> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/hempun10/devdaily/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Context Recovery

> Fight context switching amnesia by recovering what you were working on from your journal history

The context command helps you recover your work context after time away, context switching, or returning to a project. It visualizes your recent activity from saved journal snapshots.

## Quick Start

Recover your work context from the last 7 days:

```bash theme={null}
devdaily context
```

Get an AI-powered "where did I leave off?" summary:

```bash theme={null}
devdaily context --ai
```

## How It Works

<Steps>
  <Step title="Retrieve Snapshots">
    Pulls saved journal snapshots from the specified date range.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Analyze Activity">
    Shows current branch, active branches with uncommitted work, and recent activity timeline.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Display Context">
    Renders PRs, tickets, work areas, and progression across days.
  </Step>

  <Step title="AI Summary (Optional)">
    Generates a concise briefing of what you were working on and suggested next steps.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Context recovery requires journal snapshots. If you haven't taken snapshots yet, the command will create one for you automatically.
</Note>

## Command Options

### Time Range

| Option                | Description                                 | Default |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `-d, --days <number>` | Number of days to look back                 | `7`     |
| `--date <date>`       | Show context for specific date (YYYY-MM-DD) | -       |
| `--from <date>`       | Start date for range (YYYY-MM-DD)           | -       |
| `--to <date>`         | End date for range (YYYY-MM-DD)             | -       |

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Last 7 Days">
    ```bash theme={null}
    # Default: last week
    devdaily context
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Last 14 Days">
    ```bash theme={null}
    # Look back 2 weeks
    devdaily context --days 14
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Specific Date">
    ```bash theme={null}
    # What was I doing on Jan 15?
    devdaily context --date 2024-01-15
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Date Range">
    ```bash theme={null}
    # Custom range
    devdaily context --from 2024-01-10 --to 2024-01-20
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Project Filtering

| Option               | Description                              |
| -------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| `-p, --project <id>` | Filter by project identifier             |
| `--all-projects`     | Show context across all tracked projects |

```bash theme={null}
# Single project
devdaily context --project my-api

# All projects
devdaily context --all-projects
```

### Display Options

| Option       | Description                                          |
| ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| `--ai`       | Generate AI-powered "where did I leave off?" summary |
| `--branches` | Show detailed active branch status                   |
| `--raw`      | Output raw context data (no formatting)              |
| `--no-copy`  | Don't copy AI summary to clipboard                   |
| `--debug`    | Show debug output                                    |

```bash theme={null}
# AI summary of recent work
devdaily context --ai

# Detailed branch information
devdaily context --branches

# Raw data for automation
devdaily context --raw
```

## Output Components

### Project Header

```
  ━━━ 📂 my-api ━━━
  /Users/dev/projects/my-api
  3 active days · 18 commits
```

Shows project name, path, active days, and total commits.

### Current Branch

```
  Current branch: feature/oauth2-integration
```

Displays your current working branch.

### Active Branches

Shows branches with work-in-progress:

```
  Active branches (3):
    ▸ feature/oauth2-integration ← you are here ↑5 ahead
      Last: Implement OAuth2 token refresh flow
      Modified: src/auth.ts, src/api/oauth.ts +3 more
    
      feature/dashboard-redesign ↑12 ahead ● uncommitted changes
      Last: Update dashboard layout
      Modified: src/components/Dashboard.tsx
    
      fix/login-redirect
      Last: Fix redirect after successful login
```

<Accordion title="Branch Status Indicators">
  * **▸** - Current branch marker
  * **← you are here** - You're currently on this branch
  * **↑N ahead** - Branch is N commits ahead of base
  * **● uncommitted changes** - Branch has uncommitted work
</Accordion>

### Activity Timeline

Chronological view of recent work:

```
  Activity timeline:
    │ 2024-01-18 (today)  🌿 feature/oauth2  📝 5 · 2 PRs · +234/-89
    │   a3f2c91 Implement token refresh endpoint
    │   b7e1d42 Add OAuth2 configuration
    │   ... +3 more commits
    │
    │ 2024-01-17  🌿 feature/oauth2  📝 8 · +456/-123
    │   c9d4e21 Set up OAuth2 providers
    │   d2f8a33 Update auth middleware
    │   e5b3c44 Add OAuth2 database schema
    │   ... +5 more commits
    │   📌 Started OAuth2 integration work
    ╵
```

### Pull Requests

```
  Pull Requests:
    ○ #45 Add OAuth2 authentication support (open)
    ● #43 Refactor error handling (merged)
    ✕ #41 Update API documentation (closed)
```

<Accordion title="PR State Indicators">
  * **○** - Open PR (green)
  * **●** - Merged PR (accent color)
  * **✕** - Closed PR (gray)
</Accordion>

### Tickets

```
  Tickets:
    PROJ-123: Implement OAuth2 authentication [in progress]
    PROJ-124: Fix login redirect bug [done]
```

### Work Areas

Bar chart showing time distribution:

```
  Work areas:
    backend        ████████████████░░░░ 78%
    tests          ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 18%
    docs           ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  4%
```

