Handoff

Address the current session context to a teammate or future you. /handoff is pure capture; pending-work triage belongs to /activity.

Topic: $ARGUMENTS

Auto-saves. No need to run /save after.

When to invoke

User says: "leave a handoff", "pass this to [name]", "hand off to [name]" Not this: personal session closure → /wrap · pending handoffs → /activity · push and keep working → /save

Scope: /handoff is the team session-handoff — internal recap addressed to a teammate or future-you, indexed in Neo4j, written to memory/handoffs/, and auto-PR'd to the configured base branch. It may prepare an external notification, but that notification is a separate human-approved action. It is NOT a portable capsule.

Portable, executable capsules — the kind you share with someone outside the team via an egregore.xyz/emissary/e/<id> link — live in /emissary. If the user pastes such a link, asks to "make/send/run an emissary", or wants capsule lifecycle (receive, reply, run), route to /emissary and stop. Do not handle capsules here.

Disambiguation

• "Show me my handoffs" → team handoffs (/activity). For capsules sent externally, that's /emissary territory.
• "I'm done", "wrap this up" → /wrap.
• "hand off to alice", /handoff <topic> → AUTHOR flow below.
• "Let's make an emissary", "send an emissary to alice", pasted egregore.xyz/emissary/e/<id> → /emissary.

Mode detection

MODE=$(jq -r '.mode // "connected"' egregore.json 2>/dev/null)

Local mode (mode === "local"): graph queries and DM-style notifications are unavailable. A recipient-less group notification can be proposed when telegram_chat_id is set, but an addressed DM never falls back to the group. Nothing is uploaded and there is no shareable URL — the handoff is written to memory/handoffs/ and stays there. Without an org API key the only publishing route is a public, unauthenticated relay (anyone with the link can read it, 7-day TTL), and that is off unless the instance ran bin/settings.sh relay on. Never tell the user their handoff was published when publishStatus is relay-off.

Connected mode: full feature set — Neo4j indexing, today's artifacts query, DM notifications, branded permanent artifact URLs, PR-number backfill.

Execution model

Mechanical work enters through bin/capture-run.sh --mode addressed in a single Bash call. The shared capture engine delegates rich publishing and notification planning to the addressed worker while preserving the same canonical capture fields used by /wrap and SessionEnd.

No per-step progress chatter. The Bash tool block IS the progress indicator. No [1/5] ✓ Conversation file lines.

No raw JSON. Parse the addressed compatibility result ($TMPDIR/handoff-run-result.json); only render the rich TUI card as text. Never echo raw JSON back to the user.

Suppress raw output. All bin/graph.sh and bin/notify.sh calls from this skill MUST redirect stdout to /dev/null or capture in a variable. Only show formatted progress lines or the final card.

Step 0: Identity + team directory

git config user.name

Derive author handle: lowercase first word of git user.name (e.g. "Alice Smith" → "alice", "Oguzhan" → "oguzhan"). Do NOT pass a mixed-case handle — the script uses it verbatim in filenames and commit messages.

Team members — always from the filesystem, regardless of mode. memory/people/*.md is the source of truth for both the GitHub handle and the display name:

for f in memory/people/*.md; do
  [ -f "$f" ] || continue
  github=$(basename "$f" .md)
  display=$(head -1 "$f" | sed 's/^# //')
  echo "$github|$display"
done

• Filename (minus .md) = GitHub handle.
• First line (# Display Name) = the name the person chose, including anything they set via /me "call me oz". /me writes this line directly to the file and re-syncs the graph's Person.name to match — the file is canonical. In local mode the file is the only place it lives; in connected mode the graph mirrors it.

Match recipient case-insensitively against either. Display name wins on conflict (/handoff to oz should resolve even if the filename is oguzhan.md).

The graph has a couple more fields (fullName, telegramUsername) that /handoff doesn't use for recipient matching, so a graph round-trip here would just be ~1s of network for the same handle + display name we already have on disk. Skip it.

Step 1: Parse arguments (create flow)

Extract from $ARGUMENTS:

• Topic — the thing being handed off (may include "to " which you strip from the topic).
• Recipient — optional, derived from "to " or "for ". Leave empty only if no "to" clause at all.

"to self" / "to me" / "to myself" → recipient = author handle. These phrases mean "DM future-me the link", not "broadcast to the group". Set --recipient to the author handle (lowercase first word of git config user.name) so notify routes as a personal DM. Strip the self-phrase from the topic.

