3-5 lines per entry. If you need more, the important context
should go on the bench as a separate artifact.
-
Always include next step. The next session starts from zero.
Without a next step, it has to re-derive everything.
End-of-desk entry
When a desk is being wound down (not just a session ending, but
the desk itself closing):
## <date> — Desk closed
- **Summary:** <what this desk accomplished overall>
- **Artifacts:** <what's on the bench from this desk>
- **Handoff:** <anything another desk or the operator needs to know>
Reading the journal
At session start, read the desk's journal to pick up context.
The most recent entry is the most important — it has the current
state and next step. Earlier entries provide history if needed.
Principles
- The journal is a cairn — stones left so the next traveler finds
the way. Every entry is a stone.
- Honesty over completeness. "I got stuck on X and don't know why"
is more useful than silence.
- The journal is for the next session, not for the current one.
Write for someone who knows nothing about what you just did.