## AI-Powered Summary

Add `--ai` to get a concise briefing:

```bash theme={null}
devdaily context --ai
```

### Example AI Output

```
╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ 🧠 Where You Left Off                           │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                 │
│ **What I was working on**                       │
│ OAuth2 authentication integration for the API.  │
│ Started 3 days ago, made steady progress on     │
│ token management and provider configuration.    │
│                                                 │
│ **Current state**                               │
│ - ✅ OAuth2 providers configured                 │
│ - ✅ Token refresh endpoint implemented          │
│ - ⏳ PR #45 in review                            │
│ - ⏳ Tests need to be written                    │
│                                                 │
│ **Open threads**                                │
│ - Branch: feature/oauth2-integration (5 ahead)  │
│ - Uncommitted changes in src/auth.ts            │
│ - PR feedback pending                           │
│                                                 │
│ **Suggested next steps**                        │
│ 1. Address PR review feedback                   │
│ 2. Write unit tests for token refresh           │
│ 3. Commit uncommitted auth changes              │
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
```

The AI analyzes:

* Main work themes over the period
* What's completed vs. in progress
* Open branches and uncommitted work
* Logical next steps based on patterns

<Tip>
  The AI summary is automatically copied to clipboard (disable with `--no-copy`).
</Tip>

## Multi-Project Context

View context across all your projects:

```bash theme={null}
devdaily context --all-projects --days 7
```

Shows separate sections for each project you've worked on.

## First-Time Usage

If you haven't taken snapshots yet:

```
  No journal entries found. Taking a live snapshot...
  
  ✓ Snapshot saved for my-api. Future runs will have history.
```

DevDaily automatically creates your first snapshot and then displays context.

### Building Your Journal

To build up context history:

```bash theme={null}
# Take snapshots regularly
devdaily snapshot

# Or enable auto-snapshots in other commands
devdaily standup  # Auto-creates snapshot
devdaily pr       # Auto-creates snapshot
```

## Use Cases

### After a Weekend

```bash theme={null}
# Monday morning - what was I doing Friday?
devdaily context --days 3 --ai
```

### After Context Switching

```bash theme={null}
# Just finished working on project A, now back to B
devdaily context --project project-b --ai
```

### After a Vacation

```bash theme={null}
# Back from 2 weeks off
devdaily context --days 14 --branches --ai
```

### Reviewing Old Work

```bash theme={null}
# What was I working on in mid-January?
devdaily context --from 2024-01-10 --to 2024-01-20
```

### Daily Standup Prep

```bash theme={null}
# Quick context before standup meeting
devdaily context --days 1 --ai
```

## Detailed Branch View

Use `--branches` to see all active branches, not just those with uncommitted work:

```bash theme={null}
devdaily context --branches
```

Shows:

* All branches with recent commits
* Last commit message per branch
* Files modified in each branch
* Commits ahead of base

## Raw Context Mode

For automation and integrations:

```bash theme={null}
devdaily context --raw
```

Outputs the raw journal entries in a structured format:

```
=== 2024-01-18 ===
Project: my-api
Branch: feature/oauth2-integration
Commits:
- a3f2c91: Implement token refresh endpoint
- b7e1d42: Add OAuth2 configuration
...
```

## Example Workflows

### Quick Morning Check

```bash theme={null}
# See what I worked on yesterday
devdaily context --days 1
```

### Deep Dive Recovery

```bash theme={null}
# Full context with AI guidance
devdaily context --days 14 --branches --ai
```

### Project-Specific Recovery

```bash theme={null}
# What was happening in the API project?
devdaily context --project my-api --ai
```

### Export for Documentation

```bash theme={null}
# Get raw data for notes
devdaily context --raw > context.txt
```

## Configuration

Customize in `.devdaily.json`:

```json theme={null}
{
  "output": {
    "copyToClipboard": true
  }
}
```

## Troubleshooting

<Accordion title="No work context found">
  If you see "No work context found for the specified period":

  1. Take snapshots to build your journal:
     ```bash theme={null}
     devdaily snapshot
     ```

  2. Look back further:
     ```bash theme={null}
     devdaily context --days 30
     ```

  3. View all snapshots:
     ```bash theme={null}
     devdaily snapshot --list
     ```
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Context seems incomplete">
  Journal snapshots are only as complete as the data saved:

  * Take snapshots regularly (daily or after major work)
  * Enable auto-snapshots (enabled by default in standup, pr, week)
  * Use `--debug` to see what data is available
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="AI summary fails">
  Ensure GitHub Copilot CLI is installed:

  ```bash theme={null}
  gh extension install github/gh-copilot
  ```
</Accordion>

## Related Commands

* [`devdaily snapshot`](/cli/snapshot) - Take and manage work snapshots
* [`devdaily recall`](/features/work-search) - Search your work history
* [`devdaily week`](/features/weekly-summaries) - Generate weekly summaries
* [`devdaily standup`](/features/standup) - Generate daily standups