Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Session Guard agent skill: install and trigger
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
Session Guard is an agent skill: a set of written instructions that an AI coding agent reads and follows. It makes the agent track how long a session has run, checkpoint its progress, restate the key project rules, and suggest splitting the work into a fresh session before quality slips. This guide explains what it does, how to install it, how to trigger it, and where it falls short, so you can decide whether it fits your work.
Session Guardwshobson/agents · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the session-guard ZIP from the directory page. It contains SKILL.md.
- 2Unzip into a skills folder. Extract it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the skill there.
- 4Save key rules to files. Write your critical conventions into CLAUDE.md or CONTEXT.md so the agent can re-read them after compaction.
- 5Start a long task. Ask for a multi-step task in plain language. The skill applies when sessions get long or the agent starts drifting.
- 6Respond to checkpoints. At around 40 tool calls, expect a progress summary and a restated rule list. At around 60, expect a stop, a handoff document and a suggestion to start a fresh session.
What the Session Guard skill makes the agent do
The skill is built around a simple idea: long sessions degrade silently, and context compaction can drop instructions without warning. Session Guard tries to counter this by having the agent monitor its own session health.
Once the skill is active, the agent counts its tool calls. Around 40 calls it enters a yellow zone and checkpoints its progress and restates the 3 to 5 most critical rules. Around 60 calls it enters a red zone, stops making tool calls, re-reads the project's rules file, writes its state to a handoff document, and suggests a fresh session. It also re-reads the rules file when it notices contradictions or style drift, and after a context compaction.
- Yellow zone (40+ tool calls): checkpoint and recite critical rules
- Red zone (60+ tool calls): stop, verify rules, write a handoff, split
- Contradictions or naming drift: re-read the source of truth
- After compaction: re-read the rules file and check the next action against it
Install the Session Guard skill
The skill is a single file, SKILL.md. Download the ZIP from the directory page and unzip it into one of two locations. Use ~/.claude/skills/ to make it available across your projects, or a project's .claude/skills/ folder to limit it to that project.
If you use the Claude apps, you can instead upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
- Per project: unzip into the project's .claude/skills/ folder
- Claude apps: upload under Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a special command. The skill's description tells the agent when to use it, so it applies when you are working on complex multi-step tasks, when a session is getting long (40+ tool calls), when the agent starts ignoring earlier rules, when conventions drift, or after a compaction event.
You can also ask for it directly in plain language. The examples below describe the kind of request that fits; the skill itself does not define fixed phrases.
- "This is a big refactor across several modules. Keep an eye on session length and checkpoint as you go."
- "You've drifted from our naming convention. Re-read the project rules before continuing."
- "We just compacted. Re-read CLAUDE.md and tell me the rules you're following."
Make the skill work: save critical rules to files
The skill is only as useful as the files it points to. According to its own guidance, rules stated only in chat are lost during compaction, while anything saved in a project file can be re-read. Keep important conventions, architecture decisions and constraints in files such as CLAUDE.md or CONTEXT.md.
Also keep in mind what the skill does not do. It cannot force the agent to follow its instructions. It depends on the agent choosing to check its own behaviour, and the file itself notes that hooks have not reliably solved this problem.
- Put architectural rules and conventions in CLAUDE.md or CONTEXT.md, not only in chat
- Split before problems appear, not after
- Be targeted with re-reads rather than re-reading everything
What the skill needs and its safety notes
Session Guard lists no requirements. It installs no packages, runs no scripts and uses no network access. It is a set of written instructions only, so there is no code to review beyond the text of SKILL.md itself.
Because it is only guidance, its effect depends entirely on the agent's behaviour. Read SKILL.md before installing if you want to see exactly what it asks the agent to do.
- Requires: nothing listed
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
- Licence: MIT
What people use it for
- Running a multi-file refactor where the agent must keep naming and error-handling conventions for many steps
- Keeping an agent consistent across a long feature build that spans several sessions via handoff documents
- Recovering after a context compaction by making the agent re-read its project rules before acting
- Reducing style drift in a team codebase where the agent has started contradicting earlier decisions
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the session-guard skill?
Download the ZIP from the directory page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, you can instead upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Does session-guard need any requirements or packages?
The skill lists no requirements. It installs no packages, runs no scripts and uses no network access. It is only a set of written instructions in SKILL.md.
Is session-guard free?
The skill is listed under the MIT licence. The source does not mention pricing, so check the directory page for any terms beyond the licence.
Will session-guard stop the agent forgetting rules?
Not guaranteed. The skill relies on the agent following its own instructions, and the file notes that hooks have not reliably fixed the problem. Saving critical rules in project files such as CLAUDE.md makes them easier for the agent to re-read.
What is context compaction and why does it matter here?
Compaction shortens the conversation so the agent can continue, and according to the skill it can silently drop early decisions and rules stated only in chat. The skill tells the agent to re-read project files after compaction.
When should I not use session-guard?
Skip it for short, simple tasks, where the 40 and 60 tool-call thresholds will never be reached and the instructions add nothing.
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Our verdict
Session Guard suits developers running long, multi-step coding sessions and teams who see an agent drift from earlier conventions, especially if they want a lightweight guideline with no tooling. It is not a guaranteed fix, and it does nothing useful for short tasks or for rules that exist only in chat. If you need enforced controls rather than behavioural guidance, look for a tool-based approach instead.
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