What should a continuation prompt include?
Task state, changed files, missing proof, protected areas, and one explicit next action.
Continuation prompts
Create continuation prompts when AI coding runs stop mid-task.
Good continuation prompts preserve operational state. They do not ask the next session to rediscover it.
Claude CodeCursorCodex CLIChatGPT
01 / The problem
What goes wrong
- Runs stop due to usage limits, context limits, or tool timeouts.
- Most handoff prompts miss crucial state and cause duplicate work.
- Follow-up sessions often re-open already solved subproblems.
02 / Root cause
Why this happens
- Engineers optimize for speed and skip structured handoff data.
- Agent outputs are long, and signal gets buried in narrative.
- There is no standard format for run continuation across tools.
03 / Without RunTrim
Manual workaround
- 1Manually summarize objective and partial progress.
- 2List changed files and unresolved checks from memory.
- 3Re-state sensitive areas and next action in a new prompt.
04 / With RunTrim
RunTrim workflow
runtrim
local
$runtrim finish
$runtrim continue --reason usage_limit
Privacy and trust
- Source code stays local. RunTrim never uploads it.
- Free CLI requires no account.
- RunTrim stores metadata, generated prompts, changed file paths, and local memory for continuity.
- Cloud dashboard sync is optional and metadata-only.
05 / FAQ
Common questions
Does RunTrim work with Codex, Cursor, and ChatGPT?
Yes. Copy mode works with any agent UI. Command mode can wrap configured local agent CLIs.
Does RunTrim upload source code?
No. The free CLI runs entirely locally. Source code stays on your machine.
Can continuation prompts reduce token waste?
Yes. They reduce repeated context reconstruction and keep the next run focused on remaining work.
What does runtrim finish produce?
A PASS / WARN / BLOCKED verdict with a structured report: status, changed paths, risk indicators, verification debt, and recommended follow-up actions.
Related resources
Claude Code context limit? Continue the run without losing state.
When a run stops mid-task, the real cost is lost state. RunTrim keeps what changed, what is missing, and what to do next.
Keep run history across Claude, Codex, Cursor and ChatGPT.
AI coding gets messy when every session starts from scratch. RunTrim keeps local run memory visible between sessions.
Claude Code guardrails: scope runs before they edit.
Without explicit scope, Claude Code can drift into auth, billing, env, database, and other areas outside the task. RunTrim sets guardrails before the run starts.
A local-first control layer for AI coding agents.
RunTrim works in your repo. Source code never leaves your machine. Free CLI requires no account. Cloud sync is optional and metadata-only.
Generate cleaner continuations
Use RunTrim to carry state forward so the next run starts with facts, not guesses.
terminal
$npm install -g runtrim
$runtrim start
$runtrim agent "your task" --copy
Free · No account required · Local-first · Agent-agnostic