Context Surfing

The agent rides the wave of peak context. When the wave crests, it commits. When it detects drift, it pulls out cleanly — saving state, handing off, and letting the next session catch the next wave.

No wipeouts. No zombie sessions. Only intentional, high-fidelity execution.

Mental Model

Think of context like an ocean wave:

• Paddling in = loading the intent frame, plan, and initial context. Energy is building.
• The peak = full context coherence. The agent knows exactly what it's doing and why. This is when to execute.
• The shoulder = context starting to flatten. Still rideable, but output density is dropping.
• The close-out = drift. Contradiction, hedging, second-guessing, or hallucinated details. Wipe-out territory.

The skill's job: ride as long as the wave is good, exit before it closes out.

Lifecycle Position

[plan-interview] → [intent-framed-agent] → [context-surfing ACTIVE] → [verify-gate] → [simplify-and-harden] → [self-improvement]

Context Surfing is the execution layer. It wraps all work between intent capture and post-completion review.

Relationship with intent-framed-agent

Both skills are live during execution. They monitor different failure modes:

• intent-framed-agent monitors scope drift — am I doing the right thing?
• context-surfing monitors context quality drift — am I still capable of doing it well?

Precedence rule: If both fire simultaneously, context-surfing's exit takes precedence. Degraded context makes scope checks unreliable.

Activation

This skill is live the moment the intent frame and plan are established. No explicit invocation needed.

At activation, load whatever anchors are available:

1. The intent frame (from intent-framed-agent output) — if available
2. The plan (from plan-interview output) — if available
3. Project context files (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, README.md)

Drift Detection

Strong signals (exit immediately)

• The agent contradicts a decision it already made
• A detail appears in the output that was never in the original context (hallucination)
• The agent re-opens a scope question that was explicitly resolved
• Output starts re-explaining the task rather than executing it

Weak signals (trigger recovery)

• Responses are getting longer without getting more useful
• Hedging language increases: "it depends", "could be", "might want to consider"
• The agent switches approaches mid-task without explicit user direction
• References to the original intent become vague or paraphrased

Recovery Protocol (Wave Re-Anchor)

When weak signals accumulate, try to re-anchor first:

Step 1: Pause and re-read

Stop producing output. Re-read whatever wave anchor artifacts are available:

1. If an intent frame exists, open and read it verbatim
2. If a plan file exists, open and read the relevant section
3. Re-read the user's original task description and project context files

Step 2: Reconcile

• If the mismatch resolves — resume execution
• If uncertainty remains — spawn a context-monitor subagent for a fresh perspective
• If the subagent confirms strong drift — escalate to the user
• If the user re-grounds you — integrate and resume
• If the user can't resolve it — proceed to Exit Protocol

Exit Protocol (Wave Close-Out)

When a strong signal fires, or recovery fails:

Step 1: Stop executing

Immediately pause task execution.

Step 2: Write the handoff file

Create .context-surfing/handoff-[slug]-[timestamp].md:

# Context Surf Handoff

## Session Info
- Task: [task name / slug]
- Started: [timestamp]
- Ended: [timestamp]
- Exit reason: [what drift signal was detected]

## Intent Frame (if available)
[copy directly from intent-framed-agent artifact]

## Plan (if available)
[copy directly from plan-interview artifact]

## Completed Work
[what was done]

## In Progress at Exit
[what was active]

## Pending Work
[remaining tasks]

## Drift Notes
[what triggered the exit]

## Active Context Files
[list .md files loaded]

## Modified Context Files
[list .md files changed]

## Recommended Re-entry Point
[where to pick up]

Step 3: Notify the user

"Context wave is done. I've saved the session state to .context-surfing/[filename]. The next session should load that file and catch the next wave."

Principles

Ride the peak, not the whole ocean. A shorter session with high fidelity beats a long session with gradual corruption.

Exit is not failure. The wave close-out is a feature.

The handoff file is the continuity. It's what makes the next session as sharp as this one started.

Never hide the exit. Always be explicit with the user that a context exit happened and why.