# Pick up where you meant to leave off.

A small b.akery experiment for people doing real work in Claude Code.

**Try it on one task you already understand.** Work normally, save your place, then start a fresh session. Does Claude preserve the decisions that matter without making you explain them again?

## Install once in a project

This starter uses three project skills. It does not replace CLAUDE.md, change global settings or install a background service. Your normal Claude Code account and permissions apply.

**In Claude Desktop:** open the **Code** tab, choose **Local** and select your project folder. Use that folder directly, without creating a separate worktree for this first trial. Attach `bakery-continuity-starter-v0.1.1.zip` to the conversation and paste:

> Install the attached b.akery starter ZIP in this project. Before extracting or installing, check the current folder: is it under .claude/worktrees/ or a linked Git worktree? If so, stop and help me reopen the main local project with Desktop’s worktree option off; do not silently install into another checkout. Otherwise, extract without overwriting existing files, read bakery-continuity-starter/START-HERE.md, and run its install.sh with this project root as the destination. Preserve existing different skills. Confirm the starter ZIP and extracted folder are ignored by Git if this is a Git project. Then tell me how to try /bakery-save and /bakery-resume.

Claude can handle extraction and installation in the Code conversation; you do not need to open Terminal. Approve its normal file/tool requests when appropriate. This package targets the Code tab; installation into ordinary Chat or Cowork is not included.

**If the attachment is unavailable to Claude:** put `bakery-continuity-starter-v0.1.1.zip` (or the extracted `bakery-continuity-starter` folder) in your project folder and paste:

> Before extracting or installing, check whether this folder is under .claude/worktrees/ or is a linked Git worktree. If so, stop and help me reopen the main local project with Desktop’s worktree option off; do not silently switch checkouts. Otherwise, check this project root for bakery-continuity-starter-v0.1.1.zip or an extracted bakery-continuity-starter folder. If needed, extract the ZIP here without overwriting existing files. Read bakery-continuity-starter/START-HERE.md, then run its install.sh with this project root as the destination. Do not replace any existing different skills. Confirm the starter ZIP and extracted folder are ignored by Git if this is a Git project. If neither item is here, ask me for its exact path instead of searching other folders. Then tell me how to try it.

**Or, from a terminal:**

```sh
sh "/path/to/bakery-continuity-starter/install.sh" "/path/to/your/project"
```

Start a new Code conversation in the same local folder if the commands do not appear. Type `/bakery-save` to check availability. The installer was tested on macOS; it also targets Linux/WSL with a POSIX shell, which have not been tested. On another platform, copy the three `skills/bakery-*` directories into the project's `.claude/skills/` directory without overwriting existing files; Claude can help create the local `.bakery/.gitignore` containing `*`.

The installer warns if its destination is a worktree. It still respects an explicitly supplied destination, so deliberate worktree use remains possible; saving and resuming must use that same folder. In Git projects it appends local exclusion rules for `bakery-continuity-starter-v*.zip` and `bakery-continuity-starter/`, scoped to the destination. Existing `.gitignore` files remain unchanged. Files already staged or tracked are reported and left untouched. In a folder without Git, these local exclusions cannot be added until Git is initialized; rerun the installer then.

Upgrading from v0.1? Extract v0.1.1 into a fresh temporary folder, then run that copy of `install.sh` with your existing project as the destination. The skills are unchanged; your checkpoints are preserved. This applies the new local Git exclusions without replacing your older extracted kit.

## Try one real handoff

1. Work on your own task as usual. Make a decision or correct an assumption as you normally would.
2. At a natural stopping point, run **`/bakery-save`**. You can add a note: `/bakery-save Keep this useful for non-engineers; no accounts in the first version.`
3. Read the short recap. Correct anything important while it is fresh; ask for a new checkpoint to preserve the correction.
4. In Desktop, start a **new Code conversation in the same local project folder**, with the worktree option off, and run **`/bakery-resume`**. In the terminal client you can use `/clear` after saving, or exit and start `claude` again without `--continue`/`--resume`.
5. Read the return brief and continue when ready. Afterwards run **`/bakery-feedback`**, or just tell James what you had to explain again.

Keep both conversations in the same folder: checkpoints are local files ignored by Git, so a separate worktree or cloud session will not automatically receive them.

You do not need to read an archive, write a perfect brief or rate the agent. “That missed the point” is useful feedback.

## Two-minute fictional demo

If you don't want to use your work yet, install into the included `demo-project` folder and start Claude Code there. Paste:

> We're building a volunteer event signup. Read PROJECT.md and draft the next small change, but don't implement it yet. My decision: no accounts or sign-in for volunteers. The coordinator will manage capacity by hand for the pilot. A waitlist can wait. Preserve the existing RSVP field names. Save our stopping point with /bakery-save.

Then start a fresh conversation and run `/bakery-resume`. Look for the decisions you made in the previous conversation and a concrete next step. This is a demonstration, not a blind comparison or proof of effectiveness.

## Optional: try another assistant

Already using Cursor or Codex? Open the same project there in a fresh conversation and use [the cross-tool resume prompt](RESUME-IN-ANOTHER-TOOL.txt). See whether the decisions travel without another explanation. This is an optional manual trial, not part of the verified Claude smoke tests.

## Your data and control

The kit writes checkpoints and optional feedback under `.bakery/` in your project. These are readable Markdown files. They are ignored by Git by default; files already tracked by Git remain tracked. Downloaded starter ZIPs and the extracted distribution folder are excluded locally in Git projects. Three skill instructions live under `.claude/skills/` and may be committed if you choose. No file is automatically sent to James or b.akery. Claude processes the requests under your existing Claude account; this is not offline inference.

Only the current task context and directly relevant files should be used. This starter does not record your screen, scan past sessions, run research comparisons in the background, or send telemetry. Don't use confidential client or personnel data for your first trial. If you want to share, send only feedback you have reviewed; the checkpoint and project stay with you unless you choose otherwise.

To stop using it, remove only `.claude/skills/bakery-save`, `bakery-resume`, and `bakery-feedback`. Keep `.bakery/` for your records or delete it yourself. There are no hooks or daemons to stop.

## What this tests

Whether a fresh session retains useful decisions and gives you a workable return point. It does not establish time saved, compare models or prove that a handoff is better than Claude's normal session history. We're looking for failures and friction as much as successful returns.

Desktop compatibility is documented by [Claude Code Desktop](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop#use-skills). Our live skill tests used the command-line runner; the Desktop UI has not been tested end to end. Project skills follow [Claude Code's documented skill format](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/skills). See TESTING.md for the actual tested environment and limits.