Knowledge transfer

knowledge-transfer

Transfer project knowledge between colleagues: a short non-technical onboarding document plus the AI's accumulated project memories, packaged as a local handover.zip archive so the newcomer starts oriented and their AI starts informed.

Usage

Claude Code standalone skill:

/knowledge-transfer            # auto-detect mode (see below)
/knowledge-transfer export     # outgoing colleague: build handover.zip
/knowledge-transfer import     # new colleague: dry-run, verify, ask, then install
/knowledge-transfer import --dry-run  # verify and show the plan, but write no memories
/knowledge-transfer import --yes      # verify and install without a second prompt

Claude Code plugin install:

/knowledge-transfer:knowledge-transfer
/knowledge-transfer:knowledge-transfer export
/knowledge-transfer:knowledge-transfer import

Codex or another agent that reads SKILL.md:

$knowledge-transfer            # auto-detect mode
$knowledge-transfer export     # outgoing colleague
$knowledge-transfer import     # new colleague

Mode detection (no argument)

1. If handover/manifest.json or handover.zip exists in the project root → announce import mode.
2. Otherwise → announce export mode.

State the detected mode in one line and proceed. The user can override at any time.

Contracts

Read these before producing anything:

• references/package-format.md — package structure and manifest schema
• references/privacy-filter.md — what may and may not be exported
• references/onboarding-template.md — structure, tone, and length of the document
• references/agent-memory.md — how to locate and install memories in Claude, Codex, or another agent

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Export phase

Run from the project root by the colleague leaving the project.

1. Analyze the project

• Read README, agent guidance files (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, GEMINI.md, .cursor/rules/, etc. if present), the top-level structure, entry points, and main config files. Use subagents for large codebases rather than reading everything inline.
• Identify: what the project does, the 3–7 main components, and 2–3 end-to-end logical flows worth narrating.
• Detect the project's dominant language (README, docs, recent commit messages); the onboarding document is written in that language. Unclear or mixed → English.

2. Read the memories

• Locate the current agent's project memory source using references/agent-memory.md.
• Read only memories scoped to this project or repo. Do not export global user preferences or unrelated project history.
• No memory directory or no memories → proceed with the document only, set memories: {"exported": 0, "excluded": 0} in the manifest, write an empty handover/omissions.json, and tell the user the package contains no memories.

3. Filter the memories

Apply references/privacy-filter.md strictly to every memory. Produce:

• portable versions (rewritten, neutral) with source_id, source_hash, redactions, and claims metadata;
• a per-memory exclusion list with safe categories and short reasons;
• a privacy-safe omissions manifest for the package.

For each exported memory:

• source_id is a stable short id, preferably sha256:<12 hex> from the privacy-normalized source memory content plus the export commit if available.
• source_hash is sha256:<full hash> of the privacy-normalized source memory content before final packaging. Never hash secret-bearing memories or omitted private memories into the package.
• redactions.count is the number of privacy edits made during rewrite.
• redactions.categories uses only safe category names, never private values.
• claims is a short list of concrete repo facts the import phase can verify.

4. Write the package and archive

• If handover/ or handover.zip already exists, STOP and ask before overwriting.
• Write handover/ONBOARDING.md following references/onboarding-template.md.
• Write each surviving memory to handover/memories/<slug>.md in the portable format.
• Write handover/omissions.json per references/package-format.md. Include counts and categories only; never include private source text, names, emails, usernames, secrets, or enough detail to reconstruct omitted content.
• Write handover/manifest.json per the schema (commit SHA from git rev-parse HEAD; omit commit if not a git repo, omit author if git config has no name).
• Create handover.zip in the project root containing the full handover/ folder. Prefer python3 -m zipfile -c handover.zip handover; if unavailable, use an equivalent zip command that preserves the top-level handover/ directory.
• Do not commit handover/ or handover.zip unless the user explicitly asks. The normal workflow is to pass handover.zip to the next colleague.

5. Final checklist — verify before declaring done

• grep the whole handover/ tree for the colleague's name, email, and username: zero hits.
• No memory of type user in handover/memories/.
• ONBOARDING.md is 600–1000 words (wc -w) and contains the six template sections.
• Every exported memory has source_id, source_hash, redactions, and at least one verifiable claim.
• Every file/path cited in an exported memory exists in the project.
• omissions.json contains only safe categories/counts and no omitted private content.
• manifest.json parses and counts match the actual files.
• handover.zip exists, passes python3 -m zipfile -t handover.zip, and contains handover/ONBOARDING.md, handover/manifest.json, handover/omissions.json, and every memory file.