Examples:

• auth flow to alice → topic: auth flow, recipient: alice
• mcp debugging for cem to pick up → topic: mcp debugging, recipient: cem
• research pipeline writeup → topic: research pipeline writeup, recipient: (none)
• tui cleanup to self → topic: tui cleanup, recipient: {author handle} (DM to author)
• tui cleanup to myself → topic: tui cleanup, recipient: {author handle} (DM to author)

Recipient matching: case-insensitive against the team directory from Step 0. Match display name OR GitHub handle. Display name wins on conflict.

Empty arguments → summarize the session and synthesize a topic from conversation context. Do not inspect or triage incoming handoffs here.

Recipient not in the team directory → don't burn an AskUserQuestion. Proceed without --recipient and note it in the final card footer: ◐ {name} not in team directory — handoff saved without direct address.

Step 2: Classify the content, then confirm

Choose one mode before writing or rendering:

Supplied content — the user pasted substantial prose, supplied a document, or approved exact wording. The supplied Markdown is authoritative. Preserve its wording, order, headings, lists, code blocks, and links. Add only invisible capture frontmatter with content_mode: supplied. Do not create a house-kit JSON, infer attachments, add repo state, or add session artifacts unless the user asks. Preview it with:

node packages/egregore-artifacts/bin/cli.js handoff "$BODY_FILE" \
  --verify-fidelity

Generated content — the user supplied only a topic or fragmentary notes. Compose it into the house-kit as described below.

A handoff renders through the shared composer (the same one emissaries use), so it comes out looking like a flagship artifact — the way cem's Decision Surface does — not a wall of prose. The beauty comes from composing: you read the session and choose a component per section. A dumb markdown→render converter can't invent structure; you can. This is the whole difference between "themed" and "beautiful."

You produce two things, both in your head:

1. The house-kit render spec — a JSON (this is the beautiful artifact).

{
  "kind":"handoff", "kicker":"Handoff", "topic":"<topic>",
  "claim":"<one line — what this handoff is>",
  "sourceMap":{"Briefing":"briefing","Key Decisions":"decisions","Current State":"current-state","Open Threads":"open-threads","Next Steps":"next-steps","Entry Points":"entry-points"},
  "chips":[{"text":"From <author>"},{"text":"For <recipient>"},{"text":"<date>"},{"text":"<status>","tone":"brass"}],
  "highlights":[{"v":"<stat>","l":"<label>","tone":"teal"}],
  "agent":{"ask":"<what the receiving agent should do>","receiverInstructions":"<optional directive>","core":[{"k":"topic","v":"..."},{"k":"ask","v":"..."},{"k":"for","v":"..."}]},
  "repoState":[{"repo":"...","branch":"...","pr_number":0,"base":"develop"}],
  "sections":[ { "id":"briefing", "label":"<short>", "title":"<statement>", "component":"<pick>", "...": "..." } ],
  "tags":["<author>","<date>"]
}

Pick the component that fits each section's SHAPE — do NOT default to prose:

• claims — a stat/outcome band → items:[{v,l,tone}]. Pull 2–3 key numbers/results into highlights (a top band) or a section.
• steps — a sequence / "here's what landed" → items:[{title,body}] (body is markdown); after:"<wrap-up line>" for a trailing summary.
• tagcards — decisions / disclosures / findings → items:[{tag,tone,title,body,verdict}] (tone: teal/brass/rose).
• panels — 2–3 options/comparison → items:[{head,tone,body,points:[...]}].
• compare — before/after → items:[{k:"// before",title,body,tone}].
• ledger — Q&A → items:[{q,a}].
• flow — a staged loop → items:[{tag,tone,title,body,conn}].
• pullquote — one sharp line → {body}. note — a caveat/aside → {body}.
• prose — genuine narrative only → {body} (markdown). Use it sparingly.

2. The markdown record — the memory/grep copy (frontmatter + the material as plain markdown). This becomes the memory file + graph index and stays greppable; the JSON is what renders.

The JSON is a presentation map over the Markdown, not a second independently authored summary. Every non-empty Markdown ## section MUST have a stable destination id in sourceMap, and that destination MUST retain every meaningful source line. Rich components may rearrange the content but may not drop prose, subheadings, expected output, or fenced commands.

If $ARGUMENTS narrows scope, constrain to that scope.

Then RENDER AND CONFIRM before sending (the gate). For generated content, write both temp files and open the actual HTML with semantic coverage enabled:

node packages/egregore-artifacts/bin/cli.js composed "$COMPOSED_FILE" \
  --source "$BODY_FILE" --verify-fidelity

The browser artifact—not a text description of its components—is the approval surface. If validation fails, repair the map/content and render again. Apply requested edits and re-show the HTML. Skip only if the user said "just send it".

