name: rdc:watch description: >- Usage rdc:watch — initialize a session log and open a browser viewer that tails Claude activity live. Zero infra, pure filesystem + static HTML.

⚠️ OUTPUT CONTRACT (READ FIRST): guides/output-contract.md Checklist-only output. No tool-call narration. No raw MCP/JSON/log dumps. One checklist upfront, updated in place, shown again at end with a 1-line verdict.

If dispatching subagents or running as a subagent: read {PROJECT_ROOT}/.rdc/guides/agent-bootstrap.md first (fallback: {PROJECT_ROOT}/.rdc/guides/agent-bootstrap.md).

rdc:watch — Session Log Watcher

When to Use

• Start of any long-running session where Dave needs visibility into what you're doing
• Before rdc:overnight, rdc:build on a large epic, or any multi-hour grind
• Anytime the user asks for "a log", "a viewer", "tail", or "what are you doing right now"

Procedure

1. Initialize the log and viewer. Run the helper script from the plugin directory in the user's current project:

   node ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/watch-init.mjs
   

   (If CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT is not set, resolve the plugin path from your invocation context. On Windows it's typically C:/Dev/rdc-skills.)

2. Parse the output. The script prints run_id, log_path, current, viewer, and open_hint. Capture log_path and viewer for the rest of the session.

3. Open the viewer in the browser. Run the exact open_hint line from the script output. On Windows that's start "" "<viewer-path>".

4. Report to the user. One line:

   watcher live at <viewer-path> — tailing <log-path>
   

5. Append one line per substantive action for the rest of the session. Use the documented format — one line, no multi-line payloads:

   [<ISO-timestamp>] [<kind>] <message>
   

   Append to BOTH <log-path> (the full history) AND current.log (what the viewer polls). The viewer diffs current.log by length and only appends new lines.

Log format

• ISO-timestamp — new Date().toISOString()
• kind — one of: dispatch, commit, test, error, note, banner
• message — single line, no newlines. Keep under ~200 chars.

Kinds

Examples

[2026-04-15T23:14:02.318Z] [dispatch] frontend agent → epic abc123 task 4 (rebuild DynamicForm)
[2026-04-15T23:17:41.902Z] [commit] 3f2a1b9 feat(marketing-engine): DynamicForm rhf+zod
[2026-04-15T23:18:05.113Z] [test] pnpm --filter @regen/rdc-marketing-engine test
[2026-04-15T23:18:41.002Z] [error] tsc: src/components/Form.tsx:42 — Property 'foo' does not exist
[2026-04-15T23:19:00.000Z] [note] retrying with corrected type import
[2026-04-15T23:45:10.000Z] [banner] Phase 2 complete — moving to review

Appending from bash (Windows-safe)

printf '[%s] [%s] %s\n' "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.000Z)" "dispatch" "your message" >> "$LOG_PATH"
printf '[%s] [%s] %s\n' "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.000Z)" "dispatch" "your message" >> "$CURRENT_PATH"

Or from Node:

import { appendFileSync } from "node:fs";
const line = `[${new Date().toISOString()}] [note] ${msg}\n`;
appendFileSync(logPath, line);
appendFileSync(currentPath, line);

Notes

• Log files live in the user's project, not the rdc-skills repo. Path: <projectRoot>/.rdc/session-log/
• Each invocation creates a new run id and overwrites current.log. Prior run logs remain on disk as <runId>.log.
• The viewer is a single static HTML file polling current.log via fetch() every 2s — no server, no deps.
• This skill does NOT replace rdc:report (the end-of-session Obsidian writeup). It's a live tail for attended or semi-attended sessions.