Context handoff

Context Handoff

Use this skill to generate a structured hand-off note before a session ends or context switches to a different agent or collaborator.

It captures what happened, what is still open, and produces a copy-paste resume prompt so the next session starts without cold-start friction.

When to Use

• Before closing a long coding session
• Before switching from one agent to another (Claude → Codex, Codex → Devin, etc.)
• Before handing a branch to a teammate
• After a context window warning — capture state before compression loses it
• At a natural checkpoint between phases (research done, implementation next)

Context Discovery

Before generating the hand-off, collect available session state:

• Check the current working directory, open files, and recent edits
• Check git status and recent commit messages (git log --oneline -10, git diff HEAD)
• Check todo lists, task trackers, or in-progress notes if available
• Check agent memories, loaded skills, and any CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, or GEMINI.md in scope
• Note any failing tests, open errors, or unresolved decisions from the session

Use what is safely readable. Do not scan large build or dependency folders.

Hand-Off Generation Workflow

1. Summarize what was completed this session in 3–7 bullet points.
2. List what is still pending — incomplete tasks, blocked items, follow-ups.
3. Note key decisions made and the reasoning behind them (especially non-obvious ones).
4. List files that were created or significantly modified.
5. Flag any open risks, known issues, or things the next agent should be careful about.
6. Write a ready-to-paste resume prompt the next agent can use to pick up exactly where this session left off.

Output Format

Return a short lead-in, then one fenced markdown block containing the hand-off note, followed by a second fenced text block containing the resume prompt.

Hand-off note structure

## Session Hand-off — [Project Name] — [Date]

### Completed
- <what was done, specific and concrete>

### Pending
- <tasks still open, in priority order>

### Key Decisions
- <decision>: <brief reason>

### Files Changed
- `path/to/file` — <what changed>

### Watch Out For
- <risks, known issues, or gotchas the next agent should know>

Resume prompt structure

Role: <same role as the current session, or the appropriate next role>

Context: Resuming work on [project]. Last session ended with:
- <1–3 sentence summary of state>

Pending tasks (in order):
1. <next concrete task>
2. <task after that>

Key context:
- <critical decision or constraint the new session must know>
- <file or system state the new agent should check first>

Start by confirming the current state of [most important file or system], then proceed with task 1.

Quality Bar

The hand-off note must be:

• Concrete enough that someone who was not in this session can continue without asking questions.
• Short enough to paste into a new session's first message without overwhelming context.
• Faithful to what actually happened — do not invent completed work.
• Actionable — the next task should be clear from the resume prompt alone.

Handling Incomplete Information

If session history is not fully available (context was compressed, agent memory was not loaded), produce the best hand-off from what is visible and add a note:

Note: Session history was partially available. Verify current file state before resuming.

Do not fabricate completed tasks or invented file paths.