Report to the user: package contents, omission category counts, exported memory count, and suggest passing handover.zip to the next colleague. Do not commit the package unless the user explicitly asks.

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Import phase

Run by the new colleague, from the project root, after receiving handover.zip or an already extracted handover/ folder.

1. Read the package

• If handover.zip exists and handover/ is absent, inspect the archive first: every entry must start with handover/, and no entry may be absolute or contain ... Then extract it into the project root, for example with python3 -m zipfile -e handover.zip ..
• Read handover/manifest.json, handover/ONBOARDING.md, handover/omissions.json if present, and every file in handover/memories/.
• handover/ and handover.zip both missing → stop: explain that the outgoing colleague must run /knowledge-transfer export first, then send handover.zip.
• manifest.version unknown → stop and say the skill is too old for this package.
• manifest.version 1 → treat omissions.json, claims, and source hashes as optional legacy fields; derive claims from memory bodies during verification.
• manifest.version 2 → require omissions.json, source_id, source_hash, redactions, and claims for every memory.

2. Verify each memory against the current code

• If the repo is git and the manifest has commit, run git diff --stat <commit>..HEAD to see which areas changed since the export.
• For each memory, verify every claim in metadata.claims. If claims are absent because this is a legacy package, extract 1–5 concrete claims from the memory body before checking.
• Check that the files, paths, and identifiers each claim cites still exist (Glob/Grep, not assumption). Record the repo evidence checked: file paths, grep queries/hits, git history commands, or the absence that caused rejection.
• Classify:
  • valid — everything checks out → install as-is;
  • stale, obvious fix — e.g. a cited file was renamed and the new path is unambiguous (git log --follow, or a unique search hit) → update the memory body, then install;
  • stale, no obvious fix — discard, note the one-line reason.

3. Dry-run import plan

Before writing to any memory store, create and present a dry-run plan:

• Write handover/import-plan.json with one entry per candidate memory: source_id, source_hash, memory_file, claims, evidence_checked, proposed_action (install, rewrite, reject), reason, redactions, and destination.
• Show the full ONBOARDING.md content first.
• Then show a concise candidate memory table with the proposed action and reason.
• If the user invoked import --dry-run, stop here and write no memories.
• If the user invoked plain import, STOP after presenting the plan and ask for confirmation before writing memories.
• If the user invoked import --yes, continue after presenting the plan.

4. Install

• Install each accepted memory through the current agent's memory mechanism (see references/agent-memory.md), keeping the portable memory content intact and adapting only the storage wrapper/index if the target agent requires it.
• Slug collision with an existing memory: do NOT overwrite. Report the collision and ask the user which to keep.
• If the target memory store has an index file, append one index line per installed memory (create it if absent). If the current agent forbids direct memory writes, create or present the approved memory-update artifact instead.
• For every candidate memory, write a per-memory receipt to handover/import-receipts/<slug>.json, including:
  • source_id and source_hash;
  • export_commit from manifest.commit if present;
  • claims the memory made;
  • repo evidence checked;
  • stale or superseded findings;
  • privacy redaction count/categories;
  • destination memory path or update mechanism;
  • final action: installed, rewritten, rejected, or blocked;
  • reason.
• Write handover/import-report.json summarizing counts and receipt paths.

5. Report

Present to the user, in this order:

1. The import summary: installed / rewritten / rejected / blocked.
2. Receipt path for each memory and one line of reasoning.
3. Any omission categories from omissions.json, phrased as known gaps rather than private details.
4. A closing note: technical questions can now lean on the imported memories.

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Edge cases

Situation	Behavior
No memories at export	Document-only package; say so explicitly.
Project is not a git repo	Manifest without commit; import verification falls back to existence checks only.
handover/ exists at export	Ask before overwriting.
handover.zip exists at export	Ask before overwriting.
handover.zip present at import	Validate archive paths, extract to handover/, then import.
import --dry-run	Verify, write/present import-plan.json, then stop before memory writes.
handover/ and handover.zip missing at import	Stop with instructions for the outgoing colleague.
Slug collision at import	Never overwrite; surface and ask.
omissions.json missing in a v1 package	Continue as legacy import and say omission details are unavailable.
omissions.json missing in a v2 package	Stop; the package is incomplete.
Unknown manifest.version	Stop; ask the user to update the skill.