| name | new-handoff |
| description | Create a structured handoff document for cross-session or cross-agent work tracking. Use when user says "new handoff", "create handoff", "track work item", "document this for next session", or needs to pass work to another session/agent. Do NOT use for reading or updating existing handoffs. |
New Handoff
Create a properly structured handoff document in notes/<user>/handoffs/.
What to do
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Ask the user for a title and brief context if not already clear.
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Generate a kebab-case filename from the title (e.g. "Auth Middleware Rewrite" → auth-middleware-rewrite.md).
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Resolve the log repo path: read .archetype-manifest.json for log_repo_name, then look in repos/<name>/. All handoffs live in the log repo.
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Check for duplicate filenames in the log repo:
find <log-repo>/notes/ -path "*/handoffs/*.md" 2>/dev/null | grep -i "<filename>"
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Create the handoff using the template in assets/handoff-template.md. Fill in:
- Status:
active
- Created: today's date
- Source Repo: from
.session-identity root_repo field
- Source Branch: current git branch
- Context: from user input
- Leave Remediation Plan and Acceptance Criteria as skeleton sections for the user to fill.
-
Place in <log-repo>/notes/<user>/handoffs/<filename>.md.
Handoff lifecycle
notes/<user>/handoffs/ — Active/in-progress work
notes/<user>/handoffs/completed/ — Done (move manually)
notes/handoffs/INDEX.md — Aggregation index across users
Gotchas
- Always check for existing handoffs with similar names before creating — duplicates cause confusion
- The filename must be kebab-case and end in
.md
- Status field must be one of:
active, blocked, completed
- Handoffs should be self-contained — another session reading it cold should understand the full context without asking questions
- Do not create handoffs for trivial tasks that fit in a single session — handoffs are for work that spans sessions or agents