handoff

name	handoff
description	Create a detailed context summary for continuing work in a new session. Gathers git state, session history, todos, and produces a structured handoff document.

Handoff Command

Purpose

Use /handoff when:

• The current session context is getting too long and quality is degrading
• You want to start fresh while preserving essential context from this session
• The context window is approaching capacity

This creates a detailed context summary that can be used to continue work in a new session.

---

PHASE 0: VALIDATE REQUEST

Before proceeding, confirm:

• There is meaningful work or context in this session to preserve
• The user wants to create a handoff summary (not just asking about it)

If the session is nearly empty or has no meaningful context, inform the user there is nothing substantial to hand off.

---

PHASE 1: GATHER PROGRAMMATIC CONTEXT

Execute these tools to gather concrete data:

1. Review session history for context
2. Check current task/todo progress
3. git diff --stat HEAD~10..HEAD - recent file changes
4. git status --porcelain - uncommitted changes

Analyze the gathered outputs to understand:

• What the user asked for (exact wording)
• What work was completed
• What tasks remain incomplete
• What decisions were made
• What files were modified or discussed
• What patterns, constraints, or preferences were established

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PHASE 2: EXTRACT CONTEXT

Write the context summary from first person perspective ("I did...", "I told you...").

Focus on:

• Capabilities and behavior, not file-by-file implementation details
• What matters for continuing the work
• Avoiding excessive implementation details unless critical
• USER REQUESTS (AS-IS) must be verbatim (do not paraphrase)
• EXPLICIT CONSTRAINTS must be verbatim only (do not invent)

Questions to consider when extracting:

• What did I just do or implement?
• What instructions did I already give which are still relevant?
• What files did I tell you are important or that I am working on?
• Did I provide a plan or spec that should be included?
• What did I already tell you that is important (libraries, patterns, constraints, preferences)?
• What important technical details did I discover (APIs, methods, patterns)?
• What caveats, limitations, or open questions did I find?

---

PHASE 3: FORMAT OUTPUT

Generate a handoff summary using this exact format:

HANDOFF CONTEXT
===============

USER REQUESTS (AS-IS)
---------------------
- [Exact verbatim user requests - NOT paraphrased]

GOAL
----
[One sentence describing what should be done next]

WORK COMPLETED
--------------
- [First person bullet points of what was done]
- [Include specific file paths when relevant]
- [Note key implementation decisions]

CURRENT STATE
-------------
- [Current state of the codebase or task]
- [Build/test status if applicable]
- [Any environment or configuration state]

PENDING TASKS
-------------
- [Tasks that were planned but not completed]
- [Next logical steps to take]
- [Any blockers or issues encountered]

KEY FILES
---------
- [path/to/file1] - [brief role description]
- [path/to/file2] - [brief role description]
(Maximum 10 files, prioritized by importance)

IMPORTANT DECISIONS
-------------------
- [Technical decisions that were made and why]
- [Trade-offs that were considered]
- [Patterns or conventions established]

EXPLICIT CONSTRAINTS
--------------------
- [Verbatim constraints only - from user or existing AGENTS.md]
- If none, write: None

CONTEXT FOR CONTINUATION
------------------------
- [What the next session needs to know to continue]
- [Warnings or gotchas to be aware of]
- [References to documentation if relevant]

Rules for the summary:

• Plain text with bullets
• No markdown headers with # (use the format above with dashes)
• No bold, italic, or code fences within content
• Use workspace-relative paths for files
• Keep it focused - only include what matters for continuation
• Pick an appropriate length based on complexity
• USER REQUESTS (AS-IS) and EXPLICIT CONSTRAINTS must be verbatim only

---

PHASE 4: PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS

After generating the summary, instruct the user:

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TO CONTINUE IN A NEW SESSION:

1. Start a new Copilot CLI session
2. Paste the HANDOFF CONTEXT above as your first message
3. Add your request: "Continue from the handoff context above. [Your next task]"

The new session will have all context needed to continue seamlessly.

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IMPORTANT CONSTRAINTS

• DO provide a self-contained summary that works without access to this session
• DO include workspace-relative file paths
• DO NOT include sensitive information (API keys, credentials, secrets)
• DO NOT exceed 10 files in the KEY FILES section
• DO keep the GOAL section to a single sentence or short paragraph

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EXECUTE NOW

Begin by gathering programmatic context, then synthesize the handoff summary.