Which one should you use?
A baked brief is a short, locked write-up of the job, audience, and non-goals so the next chat does not need the same essay. Re-explaining context every time burns tokens and drifts. Use bake-the-brief at close-out; paste a fresh essay only when the product decision actually changed.
Side by side.
| Option | What it does | Where it runs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| bake-the-brief skill | Agent writes or updates a brief from this session | Close-out; handoff to a new chat | You want a durable brief, not another monologue |
| Re-explaining in chat | You paste the same setup again | Any new thread | The constraints changed and the old brief is wrong |
When a brief is enough.
Same product, same audience, next agent. Open the skill after a session so the next one starts from the brief.
When you should re-explain.
The job changed — new user, new non-goals, or a decision that invalidates the last brief. Then write a new brief; do not keep stacking contradictions.