/wrap-up
What
The session continuity ritual. Sessions are ephemeral; knowledge is permanent.
Wrap-up bridges sessions in both directions:
- Session END — capture exactly three things: what was DONE, what is
PENDING, and what was LEARNED. Write them to
.claude/handoff.md and flow
durable learnings into MEMORY.md.
- Session START — load the handoff, memory, and instincts, then present a
resume summary so no session starts blind.
When
- End of a working session — "done for today", "that's all", "signing off"
- Before switching projects or after a major milestone
- Implicit endings — "thanks" after completed tasks, "good enough for now":
offer the handoff, don't just say goodbye
- Start of a session — "start session", "load handoff", "what were we working on"
- For a mid-session save without ending, use
/checkpoint instead
How
Session End
- Review the session — From git status/diff and the conversation: files
touched, tasks completed vs unfinished, decisions made and why, user
corrections observed.
- Check uncommitted changes — If any exist, offer to commit before wrapping.
- Write the handoff —
.claude/handoff.md, using the format below.
Single file, always overwritten — only the current state matters. If the
existing handoff has pending tasks from someone else, ask before
overwriting: merge, overwrite, or skip.
- Extract learnings — Corrections and discoveries worth keeping go to
MEMORY.md (via instinct-system); emerging patterns update
.claude/instincts.md (via instinct-system). The handoff's Learned
section is the trigger, not the destination — handoffs are ephemeral.
- Confirm — Summarize the handoff and learnings captured for the user.
Handoff File Format (.claude/handoff.md)
Write it for a stranger with zero context — file paths, rationale, specific
next steps. "Continue the refactor" is useless; "Refactor
src/Orders/CreateOrder.cs to the Result pattern — see Catalog for the
established pattern" is actionable.
# Session Handoff
> Generated: 2026-06-12 | Branch: feature/order-validation
## Completed
- [x] Added FluentValidation to CreateOrder (src/Orders/Features/CreateOrder.cs:15-35)
- [x] Fixed N+1 in GetOrderDetails (src/Orders/Features/GetOrderDetails.cs:28)
## Pending
- [ ] Add validation to UpdateOrder (src/Orders/Features/UpdateOrder.cs)
- Reference: CreateOrder validator for the established pattern
- [ ] Full test run — 2 pre-existing Catalog failures, not from today
## Learned
- FluentValidation validators must be registered in the module's DI setup
- Test fixture seeds 1 item per order, which hides N+1 queries
## Context
- Branch: feature/order-validation | Last commit: "Add CreateOrder validation"
- Uncommitted changes: no | Solution: src/MyApp.slnx
When multiple developers share the project, add a ## Decisions Made table
(Decision | Choice | Rationale) and ## Open Questions.
Learning Extraction Checklist
- Did the user correct anything? → MEMORY.md via
instinct-system
- Did we discover something non-obvious? → Learned section
- Did we decide something with rationale? → document the "why"
- Did a tool/approach fail? → note it so the next session doesn't retry it
Good learning: "EF compiled queries don't work with Include()". Bad learning:
"Worked on Orders module" (vague) or "Used TimeProvider" (already a rule).
Session Start
- Load context — Read
.claude/handoff.md (pending work), MEMORY.md
(permanent rules), .claude/instincts.md (patterns at 0.7+ confidence).
Missing files are fine: note it and start clean — never block on them.
- Detect the solution — Find
.slnx/.sln (current dir, then parents,
then children) so Roslyn MCP tools work from the first prompt.
- Present a resume summary — Last session's work, pending tasks, active
rules/instincts count, detected solution. Then ask what to work on —
never auto-start pending work.
Example
User: /wrap-up
Claude: Wrapping up session...
## Session Summary
- Implemented OrderService with validation pipeline
- Fixed N+1 query in GetOrdersByCustomer
## Pending
- [ ] Add retry logic to payment gateway calls (OrderService.cs:42)
## Learnings Captured
- User prefers explicit mapping over AutoMapper → MEMORY.md
Written to .claude/handoff.md. See you next session.
Related
/checkpoint — Mid-session save (commit + brief note) without ending the sessioninstinct-system — Routes session learnings: patterns become instincts, user corrections become permanent MEMORY.md rules
1---2name: wrap-up3description: Owns the session handoff lifecycle: the end-of-session ritual that captures completed work, pending tasks, and learnings into .claude/handoff.md, and the session-start protocol that loads it back. Triggers on: /wrap-up, "wrap up", "done for today", "that's all", "end session", "signing off", "handoff" — and at session start: "start session", "session start", "load handoff", "pick up where we left off", "what were we working on".4---5
6# /wrap-up
7
8## What
9
10The session continuity ritual. Sessions are ephemeral; knowledge is permanent.