Step 3: Session Artifacts — automatic

Generated content may include session artifacts. Supplied content does not add them unless the user asks. handoff-run.sh keeps supplied text free of inferred session material by default.

The graph is the right tool here: indexed by date + author + tag, returns a structured list. A filesystem walk would have to read every file under memory/knowledge/ and filter by frontmatter — slow and ugly. This is exactly the navigation-layer role the graph is built for.

Local mode: skipped silently (no graph). artifacts in the JSON will be an empty array.

Step 4: Call the shared capture engine

For generated content, write the house-kit JSON to a temp file, then make one bash call — the markdown record on stdin, the JSON via --composed:

cat > "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/handoff-composed.json" <<'JSONEOF'
{ ...the Step 2 house-kit render spec... }
JSONEOF

bash bin/capture-run.sh \
  --mode addressed \
  --author <lowercase-handle> \
  --topic "<topic>" \
  --intent <action|feedback|fyi> \
  [--recipient <name>] \
  [--project <name>] \
  --content-mode generated \
  --composed "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/handoff-composed.json" \
  <<'HANDOFFEOF'
---
capture_schema: egregore-capture/v1
capture_mode: addressed
kind: addressed
from: <lowercase-handle>
addressed_to: <recipient, if any>
date: YYYY-MM-DD
topic: <topic>
intent: <action | feedback | fyi>
content_mode: generated
claim: <one line — what this handoff is>
ask: <what the receiving agent should do>
receiver_instructions: <optional — a directive to the receiving agent>
---

<THE MATERIAL — plain markdown, the memory/grep record. Its own `## sections`,
its own prose. This is the record; the JSON is what renders.>
HANDOFFEOF

For supplied content, omit --composed and pass --content-mode supplied. Pass --include-session-artifacts only when the user explicitly requested those additions.

--composed is for generated content only. It renders the house-kit JSON while the Markdown remains canonical. Supplied content renders directly from the Markdown through native blocks. Both paths rerun the fidelity gate before publication and fail closed when authored content is missing.

Fallback body (only when nothing was prepared) — replace the material with synthesized recipe sections:

## Briefing

<2–4 sentences>

## Current State

<working / in progress / blocked>

## Next Steps

1. <clear action with entry point>

--author: lowercase handle only (see Step 0) — must match from:.

--project: derive from conversation context. Omit the flag if unclear.

intent and --intent: classify the recipient contract, not the prose tone. Use action when the recipient should perform work, feedback when the handoff asks for judgment/review/reply, and fyi when awareness is sufficient. Pass the same value to capture-run.sh --intent. Never omit it: lifecycle reconciliation deliberately refuses to auto-close unclassified handoffs.

Frontmatter, not **Key**: lines. The constrained core (claim/ask/receiver_instructions) drives the agent face and MUST be frontmatter — inline **Key**: lines leak into the reader body. Omit receiver_instructions if there's no specific directive. Do NOT hand-write ## Repo State or ## Session Artifacts — handoff-run.sh appends both, and the renderer routes Repo State into the agent face.

The addressed worker behind capture-run.sh handles, in one process:

1. File write to memory/handoffs/YYYY-MM/DD-author-slug.md
2. Append ## Repo State section from bin/repo-state.sh if any repos are on non-base branches or have uncommitted changes
3. Prepend memory/handoffs/index.md
4. Index to Neo4j via bin/index-handoff.sh (connected mode only — Session node and BY/HANDED_TO/ABOUT edges); completion evidence is appended to the graph WAL and reconciled detached by the shared engine
5. Memory commit + pull-rebase-push to main (in parallel with 4)
6. Publish branded HTML artifact. Addressed handoffs may use the authenticated emissary API with recipient-private visibility; recipient-less team handoffs never become public emissaries and instead use bin/publish-artifact.sh. That publisher is connected mode only by default — with no org API key the upload would go to a public unauthenticated relay, which is opt-in (bin/settings.sh relay on). Skipped publishes are reported, never silent.
7. Create an exact notification proposal via bin/notify.sh without sending. Routing: --recipient set (including self) → direct message; no recipient → group. Local addressed handoffs report notification unavailable and never fall back to the group.
8. Emit one status line to stdout, write full result to $TMPDIR/handoff-run-result.json

Step 5: Render the rich card

Call the deterministic renderer directly:

bash bin/render-card.sh --result "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/handoff-run-result.json"

The renderer reads the briefing from the written handoff file's ## Briefing section via absFile in the result JSON. --briefing-file and stdin remain supported as explicit overrides.

