Work Log Generation

Name: work-log
Rating: 92
Author: spokeyjoe

Overview

Generate a professional work log documenting a completed development task. The log captures objectives, changes, technical decisions, and links to relevant commits.

When to Use

•After completing a feature, bugfix, or refactoring task
•At the end of a work session to document progress
•When asked to "write a work log" or "document this work"

Workflow

dot

digraph work_log {
    "User requests work log" -> "Read git log for recent commits";
    "Read git log for recent commits" -> "Check for related plan docs";
    "Check for related plan docs" -> "Generate work log markdown";
    "Generate work log markdown" -> "Update INDEX.md";
    "Update INDEX.md" -> "Present summary to user";
}

Information to Gather

•Git history: Recent commits on current branch with full messages
•Plan documents: Check docs/plans/ for related analysis
•Changed files: git diff --stat for scope of changes
•Branch name: Often indicates the work topic

Work Log Structure

markdown

# Work Log: [Descriptive Title]

**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Author**: [Name]
**Branch**: `branch-name`
**Commit**: `hash` - [commit subject]
**Status**: Completed | In Progress

---

## 1. Objective
[What the work aimed to accomplish]

## 2. Background
[Context, related discussions, why this was needed]

## 3. Changes Implemented
[Summary of what was done, organized by subsystem or theme]

## 4. Technical Decisions
[Key choices made and rationale]

## 5. Verification
[How the changes were tested/verified]

## 6. Known Issues and Future Work
[What remains, documented limitations]

## 7. References
[Links to plan docs, discussions, related code]

Index Entry Format

The INDEX.md should use a table with semantic descriptions:

markdown

| Date | File | Commit | Description |
|------|------|--------|-------------|
| YYYY-MM-DD | [filename.md](filename.md) | `hash` | High-level description of what was accomplished |

Index descriptions should be:

•Semantic (what was achieved, not technical details)
•Abstract (no macro names, parameters, or code specifics)
•Concise (one sentence summarizing the work unit)

File Locations

•Work logs: docs/work-logs/YYYY-MM-DD-topic-name.md
•Index: docs/work-logs/INDEX.md

Commands to Run

bash

# Get recent commits with full messages
git log -1 --format="%H%n%s%n%n%b" [commit-hash]

# Get commit summary
git log --oneline -5

# Get changed files
git diff --stat HEAD~1

# Check for plan documents
ls docs/plans/

Common Mistakes

•Including too much technical detail in INDEX.md descriptions
•Forgetting to link the commit hash
•Not checking for related plan documents that provide context
•Writing implementation details instead of objectives and decisions