Brain Session Reflection

Reflect on the current conversation to capture decisions and discover patterns.

Philosophy: Principles emerge through decisions, not introspection. This command helps you discover unconscious principles revealed in conversations, then evolve your values and rules over time.

Execution Steps

1. Check Session Context

• Check current session's Project (ask if not set)
• Check current session's Role(s) (record all if multiple)
• If no context: Ask user to run /brain first

2. Analyze Conversation

Analyze the current conversation for meaningful decisions:

• What decisions were made?
• What trade-offs were considered?
• What values were revealed in choices?
• Were there repeated patterns?

3. AI Self-Review

Brain's philosophy: Principles emerge through decisions, not introspection. Only log sessions where meaningful decisions revealed unconscious principles.

Evaluate with these questions:

• Does it capture core insights from the session?
• Did decisions reveal unconscious principles worth making explicit?
• Is there content worth evolving into values/rules?
• Can the next session grasp the essence from this log alone?
• Does it reveal what truly matters? (repeated patterns or singular discoveries)

If insufficient (simple Q&A, routine tasks, no meaningful discoveries):

• Notify user: "No meaningful decisions to capture. Skipping log."
• Exit

If sufficient:

• Proceed to log creation

4. Create and Save Log

Draft log based on templates/log/session.md:

• Write in the same language as the current conversation
• This preserves natural context and authentic expression
• Focus on "What We Discovered This Session" section:
  • Repeated principles
  • New insights
  • Candidates for values/rules

Save to: ~/.brain/logs/{project}/YYYY-MM-DD_NNN.md (NNN: sequence number for the date)

Confirm: "Session log saved to {filename}"

5. Analyze Patterns

Read logs from ~/.brain/logs/{project}/:

Scope: Last 15 logs (or all if fewer)

• Provides consistent, recent context window
• Captures current decision-making patterns (not historical)
• Your decision-making evolves over time—focus on who you are now

Extract patterns:

• From "What We Discovered This Session" section
• Look for principles repeated 2+ times
• Prioritize recent, consistent patterns

Filter duplicates:

• Compare candidates with existing rules.md and values.md
• Obvious duplicates: auto-filtered
• Similar items: presented for user decision
• Only suggest genuinely new or evolved patterns

If no new patterns found:

• Exit silently

If patterns found:

• Proceed to step 6

6. Offer Pattern Update (Conditional)

Present findings to user:

• "I've found repeated patterns in your recent decisions:"
• List patterns with:
  • Repetition count
  • Source logs
  • Example decisions
• Ask: "Would you like to update your values/rules with these patterns?"

If user declines:

• Exit (will offer again next time)

If user accepts:

• Proceed to step 7

7. Prepare Update Suggestions

For each pattern candidate:

Detect similar items:

• Read existing rules.md and values.md
• Compare new candidates with existing items
• If similar items found, offer merge options:
  • Keep both items
  • Add/extend to existing item
  • Ignore new candidate
  • Modify existing item

Conservative merge principle:

• "Ship fast" vs "Ship working code fast" may seem similar but could be different
• Only you can judge if two principles are truly the same
• Obvious duplicates auto-detected, similarities require user decision

8. User Selection and Approval

Present all candidates with merge suggestions.

User selects which patterns to elevate:

• Check each candidate
• Make merge decisions
• Approve final additions

Important: This isn't just a safety check—it's a metacognitive process.

• When you approve a pattern, you're consciously recognizing your own thinking
• You transform an unconscious habit into a deliberate principle
• This moment strengthens self-awareness

9. Update Files

For approved patterns:

• Update rules.md and/or values.md
• Preserve the language from source logs
• Do not add comments/metadata
• Keep minimal structure

Confirm: "Updated {role/project} with {N} new principles"

Important Principles

• Log first, analyze always: Save meaningful logs, then check for patterns every time
• Recent context matters: Analyzes last 15 logs—your decision-making evolves, focus on who you are now
• User confirmation required: Never auto-modify files
  • This isn't just safety—it's a metacognitive process
  • When you approve a pattern, you're consciously recognizing your own thinking
  • You transform an unconscious habit into a deliberate principle
• Conservative merge: Detect only obvious duplicates; user decides on similarities
• Prioritize repetition: Present patterns repeated 2+ times first
  • Repeated patterns are more likely to be genuine principles

Usage Notes

Typical workflow:

/brain          - Start session
[work on tasks]
/brain-reflect  - End session
  → Log saved
  → Patterns analyzed (last 15 logs)
  → If found: "Would you like to update?"
  → If not: silently exits

You don't need to reflect every conversation:

• Only meaningful sessions with decisions
• AI will auto-skip if nothing to capture
• No pressure to log everything

Pattern discovery is continuous:

• Analyzes patterns every reflection
• Offers updates only when new patterns found
• Gradually evolves your values/rules
• Recent patterns reflect current you