Agent handoff

Skill tanveerriaz/Skillz/skills/agent-handoff

Use when ending an AI-agent work session, switching tools (e.g. Cursor to Claude Code), or handing work to a teammate. Produces a self-contained handoff note so the next agent or person can resume without re-reading the whole codebase — covering goal, state, decisions, open threads, and exact next steps.From its SKILL.md

Install

npx -y skills add tanveerriaz/Skillz --skill agent-handoff

Assembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.

One thing to look at

1 stars1 stars. Stars are a popularity signal and not a quality one, but at this level it is likely that nobody has read this closely except its author, and you would be relying on your own review.

SKILL.md

3.3 KB, as published. Nobody here has run it

Purpose

Make AI-agent work resumable. Context is lost between sessions, tools, and people, which causes rework and contradictory changes. This skill captures just enough state — goal, what changed, why, what's left — so the next agent or human can pick up cleanly.

When to Use

Use at the end of a work session, before switching between AI tools, when pausing a long task, or when transferring ownership to someone else. Also use when a task is blocked and needs a different agent or person to continue.

Inputs

The original objective and current status.
Files changed this session and the reasoning behind key decisions.
Open questions, blockers, and known risks.
The project's branch/commit state.

Outputs

A single handoff note (markdown) the next worker can act on without prior context, structured as: Goal, Current State, Key Decisions, Files Touched, Open Threads, Next Steps, How to Verify.

Procedure

State the goal in one or two sentences — what "done" looks like.
Describe current state: what works, what's partial, what's untested. Include the branch and last commit.
Record key decisions and the reasoning, so the next worker doesn't relitigate or reverse them blindly.
List files touched with a one-line purpose each.
Capture open threads: unanswered questions, blockers, and risks.
Write exact next steps as an ordered, actionable list — not vague intentions.
Add a verification path: the command to run or the flow to click to confirm things still work.

Quality Checklist

Goal stated in plain language
Current state distinguishes done / partial / untested
Branch and last commit noted
Key decisions captured with reasoning
Next steps are concrete and ordered
A verification command or flow is included
No secrets or private data in the note

Edge Cases

Mid-refactor handoff: explicitly flag files in an inconsistent state so the next worker doesn't ship them.
Blocked on an external dependency: name the dependency and what's needed to unblock.
Handoff to a different tool: note any tool-specific context (e.g. memory files, rules) the new tool should load.
Very short session: a compact 5-line note is fine — match effort to the work done.

Safety Rules

Never include secrets, tokens, or private data in a handoff note.
Never claim work is verified if it wasn't — say "untested".
Never bury blockers; surface them at the top.

Examples

Good: "Goal: add CSV export to reports. State: export works for the summary table on dev (commit a1b2c3); detail-table export is stubbed and untested. Decision: reused services/export.py rather than a new module. Next: 1) implement export_detail(), 2) wire the button in reports.html, 3) run pytest tests/test_export.py. Verify: open /reports, click Export, expect a 2-sheet file."

Bad: "Did some work on exports, mostly done, continue where I left off."