handoff

name	handoff
type	mode-shift
description	Produce a transition brief and launch command for the user's next interactive primary.
argument-hint	What will the next session focus on?
user-invocable	true
model-invocable	true

Handoff

Write a transition brief and print a primary launch command. The user runs the command to start a new interactive session with a different agent lead.

If arguments were passed, treat them as the focus for the next session.

Write the Transition Brief

Start with /intent-modeling: separate what the human has said from what they actually want to be true when this work is done. The modeled intent shapes everything in the brief.

Then compact the conversation into a file the next agent reads as its opening prompt:

• Human intent: the end goal in their terms, not implementation steps
• Current state: what was accomplished, where things stand
• Key decisions and why
• Open questions or blockers
• Artifact paths: exact file paths to read first
• Suggested skills to invoke

Reference artifacts by path; don't duplicate their content.

Write to the active work directory (meridian work current). No work item → write to a temp file.

Run Pre-* Checks

Before completing the handoff, check if any pre-* checkpoint skills are installed for the next phase (e.g., pre-dev for implementation handoffs). If present, load and run them to verify workspace, branches, and prerequisites are ready for the next agent. Skip if none are installed.

Choose the Next Agent

Explicit argument wins: /handoff tech-lead.

Otherwise infer from context. If ambiguous, run meridian mars list --json and ask.

Show the Chain

Before printing the launch command, show the user the handoff trail for the active work item so they can see where they've been:

meridian work sessions --primary

Print the Launch Command

Resolve $MERIDIAN_CHAT_ID to the concrete chat ID (e.g., c102): the user runs this in a new terminal where the env var no longer exists.

meridian -a [agent] \
  --work [work-id] \
  --task-dir [path] \
  --prompt-file [path-to-brief] \
  --from [resolved-chat-id]

Use meridian, not meridian spawn (primary launch, interactive). Include --work when active, --task-dir when in a worktree or sibling repo.