Your AI coding partner forgets everything between conversations. Bonfire remembers.
claude plugin marketplace add vieko/bonfire
claude plugin install bonfire@viekoAI agents are stateless. Every conversation starts from zero. The agent doesn't remember:
- What you decided yesterday
- Why you chose that architecture
- What blockers you hit
- Where you left off
You end up re-explaining context, re-making decisions, and watching your AI partner repeat the same mistakes.
Bonfire maintains a living context document that gets read at session start and updated at session end. Your AI partner picks up exactly where you left off. It's like a saved game for your work.
/bonfire:start → reads context → WORK → /bonfire:end → saves context
That's it. No complex setup. No external services. Just Markdown files in your repo.
| Tool | Primary Question |
|---|---|
| Issue/task trackers | "What's the work?" |
| Bonfire | "Where are we and what did we decide?" |
Bonfire complements your issue tracker. Use GitHub Issues, Linear, Beads, or Beans for tasks. Use Bonfire for workflow context.
# Install
claude plugin marketplace add vieko/bonfire
claude plugin install bonfire@vieko
# First run scaffolds .bonfire/ and asks setup questions
/bonfire:start| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
/bonfire:start |
Read context, scaffold on first run |
/bonfire:end |
Update context, commit changes |
/bonfire:spec <topic> |
Create implementation spec (researches codebase, interviews you) |
/bonfire:document <topic> |
Document a codebase topic |
/bonfire:review |
Find blindspots, gaps, and quick wins |
/bonfire:archive |
Archive completed work |
/bonfire:configure |
Change project settings |
.bonfire/
├── index.md # Living context (the important one)
├── config.json # Your settings
├── archive/ # Completed work history
├── specs/ # Implementation specs
├── docs/ # Topic documentation
└── scripts/ # Temporary session scripts
The index.md is where the magic happens. It tracks:
- Current state and branch
- Recent session summaries
- Decisions made and why
- Blockers encountered
- Next priorities
Heavy commands (/spec, /document, /review) use subagents to avoid burning your main conversation context:
- Research runs in isolated context (fast, cheap)
- Only structured summaries return to main conversation
- Result: longer sessions without context exhaustion
This happens automatically.
First /bonfire:start asks you to configure:
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Specs location | .bonfire/specs/ or specs/ |
| Docs location | .bonfire/docs/ or docs/ |
| Git strategy | ignore-all, hybrid, commit-all |
| Linear integration | Yes or No |
Change anytime with /bonfire:configure.
| Strategy | What's tracked | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| ignore-all | Nothing | Solo work, privacy |
| hybrid | docs/, specs/ only | Teams wanting shared docs |
| commit-all | Everything | Full transparency |
If you use Linear for issue tracking:
- Install linear-cli (
brew install schpet/tap/linear) - Authenticate:
linear auth - Enable via
/bonfire:configure - Reference issues by ID:
ENG-123
Bonfire will fetch issue context on start, create issues from review findings, and mark issues Done on archive.
Why linear-cli over Linear MCP? Lower context cost (~2KB vs ~10KB), on-demand discovery via --help, and git integration as a bonus.
Claude automatically reads your session context when you ask things like:
- "What's the project status?"
- "What were we working on?"
- "What decisions have we made?"
And suggests archiving when you merge PRs or mention shipping.
- Claude Code CLI
- Git repository
Optional: gh CLI for GitHub integration, linear-cli for Linear integration.
Keep Claude's code formatted with a PostToolUse hook that runs your project's formatter after every write. See PostToolUse Formatter Hook for setup instructions.
Blog post: Save Your Progress
Changelog: CHANGELOG.md
MIT © Vieko Franetovic