| name | otto-handoff |
| description | Hand off the current task to another agent with full context. Use when the user says "handoff", "hand off", "hand this to", or wants to pass work to another agent. |
| user-invocable | true |
Handoff Skill
Transfer the current task - context, decisions, failed attempts, constraints - to a fresh agent. The receiving agent starts with zero context, so the handoff prompt must be a self-contained briefing.
User's arguments: $ARGUMENTS
Prerequisites
Read the otto skill. Call list_agent_profiles before choosing the receiving agent, and read every entry's roles and guidance. Do not create the receiving agent until you have inspected the available agent profiles.
Parsing arguments
- Agent profile - an explicitly named one first; otherwise the one whose
notes best match the work. Pass its name as create_chat's agentProfile, as described by the otto skill. If none fits, use Otto's provider-discovery fallback and tell the user.
- Worktree - "in a worktree" / "worktree" → create a worktree via Otto with a short branch name derived from the task, based on the current branch.
- Task description - anything else the user said.
The handoff prompt
The receiving agent has zero context. Include:
## Task
[Imperative description.]
## Context
[Why this task exists, required context.]
## Relevant files
- `path/to/file.ts` - [what it is and why it matters]
## Current state
[What's done, what works, what doesn't.]
## What was tried
- [Approach] - [why it failed or was abandoned]
## Decisions
- [Decision - rationale]
## Acceptance criteria
- [ ] [Criterion]
## Constraints
- [Must-not / must-preserve]
Preserve task semantics. Investigate-only → "DO NOT edit files." Fix → "implement the fix." Refactor → "refactor, not rewrite." Carry the user's exact intent.
Launch
Create the agent via Otto with a [Handoff] <task> title, the briefing as initial prompt, and relationship: { kind: "detached" }.
Use workspace for placement:
- No worktree:
workspace: { kind: "current" }.
- Worktree:
workspace: { kind: "create", source: { kind: "worktree", target: { kind: "branch-off", worktreeSlug: "<short-task-slug>", branchName: "fix/<short-task-slug>" } } }.
- Existing worktree already created by
create_worktree: workspace: { kind: "existing", workspaceId: "<returned-workspace-id>" }.
Do not use workspace: { kind: "current", cwd: "<worktreePath>" } to place a handoff in a worktree; that keeps the agent in the caller's workspace with only a different runtime cwd.
Leave notifyOnFinish omitted unless the user explicitly wants no callback.
Handoff agents are siblings/root agents, not your subagents. They must survive you being archived and must not appear in your subagent track.
Do not wait or poll for the agent to finish. Tell the user the agent ID and how to follow along (the otto skill explains).
