THE COLD START · the task ledger a stranger can resume from
WAKES WHEN a long task may be cut off, or the work is handed to a fresh session or another person
THE LOOP
checkpoint.py new --goal · the ledger
note done · next · where · decided · open
freeze · every WHERE file hashed, stamped
check · could a stranger resume? mend it
again at every milestone and before risk
NEVER
Write "it" or "that file" in NEXT
Name a path that is not there
Skip the resume command
IT MAKES new — the ledger skeleton; note — a dated line in the right section; freeze — every WHERE file hashed and stamped; check — could a stranger resume from this? the reasons.
THE STANDARD nEXT is an order; wHERE is a path and a hash; rESUME is a command; done, decided, open are kept apart; written while warm; the check is a stranger.
PROOF SELFTEST 10/10 · witnessed in Claude 2026-10-09 · Edition 1.
THE SEAL 98 of 100 · LEGENDARY · WITNESSED · Trigger 5 · Machinery 5 · Law 5 · Portability 5 · Proof 5
IT CAN BE WRONG an AI reading a text file: it can be wrong and can invent a number, a rule, a name or a date; check what matters against your own records and the source; the risk is yours. THE-CLAUSES.md rides in the packet and is part of the licence.
THE PUNCH · SHA-256 OF SKILL.MD · F04A70F3239955055AA527E9
CITE THIS CARDTHE COLD START, Edition 1. Lund Studio LLC, Westminster, Colorado. https://lundr.tech/?view=cold-start-card. Punch F04A70F3239955055AA527E9. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
What it is.
Keeps the task ledger that survives a context reset or a hand-over: the goal, what is done, what is next as orders a stranger can act on, where every file is with its hash, what was decided, what is open and the commands that resume the work — and refuses a ledger with an empty NEXT, a NEXT that opens on a pronoun, a path that is missing or changed, or no resume command.
It carries a machine that shows its working: new — the ledger skeleton; note — a dated line in the right section; freeze — every WHERE file hashed and stamped; check — could a stranger resume from this? the reasons — 10 checks in its selftest, every command on the record. It will never write "it" or "that file" in NEXT; never name a path that is not there; never skip the resume command.
Six laws, written into the card.
They are in the card itself, so the AI follows them.
NEXT IS AN ORDERIt opens on a verb a stranger can act on, never on "it", "that" or "the file".
WHERE IS A PATH AND A HASHFreeze stamps every file; check says if one moved since.
RESUME IS A COMMANDA ledger with no way to start again is a diary.
DONE, DECIDED, OPEN ARE KEPT APARTDone, decided, open are kept apart, so nothing is redone, re-argued or forgotten.
WRITTEN WHILE WARMThe ledger is written at the milestone, not reconstructed after the reset.
THE CHECK IS A STRANGERIt knows nothing; what it cannot resume from, nobody can.
What rides in the card.
In the card’s own voice, with a machine that shows its working.
THE GUIDEreferences/RESUMING-COLD.md
THE MACHINEcheckpoint.py · four commandsnew — the ledger skeleton; note — a dated line in the right section; freeze — every WHERE file hashed and stamped; check — could a stranger resume from this? the reasons. Every command prints its working and refuses a bad input; 10 checks in its selftest, every command on the record.
What it does once your AI has it.
new The ledger skeleton
note A dated line in the right section
freeze Every WHERE file hashed and stamped
check Could a stranger resume from this? the reasons
On the record A ledger opened for the shelf-rail job and refused empty; done, next, where, decided, open and resume noted; frozen with the two files hashed and read RESUMABLE; then the counter edited after the freeze, and check named the changed file.
What it will never do.
It will never write "it" or "that file" in NEXT; never name a path that is not there; never skip the resume command.
It checks the ledger's shape and its files, not whether NEXT is the right next step. Verbs are matched from a list in the file; add your own. A ledger written after the reset is a reconstruction, and the card cannot tell. It is an AI reading a text file: it can be wrong, so check what matters against your own records and the source.
What’s in the buy.
CARD.md — the whole card: who it is, its laws, when it says no, what it carries · SKILL.md — the door your AI reads first · START-HERE.md — the first five minutes, for you
RESUMING-COLD.md — the guide in references/, in the card's own voice
scripts/checkpoint.py — the machine: new · note · freeze · check, standard library only, selftest 10/10
WITNESS.md + SELFTEST.md — every command on the record, as it printed · MANIFEST.md, every file hashed · AUDIT.md, the twelve checks
MY-LEDGER.md — the card's memory, on your own machine · TIN.md · LICENSE-NOTE.md · THE-CLAUSES.md · HOSTS.md
card.svg + card-machine.svg + card.json · card.html, the card as one offline file · the doors for ChatGPT, Gemini, Cursor, Claude Code and MCP hosts (rules/, system/, mcp/)
PROOF · SELFTEST 10/10 · 4 COMMANDS ON THE RECORD · WITNESSED IN CLAUDE 2026-10-09 · EDITION 1 · PUNCH F04A70F3239955055AA527E9
ON EVERY DOOR · A CARD FOR YOUR AI, A FILE FOR YOUR COMPUTER
In Claude: turn on code execution under Settings › Capabilities, then Customize › Skills › + › Create skill, and upload the zip as it is — START-HERE.md in the box walks you through it, and tells you how to keep the ledger. In ChatGPT, Gemini and the rest: a Project, a GPT or a Gem with the card’s files attached and the short door in the box pasted as its instructions. The words run anywhere an AI reads Markdown; the machines run wherever the host runs Python. Witnessed in Claude only. The host marks →
Take it.
