handoff

name	handoff
description	Use when ending a session, rotating context, or transferring work to another agent. Provides structured handoff templates that preserve both reasoning and mechanical state.
compatibility	["VS Code","Cursor","Windsurf","Claude Code"]
metadata	{"category":"Uncategorized","tags":["uncategorized"],"maturity":"beta","audience":["developers"]}
allowed-tools	["bash","git","grep","find"]

Handoff Skill

Use this skill when a session is ending but work, context, or follow-up still needs to transfer cleanly to another agent or future session.

When to Use

• Rotating sessions before the task is fully complete
• Transferring work from one agent to another
• The context budget is exceeded and a fresh session needs to continue
• A task is complete but follow-up work, deployment, or validation still needs to happen later

How to Invoke

Reference this skill when producing a handoff summary, or instruct the agent:

Use the handoff skill and fill out the structured handoff template before ending the session.

Two-Layer Approach

A good handoff preserves both meaning and mechanics.

1. Semantic summary — the reasoning layer generated by the LLM. Capture what the task was, why decisions were made, what failed, what tradeoffs matter, and what the next session should understand before acting.
2. Mechanical state — the deterministic layer extracted from the working session. Capture exact file paths, commands run, validations completed, status, blockers, and the concrete next steps required to continue.

Use both layers together. The semantic summary helps the next agent resume intelligently; the mechanical state helps the next agent resume accurately.

Templates in This Skill

Template	Purpose
handoff-template.md	Standard session handoff covering status, completed work, failed approaches, decisions, dependencies, files modified, and commands run