Handoff

Skill: Handoff

Goal: Update the project's long-term memory (HANDOFF.md) with concise, high-value information from the completed session, and generate a detailed session log for historical reference.

Persistent handoff: <project-root>/.agent/handoff/HANDOFF.md Session logs: <project-root>/.agent/handoffs/handoff-YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM.md

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Relationship to throughline

This skill is the portable, no-plugin fallback for harnesses without the throughline plugin (opencode and other agent harnesses). If throughline is active in this session (the throughline-handoff skill is available, or a capture buffer exists at .claude/throughline/buffer/, or at .agent/handoff/buffer/ when THROUGHLINE_DATA_DIR=.agent/handoff is set), defer to throughline-handoff instead: it distills the session from the hook-driven capture buffer rather than from context recall. With the shared data dir both write the same HANDOFF.md; note the session-log paths differ (throughline logs to <data-dir>/logs/, this skill to .agent/handoffs/), so pick one harness per session for log continuity.

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Phase 1: Ingest and Analyze

1. Read the entire current .agent/handoff/HANDOFF.md to understand its structure and existing content.
   • If .agent/handoff/HANDOFF.md does not exist, create it using the template in Phase 5.
2. Review the work completed in this session — commands run, files changed, decisions made, issues resolved.
3. Identify what constitutes a permanent, reusable change versus session-specific noise.

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Phase 2: Synthesize Updates

For each relevant section of HANDOFF.md, prepare concise updates. Use this checklist — skip sections that don't apply to the current project:

Architecture & Services

• Were any repos, services, or components added, removed, or restructured?
• Did the container/service topology change?

Environment & Infrastructure

• Was anything deployed to production or staging?
• Did infrastructure config change? (docker-compose, server config, etc.)
• Were system versions updated? (runtimes, frameworks, databases)

Tools & Integrations

• Were tools, APIs, or integrations added, renamed, or removed?
• Did authentication or token handling change?

Configuration & Secrets

• Were config files modified?
• Were new env vars or API keys added? (Document key name and purpose, never the value)

Skills & Workflows

• Were agent skills or workflows added, updated, or found broken?

Resolved Issues

• Move any newly-resolved issues from "Pending" to "Resolved Issues" with brief root cause + fix summary.
• Remove resolved items from the pending table.

Pending Items

• Did your work uncover new problems, necessary refactors, or next steps?
• Add these as actionable items to "Pending Items".

Key Files & Resources

• Were any important new files, scripts, or directories created?

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Phase 3: Generate Session Log

Create a detailed timestamped session log at .agent/handoffs/handoff-YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM.md. Use current local date/time for the filename. Create .agent/handoffs/ if it doesn't exist.

The session log MUST contain ALL of the following sections:

# Handoff: <Brief Title>
**Date:** <YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM TZ>
**Conversation ID:** <conversation-id if available>

## Objective
What the user is trying to accomplish (the big picture goal).

## Plan
The full technical plan that was agreed upon. Include architecture decisions,
file paths, and any design choices made.

## Progress
### Completed
- List every completed item with specifics (PR numbers, commits, file changes)

### In Progress
- Items that were started but not finished

### Not Started
- Items from the plan that haven't been touched yet

## Key Learnings & Gotchas
Critical discoveries that will save the next agent time. Include:
- Bugs encountered and their root causes
- Non-obvious configuration details
- Workarounds applied
- Things that look like they should work but don't

## Current State
### Repository Status
- Branch status, uncommitted changes, remote sync state

### Production Status
- What's deployed, what's pending, container/service health

### Open PRs & Issues
- Links and status of any open PRs or issues

## Next Steps
Ordered list of exactly what the next agent should do first, second, third.
Be specific — include exact commands, file paths, and expected outcomes.

## Files & Resources
Key file paths, URLs, credentials locations, and documentation references
the next agent will need.

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Phase 4: Execute and Finalize

0. Auto-memory check — before writing any files to disk, ask: "Did this session surface anything worth saving to persistent memory?" Types worth capturing: a preference the user confirmed (feedback), a fact about the user's role or context (user), a project constraint or decision (project), a tool or repo pointer (reference). If yes, write the entry to ~/.claude/projects/.../memory/ using the established frontmatter format and update MEMORY.md. One entry per insight; skip if there's genuinely nothing new.

1. Update HANDOFF.md with all synthesized changes from Phase 2.

2. Update the Last Updated date at the top of HANDOFF.md.

3. Add a link to the new session log under "Recent Session Logs" in HANDOFF.md. Keep only the last 5 entries — remove the oldest if needed.

4. Do a final read-through to ensure HANDOFF.md remains concise, accurate, and well-organized.

5. Notify the user with paths to both the updated HANDOFF.md and the new session log for review.

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Phase 5: HANDOFF.md Template

If HANDOFF.md does not yet exist, create it with the following structure. Remove sections that don't apply to the project:

# <Project Name> Project Handoff

**Last Updated:** <YYYY-MM-DD>

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## Architecture & Services
High-level overview of project structure, repos, services, and their relationships.

## Environment & Infrastructure
Production/staging status, server info, deployment config.

## Tools & Integrations
Registered tools, API integrations, known issues.

## Authentication & Secrets
Key names and purposes (never values). OAuth status, token locations.

## Skills & Workflows
Agent capabilities, skill paths, workflow references.

## Resolved Issues
| Issue | Resolution | Date |
|-------|-----------|------|

## Pending Items
| Item | Priority | Tracking |
|------|----------|----------|

## Key Files & Resources
| Resource | Path |
|----------|------|

## Recent Session Logs
1. [Title](relative/path/to/session-log.md) — YYYY-MM-DD

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Important Reminders

• Keep it tight. Each entry in HANDOFF.md should be 1–2 lines max. This is a reference doc, not a journal.
• Preserve structure. Work within the existing sections — do not add new top-level sections unless truly necessary.
• Don't duplicate. If something is already documented, update the existing entry rather than adding a new one.
• Session logs are the detail. Put verbose context, debugging notes, and architecture diagrams in the timestamped session log, not in HANDOFF.md.
• Start of session habit. At the start of every new session, read HANDOFF.md to load project context before beginning work.
• User-invoked only. Never run this workflow proactively after completing a task. The user will invoke /handoff when they decide the session's work is complete.