Nº 904 PROPOSED — LAUNCHING SOON
Sold as is under the term printed. A card instructs an AI you operate; results depend on your model, your files and your judgement. Not medical, legal, tax or financial advice, never the person’s boss, and not a licence to practise. The terms →
One payment. The file is yours to keep and keeps working at its edition; new editions issued in the year after you buy reach you by email as replacement files. Tax is added at checkout where it applies. Nothing auto-renews.
A TERM, NOT A SUBSCRIPTION: NOTHING RENEWS ITSELF AND NOBODY IS CHARGED AGAIN. WHEN A TERM ENDS THE FILES STAY ON YOUR COMPUTER AND STAY READABLE — FREEZE, NOT LOSS.
THE MACHINE · IN THE OPEN · FROM THE WITNESSED RUN OF 2026-10-09
checkpoint.py, every command showing its working.
A small Python program, standard library only. Your AI runs it; you can too. Every block below is pasted from the card’s own WITNESS.md, as printed.
new
the ledger skeleton
note
a dated line in the right section
freeze
every WHERE file hashed and stamped
check
could a stranger resume from this? the reasons
selftest
10 checks that prove the machine; it must print 10/10
new · THE LEDGER SKELETON
$ python3 scripts/checkpoint.py new ledger.md --goal "recount the shelf rail from the rows and ship 12.357.45"
ledger · ledger.md
check · COULD A STRANGER RESUME FROM THIS? THE REASONS
$ python3 scripts/checkpoint.py check ledger.md
NOT RESUMABLE · GOAL 1 · DONE 0 · NEXT 0 · WHERE 0 · DECIDED 0 · OPEN 0 · RESUME 0
NEXT is empty: a stranger would not know what to do first
WHERE is empty: no file is named, so nothing can be found
RESUME has no command: a stranger would not know how to start
never frozen: the hashes are not stamped
$ python3 scripts/checkpoint.py note ledger.md next "run shelfside.py on the theme and read the three counts that changed"
- 2026-10-09 14:50 · run shelfside.py on the theme and read the three counts that changed
note · A DATED LINE IN THE RIGHT SECTION
$ python3 scripts/checkpoint.py note ledger.md where "shelfside.py — the counter"
- 2026-10-09 14:50 · shelfside.py — the counter
note · A DATED LINE IN THE RIGHT SECTION
$ python3 scripts/checkpoint.py note ledger.md where "theme — the seated theme, rail still typed"
- 2026-10-09 14:50 · theme — the seated theme, rail still typed
note · A DATED LINE IN THE RIGHT SECTION
$ python3 scripts/checkpoint.py note ledger.md decided "the rail is generated at every cut, never typed"
- 2026-10-09 14:50 · the rail is generated at every cut, never typed
note · A DATED LINE IN THE RIGHT SECTION
$ python3 scripts/checkpoint.py note ledger.md open "whether the till count should come from the store or the floor"
- 2026-10-09 14:50 · whether the till count should come from the store or the floor
check · COULD A STRANGER RESUME FROM THIS? THE REASONS
$ python3 scripts/checkpoint.py check ledger.md
RESUMABLE · GOAL 1 · DONE 1 · NEXT 1 · WHERE 2 · DECIDED 1 · OPEN 1 · RESUME 1
(shelfside.py is edited after the freeze)
$ (shelfside.py is edited after the freeze)
check · COULD A STRANGER RESUME FROM THIS? THE REASONS
$ python3 scripts/checkpoint.py check ledger.md
NOT RESUMABLE · GOAL 1 · DONE 1 · NEXT 1 · WHERE 2 · DECIDED 1 · OPEN 1 · RESUME 1
WHERE: shelfside.py has changed since the ledger was frozen
THE NUMBERS, NAMES AND DATES IN THESE RUNS ARE THE STUDIO’S OWN EXAMPLES, INVENTED FOR THE RECORD; NO REAL COMPANY, PERSON OR PROPERTY IS NAMED.
QUESTIONS AT THE TABLE
Asked before the wire.
What does it need from me?
Checkpoint.py new --goal · the ledger. It asks first for the goal in one line, the files that matter by path, and a note at every milestone while the work is warm.
Does it send anything anywhere?
No. The machine is a standard-library Python program that runs on your own computer and sends nothing anywhere; the words run wherever an AI reads Markdown. No server, no account, no key.
What is on the record?
The self-test (10/10) and every command run on real example inputs, pasted into WITNESS.md as they printed; the punch on the face is the SHA-256 of SKILL.md, so a downloaded copy can be checked against this room.
Can it be wrong?
Yes — it is an AI reading a text file. It checks the ledger's shape and its files, not whether NEXT is the right next step. Verbs are matched from a list in the file; add your own. A ledger written after the reset is a reconstruction, and the card cannot tell.
What will it never do?
It will never write "it" or "that file" in NEXT; never name a path that is not there; never skip the resume command.