Output the renderer stdout VERBATIM — no reformatting, no re-drawing, no preamble, no sign-off sentence. The renderer owns degraded warnings, the fenced 72-column card, repo/artifact sections, status bits, and the link line below the fence.

Step 5b: Separate notification consent

If notifyStatus == "approval_required", follow .claude/context/notification-consent.md. Read notifyPlan from the result and use AskUserQuestion to show its exact organization, recipient/group, every delivery/channel, and exact message. Offer Send / Edit / Cancel and stop for the answer. Creating the handoff did not authorize the notification.

If the user selects Send, approve and dispatch that plan once. If they select Edit, cancel the old plan, edit the message, create a new plan, and preview it again. If they select Cancel, cancel it. If notifyStatus == "unavailable" or skipped, do not ask and do not send.

What NOT to output

• No   or other HTML entities.
• No raw JSON — ever.
• No [N/5] progress lines — the Bash tool block is the progress indicator.
• No "Team sees this on /activity." footer boilerplate — status bits say everything.
• No preamble like "Handoff created successfully" — the box IS the acknowledgment.

Step 6: Auto-save egregore-side — DETACHED, NON-BLOCKING

Fire once, forget. Handoffs happen at natural exit points; people walk away. Don't make them wait on git — but don't let their session work sit uncommitted either.

Immediately after rendering the card, fire bin/handoff-save-egregore.sh detached. It reparents to init, so it survives session exit:

( bash bin/handoff-save-egregore.sh "$AUTHOR" "$TOPIC" >/dev/null 2>&1 & ) >/dev/null 2>&1

Then, in the markdown below the box, add one line so the user knows it's happening:

Saving core-repo changes in the background — non-coding changes will auto-merge to the configured base branch.

Omit that line if you already know there's nothing to save. Resolve the base with _get_base_branch, then check that git status --porcelain is empty AND git rev-list --count "origin/$BASE_BRANCH..HEAD" is 0. The helper does the same check itself — it's just cheaper to skip the line than to say "nothing to save".

The helper does:

1. Resolves the configured base from egregore.json, then early-exits only if the working tree is clean and no commits are ahead of origin/{base}.
2. If on the configured base (or another protected branch), creates dev/{author}/handoff-YYYY-MM-DD from origin/{base}.
3. Commits uncommitted work with message Handoff: {topic}.
4. Rebases onto origin/{base} (falls back to merge if rebase conflicts).
5. Pushes the working branch.
6. Creates (or reuses) a PR to the configured base.
7. Non-coding diff → merge — .md anywhere plus content under artifacts/, docs/, .threads/ (policy: bin/lib/noncode.sh). Tries gh pr merge --auto --merge, falls back to an immediate gh pr merge --merge (repos without branch protection reject --auto). This is the common case for handoffs.
8. Any code/config changes present → leave PR open for review. No auto-merge for code. The user sees the PR next session.

Unresolvable conflicts or auth failures leave the branch as-is locally. The user will discover and resolve next session — no data loss, just a delayed merge.

Do NOT run /save inline here. /save is correct but slow (preflight, cypher checks, graph ops, managed-repo loop). For a handoff, the user is walking away — speed wins over completeness.

Step 7: PR-number backfill — automatic

handoff-run.sh calls bin/repo-state.sh --no-pr to avoid the gh pr list round-trip per managed repo (~400–600ms each) on the hot path, then fires bin/handoff-pr-backfill.sh detached. The backfill rewrites — → #N for each row's open PR and re-commits the memory repo.

You don't do anything here. The orchestrator handles it. If the backfill fails (no gh, no open PR, network drop), the — stays — cosmetic only, branch names are the primary coordination mechanism.

Step 8: Reflection prompt — CONNECTED MODE ONLY

After the card and auto-save, check if today's sessions produced no non-tutorial artifacts:

ARTIFACT_COUNT=$(bash bin/graph.sh query "
  MATCH (a:Artifact)-[:CONTRIBUTED_BY]->(p:Person {name: \$me})
  WHERE a.created >= datetime({year: $(date +%Y), month: $(date +%-m), day: $(date +%-d)})
    AND NOT 'tutorial-generated' IN coalesce(a.topics, [])
  RETURN count(a) AS artifactCount" 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.values[0][0] // 0' 2>/dev/null)

If ARTIFACT_COUNT == 0, show one line (NOT an AskUserQuestion — a soft nudge):

This session had insights worth capturing. Quick /reflect?

If artifacts exist, skip silently.

Edge cases

Status-line bits

Missing bits are informative, not errors. graphed missing in local mode is normal. pushed missing under --no-push is normal. The handoff remains visible in /activity even when its optional external notification is cancelled or unavailable.