11Wrap-up bridges sessions in both directions:
12
13- **Session END** — capture exactly three things: what was DONE, what is
14 PENDING, and what was LEARNED. Write them to `.claude/handoff.md` and flow
15 durable learnings into `MEMORY.md`.
16- **Session START** — load the handoff, memory, and instincts, then present a
17 resume summary so no session starts blind.
18
19## When
20
21- End of a working session — "done for today", "that's all", "signing off"
22- Before switching projects or after a major milestone
23- Implicit endings — "thanks" after completed tasks, "good enough for now":
24 offer the handoff, don't just say goodbye
25- Start of a session — "start session", "load handoff", "what were we working on"
26- For a mid-session save without ending, use `/checkpoint` instead
27
28## How
29
30### Session End
31
321. **Review the session** — From git status/diff and the conversation: files
33 touched, tasks completed vs unfinished, decisions made and why, user
34 corrections observed.
352. **Check uncommitted changes** — If any exist, offer to commit before wrapping.
363. **Write the handoff** — `.claude/handoff.md`, using the format below.
37 Single file, always overwritten — only the current state matters. If the
38 existing handoff has pending tasks from someone else, ask before
39 overwriting: merge, overwrite, or skip.
404. **Extract learnings** — Corrections and discoveries worth keeping go to
41 `MEMORY.md` (via `instinct-system`); emerging patterns update
42 `.claude/instincts.md` (via `instinct-system`). The handoff's Learned
43 section is the trigger, not the destination — handoffs are ephemeral.
445. **Confirm** — Summarize the handoff and learnings captured for the user.
45
46### Handoff File Format (`.claude/handoff.md`)
47
48Write it for a stranger with zero context — file paths, rationale, specific
49next steps. "Continue the refactor" is useless; "Refactor
50`src/Orders/CreateOrder.cs` to the Result pattern — see Catalog for the
51established pattern" is actionable.
52
53```markdown
54# Session Handoff
55
56> Generated: 2026-06-12 | Branch: feature/order-validation
57
58## Completed
59- [x] Added FluentValidation to CreateOrder (src/Orders/Features/CreateOrder.cs:15-35)
60- [x] Fixed N+1 in GetOrderDetails (src/Orders/Features/GetOrderDetails.cs:28)
61
62## Pending
63- [ ] Add validation to UpdateOrder (src/Orders/Features/UpdateOrder.cs)
64 - Reference: CreateOrder validator for the established pattern
65- [ ] Full test run — 2 pre-existing Catalog failures, not from today
66
67## Learned
68- FluentValidation validators must be registered in the module's DI setup
69- Test fixture seeds 1 item per order, which hides N+1 queries
70
71## Context
72- Branch: feature/order-validation | Last commit: "Add CreateOrder validation"
73- Uncommitted changes: no | Solution: src/MyApp.slnx
74```
75
76When multiple developers share the project, add a `## Decisions Made` table
77(Decision | Choice | Rationale) and `## Open Questions`.
78
79### Learning Extraction Checklist
80
811. Did the user correct anything? → MEMORY.md via `instinct-system`
822. Did we discover something non-obvious? → Learned section
833. Did we decide something with rationale? → document the "why"
844. Did a tool/approach fail? → note it so the next session doesn't retry it
85
86Good learning: "EF compiled queries don't work with Include()". Bad learning:
87"Worked on Orders module" (vague) or "Used TimeProvider" (already a rule).
88
89### Session Start
90
911. **Load context** — Read `.claude/handoff.md` (pending work), `MEMORY.md`
92 (permanent rules), `.claude/instincts.md` (patterns at 0.7+ confidence).
93 Missing files are fine: note it and start clean — never block on them.
942. **Detect the solution** — Find `.slnx`/`.sln` (current dir, then parents,
95 then children) so Roslyn MCP tools work from the first prompt.
963. **Present a resume summary** — Last session's work, pending tasks, active
97 rules/instincts count, detected solution. Then ask what to work on —
98 never auto-start pending work.
99
100## Example
101
102```
103User: /wrap-up
104
105Claude: Wrapping up session...
106
107## Session Summary
108- Implemented OrderService with validation pipeline
109- Fixed N+1 query in GetOrdersByCustomer
110
111## Pending
112- [ ] Add retry logic to payment gateway calls (OrderService.cs:42)
113
114## Learnings Captured
115- User prefers explicit mapping over AutoMapper → MEMORY.md
116
117Written to .claude/handoff.md. See you next session.
118```
119
120## Related
121
122- `/checkpoint` — Mid-session save (commit + brief note) without ending the session
123- `instinct-system` — Routes session learnings: patterns become instincts, user corrections become permanent MEMORY.md rules
codewithmukesh