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handoff

Skill8 starsChanged 2 months agoMITView on GitHub

Compact current conversation context, decisions, evidence, and next actions into a portable markdown handoff for a fresh agent session. Use when ending a session, transferring work to another agent, switching workspaces, or preparing a resume point — even if the user just says \"save progress\". Do NOT use for committing code to git or creating branch PRs.

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

2 rules. 0 are common, 2 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.

  • 0

    Common

    Most of the 171 edited versions we read keep these.

  • 2

    Distinctive

    This author's own choices. Worth a look.

  • 0

    Very specific

    Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

  • Common
  • Distinctive
  • Very specific
  1. Distinctive:

    Strict Secret Redaction: Ensure zero credentials, tokens, API keys, or private auth headers are leaked into the handoff file.

    line 17
  2. Distinctive:

    Key Point: Check that all decisions link to their primary ADRs or specs.

    line 42

“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 171 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.
Files
SKILL.md

Handoff

Compact complex conversational history, locked architectural decisions, unblocked next actions, and verification evidence into a self-contained markdown handoff document for a fresh agent session.

Core Invariants

  1. External Temp Storage: Save handoff documents to the OS temporary directory (/tmp/handoff-<timestamp>.md) or designated scratch folder—never pollute the project root repository files.
  2. Context Pointer Economy: Point directly to repository artifacts, issue URLs, commit SHAs, and test suites rather than duplicating walls of text.
  3. Suggested Skills Routing: Explicitly declare the ## Suggested Skills block indicating which specialized skills the resuming agent should invoke first.
  4. Strict Secret Redaction: Ensure zero credentials, tokens, API keys, or private auth headers are leaked into the handoff file.
  5. Exact Next Command: Provide the exact command line or next prompt required to continue execution without ambiguity.

Architecture & Map of Content (MOC)

[ Active Multi-Turn Session ] ──► [ Extract Invariants, Decisions & Blockers ] ──► [ Write `/tmp/handoff-*.md` ] ──► [ Output Resume Command ]
SectionPurposeExample Content
Goal & ScopeWhat this initiative accomplishesSpec boundary, user requirements
Decisions & InvariantsHard architectural contracts settledDomain model choices, ADR pointers
Current State & DiffExact working tree statusGit status, modified files, passing tests
Suggested SkillsTools the next session needs[skills/implement-spec/SKILL.md](file:///...)
Exact Next ActionAtomic next stepCommand or task frontier claim

Step-by-Step Procedure (TWI)

Step 1: Synthesize Session Delta & Decisions

  • Action: Extract the critical path decisions settled, active files modified, and outstanding questions.
  • Key Point: Check that all decisions link to their primary ADRs or specs.
  • Why: Resuming agents need the "why" behind choices without re-litigating settled discussions.

Step 2: Format Handoff Document & Redact Secrets

  • Action: Structure the markdown document with Goal, Completed Work, Active Blockers, Suggested Skills, and Next Actions.
  • Key Point: Scan the text to ensure no private tokens or environment secrets are included.
  • Inline Checklist:
    • Saved in /tmp/ (e.g. /tmp/handoff-2026-08-30.md)
    • Suggested skills explicitly listed
    • Zero secrets present

Step 3: Emit Resume Instructions

  • Action: Output a clean completion summary to the user with the exact path to the handoff file and how the next agent can ingest it.
  • Why: Allows instant session resumption without context loss.

Anti-Rationalization Guardrails

Tempting RationalizationBinding RuleEngineering Rationale
"Write the handoff directly into the project repository root."Save handoffs to /tmp/ or temporary OS directory.Ephemeral session dumps pollute git history and clutter repo source trees.
"Paste full file contents into the handoff document."Use concise context pointers and file paths.Pasting entire files consumes context budget on the resuming agent session.
"Omit suggested skills and let the next agent guess."Mandatory 'Suggested Skills' section.Direct skill guidance prevents the resuming agent from drifting into generic workflows.

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