How do I install the Handoff skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add akillness/handoff in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Handoff safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Handoff?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Handoff free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Handoff?

akillness (@akillness) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Handoff by akillness — Agent Skill

Name: Handoff
Author: akillness

Handoff

Compact the current conversation into a handoff document for another agent to pick up. Use when the user says handoff, is running out of context, or wants a fresh agent to pick the work up. Triggers on: handoff, hand this off, compact this conversation.

akillness 8eef5e0 2.4 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026 42 repo stars

File contents

Handoff Document

This skill is imported from mattpocock/skills (MIT) and is user-invoked upstream.

When to use this skill

Compact the current conversation into a handoff document for another agent to pick up.
Use when the user says handoff, is running out of context, or wants a fresh agent to pick the work up.
Triggers on: handoff, hand this off, compact this conversation.

Instructions

Write a handoff document summarising the current conversation so a fresh agent can continue the work. Save to the temporary directory of the user's OS - not the current workspace.

Include a "suggested skills" section in the document, naming which skills the next agent should call the Skill tool for.

Do not duplicate content already captured in other artifacts (specs, plans, ADRs, issues, commits, diffs). Reference them by path or URL instead.

Redact any sensitive information, such as API keys, passwords, or personally identifiable information.

If the user passed arguments, treat them as a description of what the next session will focus on and tailor the doc accordingly.

Examples

Apply this skill to one narrow scope first, confirm the output matches the shape described above, then widen to the full task.
When a step needs a fact from the repository or the environment, look it up instead of asking the user for it.

Best practices

Keep the upstream procedure intact; record deviations explicitly instead of silently improvising.
Stop and hand control back to the user at every decision point this skill marks as theirs.
Prefer small reversible changes, and state assumptions rather than burying them.

References

Upstream skill: mattpocock/skills skills/productivity/handoff/SKILL.md (commit 3cca18b, MIT)
Project standards: .agent-skills/skill-standardization/SKILL.md
Validator script: .agent-skills/skill-standardization/scripts/validate_skill.sh

---name: handoffdescription: Compact the current conversation into a handoff document for another agent to pick up. Use when the user says handoff, is running out of context, or wants a fresh agent to pick the work up. Triggers on: handoff, hand this off, compact this conversation.---# Handoff DocumentCompact the current conversation into a handoff document for another agent to pick up. Use when the user says handoff, is running out of context, or wants a fresh agent to pick the work up. Triggers on: handoff, hand this off, compact this conversation.This skill is imported from `mattpocock/skills` (MIT) and is **user-invoked** upstream.## When to use this skill- Compact the current conversation into a handoff document for another agent to pick up.- Use when the user says handoff, is running out of context, or wants a fresh agent to pick the work up.- Triggers on: handoff, hand this off, compact this conversation.## InstructionsWrite a handoff document summarising the current conversation so a fresh agent can continue the work. Save to the temporary directory of the user's OS - not the current workspace.Include a "suggested skills" section in the document, naming which skills the next agent should call the Skill tool for.Do not duplicate content already captured in other artifacts (specs, plans, ADRs, issues, commits, diffs). Reference them by path or URL instead.Redact any sensitive information, such as API keys, passwords, or personally identifiable information.If the user passed arguments, treat them as a description of what the next session will focus on and tailor the doc accordingly.## Examples- Apply this skill to one narrow scope first, confirm the output matches the shape described above, then widen to the full task.- When a step needs a fact from the repository or the environment, look it up instead of asking the user for it.## Best practices- Keep the upstream procedure intact; record deviations explicitly instead of silently improvising.- Stop and hand control back to the user at every decision point this skill marks as theirs.- Prefer small reversible changes, and state assumptions rather than burying them.## References- Upstream skill: `mattpocock/skills` `skills/productivity/handoff/SKILL.md` (commit `3cca18b`, MIT)- Project standards: `.agent-skills/skill-standardization/SKILL.md`- Validator script: `.agent-skills/skill-standardization/scripts/validate_skill.sh`

Frequently asked questions