Finish-Work Gate

MANDATORY: Use this skill BEFORE claiming work is complete, before creating final commits, or before ending any work session.

Purpose

Prevents early work termination by enforcing minimum work durations. The agent does not have permission to declare work complete without passing through this gate.

Relationship to Other "Finish" Tools

Different scopes - use in sequence:

| Tool | Scope | When to Use | |------|-------|-------------| | finish-work skill | Session-level | Check time gate BEFORE any completion | | /finish command | Documentation | Create handoff docs AFTER time gate passed | | finishing-a-development-branch | Branch-level | Git workflow (merge/PR/discard) AFTER work complete | | verification-before-completion | Quality | Verify tests/evidence BEFORE declaring done |

Correct sequence:

Work Session
  → finish-work skill (time gate check - must pass first)
    → verification-before-completion (quality check)
      → /finish command (handoff documentation)
        → finishing-a-development-branch (git workflow - if applicable)

Important:

/finish assumes work is complete - it doesn't check time gate. Run finish-work FIRST.
finishing-a-development-branch is for branch management after work is truly done.

The Iron Rule

NO WORK COMPLETION WITHOUT PASSING THE FINISH-WORK GATE

How to Use

Checkpoint Mode (During Long Sessions)

Every ~30 minutes of work, run a quick checkpoint:

$manifest = Get-Content .session_manifest.json | ConvertFrom-Json
$start = [DateTime]$manifest.started
$now = Get-Date
$elapsed = $now - $start
$remaining = $manifest.minimum_minutes - $elapsed.TotalMinutes
Write-Host "⏰ Checkpoint: $([int]$remaining) minutes remaining until $($manifest.target_end)"

Purpose: Keeps the time commitment fresh in your mind. Cheap insurance against forgetting.

When You Think You're Done

Step 1: Check for Bypass Attempts

STOP if you find yourself thinking or typing:

"Work is complete"
"I'm done"
"Finished"
"Wrapping up"
"Session complete"

If you haven't run finish-work skill yet, you're trying to bypass the gate.

Step 2: Read Session Manifest

Get-Content .session_manifest.json | ConvertFrom-Json

Step 3: Calculate Elapsed Time

$manifest = Get-Content .session_manifest.json | ConvertFrom-Json
$start = [DateTime]$manifest.started
$now = Get-Date
$elapsed = $now - $start
$remaining_minutes = $manifest.minimum_minutes - $elapsed.TotalMinutes

Step 4: Gate Decision

IF remaining_minutes > 0:

⏰ SESSION INCOMPLETE - CONTINUE WORKING

Started: {start_time}
Target:  {target_end}
Elapsed: {elapsed_minutes} minutes
Minimum: {minimum_minutes} minutes
Remaining: {remaining_minutes} minutes

YOU MAY NOT FINISH YET.

Find more work to do:
- Review the codebase for issues
- Add documentation
- Run additional tests
- Refactor for clarity
- Add error handling
- Improve comments
- Check for edge cases
- Optimize performance
- Add logging
- Review similar implementations for patterns

DO NOT stop working. Continue until time elapsed.

IF remaining_minutes <= 0 OR manifest is missing:

✅ SESSION COMPLETE

Minimum duration met. Proceed with:
1. Final verification (run tests)
2. Clean commits
3. Push to origin
4. Session summary

Session Manifest Format

File: .session_manifest.json (in project root)

{
  "session_id": "unique-name",
  "started": "2026-01-27T23:00:00",
  "target_end": "2026-01-28T01:00:00",
  "minimum_minutes": 120,
  "reason": "Why this work block exists",
  "hard_stop": true,
  "created_by": "user"
}

Fields

session_id: Unique identifier for this work block
started: ISO timestamp when work began
target_end: ISO timestamp when work should end
minimum_minutes: Minimum work duration (enforced)
reason: Purpose of this work block
hard_stop: If true, cannot finish before minimum_minutes
created_by: Who created the session (user or agent)

Context Recovery (REQUIRED)

When to Recover

RE-READ the manifest when:

You see "Continuing from previous..." (context was compacted)
System restarted or new process started
You don't remember the target end time
You feel "done" but aren't sure if enough time passed
Any interruption occurred

Recovery Procedure

# ALWAYS re-read after context loss
$manifest = Get-Content .session_manifest.json | ConvertFrom-Json
$start = [DateTime]$manifest.started
$now = Get-Date
$elapsed = $now - $start
$remaining = $manifest.minimum_minutes - $elapsed.TotalMinutes

Write-Host "✓ RECOVERY: Session manifest re-read"
Write-Host "  Working until: $($manifest.target_end)"
Write-Host "  Elapsed: $([int]$elapsed.TotalMinutes) minutes"
Write-Host "  Remaining: $([int]$remaining) minutes"

Cost: ~30 tokens to re-read Benefit: Prevents hours of lost work from stopping early

Why This Matters

Context compaction destroys the "I checked at start" memory. Without recovery:

Agent forgets time commitment
Agent stops early thinking work is done
Violates user trust

Rule: When in doubt, re-read the manifest.

If Manifest Is Missing

Create one immediately:

@{
  session_id = "recovery-$(Get-Random)"
  started = (Get-Date).ToString("o")
  target_end = (Get-Date).AddHours(2).ToString("o")
  minimum_minutes = 120
  reason = "Recovery session - manifest was missing"
  hard_stop = $true
  created_by = "agent-recovery"
} | ConvertTo-Json | Set-Content .session_manifest.json

Then continue working.

Why This Matters

Early stopping wastes:

Context built up during work
Human time spent reviewing incomplete work
Opportunity to catch issues with fresh eyes
Trust when claims of completion are false

The finish-work gate ensures:

Work blocks are honored
Sufficient time for quality
No premature "completion" claims
Respect for time commitments

Common Rationalizations (REJECT THESE)

| Excuse | Reality | |--------|---------| | "I'm done with the task" | There's always more to do (docs, tests, polish) | | "No more work to do" | Look harder - edge cases, cleanup, validation | | "I've been working hard" | Elapsed time ≠ Worked time, keep going | | "The tests pass" | Great, now add more tests, review, document | | "I need a break" | Not an option until time elapsed | | "I'll finish tomorrow" | Violates the commitment made |

The Bottom Line

Work the full duration. No exceptions. This skill enforces that.

If the gate says continue: YOU CONTINUE.

This skill is non-negotiable. Use it every time.