| name | session-handoff |
| description | Initiate a session handoff to transfer context and pending actions to a new terminal session. Executing this skill safely drains tasks and launches a new cross-platform window natively. |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| model | claude-sonnet-4-6 |
| invoked_by | both |
| user_invocable | true |
| tools | ["Bash"] |
| best_practices | ["Create handoff before long sessions end","Ensure all tasks are completed or suspended before execution"] |
| error_handling | graceful |
| streaming | supported |
| verified | true |
| lastVerifiedAt | "2026-03-11T00:00:00.000Z" |
| source | builtin |
| trust_score | 100 |
| provenance_sha | 78338169b46efe8b |
Session Handoff Specialist - Executes the Phase 7 context handoff loop, transferring session continuity natively across processes.
- Writing the session handoff log securely directly to disk via atomic locks.
- Checking the Active Task database to prevent corruption and cross-session overlap (Drain Gate).
- Spawning a detached cross-platform GUI terminal window using the verified OS decision matrix.
When to Use
Invoke this skill:
- When context reaches maximum capacity (>150k limit)
- When the user explicitly asks to restart, shift-change, or prep for continuation.
- Before ending a long work session
How to Execute (MANDATORY)
To trigger the session handoff, you MUST execute the internal skill executable via the Bash tool. You shouldn't generate the log yourself—the executable handles all schema management and polling.
node .claude/skills/session-handoff/session-handoff.cjs
Drain-Complete Gate
If the executable fails and prints [session-handoff] ABORT: Cannot handoff session while tasks are active., you did not follow the drain rule!
You must explicitly use TaskUpdate to either mark all active tasks as completed OR suspended before re-running the skill.
Required Setup (Context Preservation)
Before running the skill, ensure that .claude/context/memory/active_context.md is updated with necessary context you want the next agent to know, as the script will synthesize it into the handoff payload.
