Session Context Loader Hook

Hook Type

SessionStart -- Fires when a new Claude Code session begins.

Description

This hook loads a saved context file at the start of every session, giving Claude immediate awareness of where you left off. It reads from .claude/session-context.md which contains your current task, branch, recent decisions, and any blockers. Combined with the Session Summary Saver hook, this creates persistent memory across sessions.

Patterns/Rules

• Triggers on every new session start
• Reads from .claude/session-context.md in the project root
• If the file doesn't exist, outputs a brief "no previous context" message
• The context file should be kept concise (under 50 lines) to avoid wasting tokens
• Works best paired with the Session Summary Saver hook

Configuration

Copy
{
  "hooks": {
    "SessionStart": [
      {
        "matcher": "",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "if [ -f .claude/session-context.md ]; then echo '--- PREVIOUS SESSION CONTEXT ---'; cat .claude/session-context.md; echo '--- END CONTEXT ---'; else echo 'No previous session context found. Starting fresh.'; fi"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Enhanced Version (with staleness check)

Copy
{
  "hooks": {
    "SessionStart": [
      {
        "matcher": "",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "bash -c 'FILE=.claude/session-context.md; if [ -f \"$FILE\" ]; then AGE=$(( ($(date +%s) - $(stat -f%m \"$FILE\" 2>/dev/null || stat -c%Y \"$FILE\" 2>/dev/null)) / 3600 )); echo \"--- PREVIOUS SESSION CONTEXT (${AGE}h ago) ---\"; cat \"$FILE\"; echo \"--- END CONTEXT ---\"; if [ $AGE -gt 48 ]; then echo \"WARNING: Context is over 48 hours old. Verify it is still relevant.\"; fi; else echo \"No previous session context. Starting fresh.\"; fi'"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Example Context File (.claude/session-context.md)

Copy
# Session Context - Updated 2025-03-25

## Current Task
Refactoring auth middleware to support session-based auth (replacing JWT)

## Branch
feat/session-auth (branched from develop)

## Progress
- [x] Created session store with Redis backend
- [x] Updated login endpoint to create sessions
- [ ] Migrate /api/user routes to use session middleware
- [ ] Update frontend to handle session cookies

## Key Decisions
- Using Redis for session store (not database)
- Session TTL: 24 hours, sliding window
- Keeping JWT for API-to-API auth (internal services only)

## Blockers
- Need to test CORS cookie behavior with the React frontend

Action

At session start:

1. Checks if .claude/session-context.md exists
2. If found: reads and outputs the content with age indicator
3. If stale (>48h): adds a warning
4. If not found: outputs a brief "starting fresh" message
5. Claude receives this context as part of the session initialization