git:20260914.55bfdc2 to git:20260914.aa2db46

1 added, 1 removed. Audit A to A.

---

name: show-me-your-work

description: "Keep a reviewable decision trail for long-running or unattended work: a TSV log with one row per decision (what, why, evidence, result). Local by default; commit it when a reviewer needs the trail to trust the result. Use for /show-me-your-work, autonomous or multi-phase runs, or work a human reviews after stepping away."

disable-model-invocation: true

---

# Show me your work

Keep one canonical log.

## The format

A single TSV file, one row per decision. Cells stay single-line. Evidence is a pointer, not prose.

Copy `references/decision-log-template.tsv` (the header row) to start a clean log. Columns:

- **ts.** ISO8601 timestamp.

- **phase.** The phase or workstream.

- **decision.** What was chosen or done, one line.

- **why.** The reason in plain words. If a principle drove it, say it plainly, not as a jargon tag.

- **evidence.** A link or path that proves it: commit SHA, PR number, `file:line`, or an artifact, trace, or screenshot path. Never a paragraph.

- **result.** The outcome or predicate state: `tests green`, `reverted`, `pixel-diff 0`, `INCONCLUSIVE`, `open`.

An example, plain-spoken so a reviewer reads it at a glance. This is illustration only. Don't copy these rows into a real log.

```

ts phase decision why evidence result

2026-05-24T09:02:00Z frame counted the work first, about 100 components and roughly 75 hours wanted to know the size before starting a long run commit 3a9f1c2 found 5 things to sort out before starting

2026-05-24T09:40:00Z harness took screenshots of the old version before changing anything so we can compare old against new and catch any visual change scripts/snapshot.sh, baseline/ saved 120 reference screenshots

2026-05-24T11:15:00Z widget moved the widget styles over without changing how it looks keep the change small and the result identical commit 7c21e0a, pixel-diff 0 looks identical, tests pass

2026-05-24T12:30:00Z widget threw out a helper's work because its screenshots were blank checked the real files instead of trusting its summary worktree reset reverted, tightened the instructions for next time

```

## Logging a row

Write each entry the way you'd tell a teammate what you did. Plain words, concrete actions, no AI speak or abstract jargon (the **unslop** skill applies to log text too).

Use the helper `scripts/log.sh <logfile> <phase> <decision> <why> <evidence> <result>`. It stamps `ts`, writes the header on first use, strips stray tabs/newlines, and prefixes any cell starting with `=`, `+`, `-`, or `@` with a single quote. A bare `printf` appending a row works too, but mind those same bytes if cells come from generated or user-supplied text.

Log decision points and checkpoints, not every action: a fork chosen, a unit completed with its verification result, a pivot or revert with its trigger, a blocker surfaced, a gate fixed. For loop runs, one row per iteration. Skip the trivial and self-evident.

## Where it lives

By default the log is a working artifact, not committed. Keep it at `decisions.tsv` in the work dir, or `.audit/<task-slug>.tsv` when several efforts run at once, and leave it out of git.

Commit it only when the work is ambitious enough that a reviewer needs the trail to trust the result.

## Rules

- One row is one decision or checkpoint.

- Append-only. A wrong call gets a new row that supersedes it. Never edit or delete history.

- Prefer evidence produced by committed scripts over hand-made one-offs (the **encode-lessons-in-structure** principle skill).

## Audit the log against the transcript

- At the end of the run, before handing back, check the log told the truth. Read this run's transcript under the active workspace's `agent-transcripts/` directory (the system prompt names the path). Don't glob across `~/.cursor/projects/*/`. That reads unrelated private chats. Walk the log against what actually happened:

+ At the end of the run, before handing back, check the log told the truth. Read this run's transcript from the active workspace's session directory: in Cursor, the `agent-transcripts/` directory the system prompt names. In Claude Code, `~/.claude/projects/<slug>/` (the workspace path with every character that isn't a letter or digit turned into "-"). In Pi, `~/.pi/agent/sessions/--<slug>--/`. In Codex, the `~/.codex/sessions/` file whose first line has `payload.cwd` equal to the workspace path. Don't glob across every project's directory. That reads unrelated private chats. Walk the log against what actually happened:

- Every row maps to a real action. Cut invented or aspirational entries.

- Each row's evidence resolves and shows what the row claims.

- A fork, pivot, or abandoned approach that shaped the work but isn't logged is a gap. Add it.

- Drop padding.

Fix the log, not the story. If the work diverged from what a row claims, the row is wrong.

## Cross-model review of the trail

Before handing back, spawn a subagent on a different model family from the one that did the work. Self-review is not a substitute. The subagent reads the audit trail and the run's transcript, then flags what the user should pay attention to. Not a redo of the work, a scan for what's suboptimal or risky.

- Decisions logged with weak or absent evidence.

- Verification steps skipped or claimed without proof in the transcript.

- Choices that look risky in hindsight (premature, scope-creeping, papering over a symptom).

- Gaps the user would otherwise miss on a casual skim.

Every reply for a run that produced a trail ends with an "Attention" section. Lead with the reviewer's model on its own line (`reviewed by <model>`), then list each flag pointing to specific rows or moments. "No flags" is a valid value. The model name is not.

## Reviewing the trail

Read top to bottom, follow the evidence pointers, spot-check. GitHub renders a committed TSV as a table. `column -s$'\t' -t decisions.tsv` renders it in a terminal.

## Composing this skill

Other skills route their audit trail here instead of inventing one. Reference it by name and let it own the format. Don't restate the columns.