Handoff
When invoked:
- Inventory session state. Collect: the task and its goal, what is done, what is in progress, decisions made this session, open questions, next steps, files touched.
- Map the project's doc structure. Read project CLAUDE.md and list the doc folders it points at (plus obvious homes:
docs/, .planning/, System Development/, README). Build a picture of which existing file owns which concern — planning, specs, architecture, verification, decisions, memory.
- File each item with its owner. Route every inventory item by concern to the file that owns it: learnings about how the system works → specs/architecture doc; next steps → planning doc; test or verification results → verification doc; user preferences and durable facts → CLAUDE.md or memory per its rules. Update as many files as have matching owners. Only items with no owning doc remain for step 4.
- Write the handoff file. Write what remains to
HANDOFF.md in the project root: create it if missing, overwrite it if present — it is a snapshot of the latest handoff, never a log. Write it in the present tense, as the position the work is in now, not as a report of what this session did. Use the template below. When every item found an owner in step 3, still write HANDOFF.md with the Task, State, and Pointers sections so the new session has one entry point.
- Leave git alone. Never commit, stage, or discard changes. If the working tree is dirty, list the uncommitted files in the handoff file and what each one holds.
- Emit the prompt. The final message of the turn is ONLY a fenced code block containing the new-session prompt — no text before it, no text after it, no commentary, no caveats. Every open question and to-do already lives in the handoff file, so the prompt never carries warnings or checklists.
HANDOFF.md template
# Session Handoff — <YYYY-MM-DD>
## Task
<goal, 1-2 sentences>
## State
<where things stand now, present tense: what is working, what is half-built,
what is decided. Not what happened this session. Under 20 lines.>
## Next steps
1. <ordered, concrete>
## Open questions
- <question, and who/what can answer it>
## Uncommitted changes
<dirty files and what each holds; or "clean">
## Pointers
- <file or doc>: <why the new session needs it>
New-session prompt template
Continue: <task in one clause>. Read HANDOFF.md<, plus other updated docs if central to the next step,> for current state and open questions, then start with: <first next step>.
Keep the prompt under 5 lines. It points at the handoff file rather than restating it.
1---2name: handoff3description: End the current session cleanly - file durable learnings into their owning docs, snapshot session state to a handoff file, and output a verbatim copy-paste prompt for a fresh session. Use when the user says /handoff, "prepare for a new session", or wants to wrap up and continue in a new session.4---56# Handoff78When invoked:9101. **Inventory session state.** Collect: the task and its goal, what is done, what is in progress, decisions made this session, open questions, next steps, files touched.112. **Map the project's doc structure.** Read project CLAUDE.md and list the doc folders it points at (plus obvious homes: `docs/`, `.planning/`, `System Development/`, README). Build a picture of which existing file owns which concern — planning, specs, architecture, verification, decisions, memory.123. **File each item with its owner.** Route every inventory item by concern to the file that owns it: learnings about how the system works → specs/architecture doc; next steps → planning doc; test or verification results → verification doc; user preferences and durable facts → CLAUDE.md or memory per its rules. Update as many files as have matching owners. Only items with no owning doc remain for step 4.134. **Write the handoff file.** Write what remains to `HANDOFF.md` in the project root: create it if missing, overwrite it if present — it is a snapshot of the latest handoff, never a log. Write it in the present tense, as the position the work is in now, not as a report of what this session did. Use the template below. When every item found an owner in step 3, still write `HANDOFF.md` with the Task, State, and Pointers sections so the new session has one entry point.145. **Leave git alone.** Never commit, stage, or discard changes. If the working tree is dirty, list the uncommitted files in the handoff file and what each one holds.156. **Emit the prompt.** The final message of the turn is ONLY a fenced code block containing the new-session prompt — no text before it, no text after it, no commentary, no caveats. Every open question and to-do already lives in the handoff file, so the prompt never carries warnings or checklists.1617## HANDOFF.md template1819```markdown20# Session Handoff — <YYYY-MM-DD>2122## Task23<goal, 1-2 sentences>2425## State26<where things stand now, present tense: what is working, what is half-built,27what is decided. Not what happened this session. Under 20 lines.>2829## Next steps301. <ordered, concrete>3132## Open questions33- <question, and who/what can answer it>3435## Uncommitted changes36<dirty files and what each holds; or "clean">3738## Pointers39- <file or doc>: <why the new session needs it>40```4142## New-session prompt template4344```text45Continue: <task in one clause>. Read HANDOFF.md<, plus other updated docs if central to the next step,> for current state and open questions, then start with: <first next step>.46```4748Keep the prompt under 5 lines. It points at the handoff file rather than restating it.
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