Journey Skill

Create or update session learning logs that persist institutional memory across Claude Code sessions.

Use /journey for a quick standalone capture. For end-of-session automation that also evolves skills, use /wrap-up instead.

When to Use

Use /journey when:

•After completing significant work in a session
•After discovering important patterns or learnings
•After making architectural decisions
•After fixing non-trivial bugs
•When the session contains knowledge worth preserving

Commands

Create New Journey

code

/journey {title}

Creates a new journey file with a summary of the current session.

List Journeys

code

/journey --list

Shows all existing journeys.

Read Journey

code

/journey --read {filename}

Reads a specific journey file.

Show Recent

code

/journey --recent

Shows the 5 most recent journeys.

Arguments

•$0 - Journey title describing the main work done

Journey File Format

Journeys are saved to .claude/journeys/ with naming: YYYY-MM-DD-{slug}.md

Template Structure

markdown

# Journey: {Title}

**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Tags:** #tag1 #tag2 #tag3

## Summary

1-3 sentences describing what was accomplished and why it matters.

## What Was Done

1. **First major item**
   - Details
   - More details

2. **Second major item**
   - Details

## Key Learnings

- **Learning 1**: Explanation with context
- **Learning 2**: Explanation with context

## Files Changed

| File | Change |
|------|--------|
| `path/to/file.ts` | Brief description |

## Patterns Discovered

### Pattern Name
\`\`\`code
// Example code showing the pattern
\`\`\`

## Decisions Made

| Decision | Rationale |
|----------|-----------|
| Choice made | Why it was made |

## Connected To

- Related skills, files, or future work

Writing Guidelines

Summary

•Be concise but specific
•Mention the "why" not just the "what"
•Future Claude sessions should understand the context

Key Learnings

•Focus on insights that prevent future mistakes
•Include code patterns when relevant
•Explain the "gotcha" moments

Example Usage

After a session refactoring API authentication:

code

/journey API Auth Refactor

Claude will create .claude/journeys/2026-02-08-api-auth-refactor.md with:

•Summary of what was refactored
•Key learnings about the auth flow
•Files that were changed
•Patterns discovered (like token refresh handling)

Purpose

Journeys create institutional memory that:

•Helps future sessions avoid repeating mistakes
•Documents decisions and their rationale
•Preserves patterns and best practices
•Tracks the evolution of the codebase

Unlike git commits (which track what changed), journeys track why and what was learned.