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desk-journal skill

by github·github/awesome-copilot·39k stars·MIT

Write, append, or read desk journal entries. The journal is persistent memory — what survives session boundaries. A good entry has: what was done, current state, next step.

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Clean: nothing in its files matched our rules. We read 1 file in the folder on 2026-09-28.

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Install the desk-journal skill

A skill is a folder. Copy it into your agent's skills folder and the agent loads it when the task matches its description. 

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot.git /tmp/awesome-copilot
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/awesome-copilot/skills/desk-journal ~/.claude/skills/desk-journal
available in every project

In the Claude apps, zip the folder and upload it from the Skills settings. The folder on GitHub

The instructions your agent would load

SKILL.md as published, without the frontmatter. Read it on GitHub

Desk Journal

Manage a desk's journal — the persistent memory that survives session boundaries.

When to use

  • End of session: Write what was done, current state, next step
  • Start of session: Read the journal to pick up where you left off
  • Mid-session checkpoint: Note significant progress or decisions
  • Desk wind-down: Write a final summary when a desk is being closed

How to write a journal entry

Append to desks//journal.md. Each entry is a section:

## <date> — <short summary>
- **Worked on:** <what was done this session>
- **Current state:** <where things stand right now>
- **Next step:** <what the next session should pick up>

Guidelines

next session. "Scanned repos A, B, C for CWE-502; found 3 findings in A, 0 in B and C; findings triaged to bench" — that's a trail.

  • Be specific. "Worked on security scanning" is useless to the

the next session from walking the same path.

  • Include what didn't work. Dead ends are valuable — they prevent

3-5 lines per entry. If you need more, the important context should go on the bench as a separate artifact.

  • Keep it short. The journal is a trail marker, not a diary.

Without a next step, it has to re-derive everything.

  • Always include next step. The next session starts from zero.

End-of-desk entry

When a desk is being wound down (not just a session ending, but the desk itself closing):

## <date> — Desk closed
- **Summary:** <what this desk accomplished overall>
- **Artifacts:** <what's on the bench from this desk>
- **Handoff:** <anything another desk or the operator needs to know>

Reading the journal

At session start, read the desk's journal to pick up context. The most recent entry is the most important — it has the current state and next step. Earlier entries provide history if needed.

Principles

the way. Every entry is a stone.

  • The journal is a cairn — stones left so the next traveler finds

is more useful than silence.

  • Honesty over completeness. "I got stuck on X and don't know why"

Write for someone who knows nothing about what you just did.

  • The journal is for the next session, not for the current one.

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