How do I install the Backhand skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add krazyuniks/backhand 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 Backhand safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: PASS. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Backhand?

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 Backhand free to use?

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

Who published Backhand?

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

Backhand by krazyuniks — Agent Skill

Name: Backhand
Author: krazyuniks

Backhand

Distil the current long conversation into a compact, high-fidelity handoff file a fresh session can re-import, then you clear. Use at a planned stopping point in a long session before context bloats or auto-compaction, when the reasoning is not yet written to durable files. Final design decisions belong in ADRs.

krazyuniks Updated Sep 22, 2026

File contents

Produce a session handoff with the backhand tool bundled in this skill.

Output

Write a three-zone markdown handoff:

Intent: the first substantive user prompt, copied verbatim from the transcript after skipping Claude command-wrapper turns.
Thread: typed middle items for decisions, pivots, rejected options, constraints, design points, and open work.
State: the stopping point from the end of the transcript, including compact tool-use and tool-result traces.

The front matter links to the full transcript so the next session can re-open the source if needed.

Steps

If the user did not pass a focus argument, ask what the next session is for.
Resolve the directory that contains this SKILL.md.
Run the bundled preflight and CLI: <skill-dir>/bin/backhand handoff --focus "<focus>" --backend herdr
Add --first-prompt-hint "<text from the first substantive user prompt>" if the current working directory has many Claude transcripts and the first prompt is known.
Add --profile, --harness-dispatch-path, --herdr-harness, --harness-effort, or --timeout only when the user asked for a specific model, harness, or dispatch command.
Print the exact output path the tool reports. Remind the user that clearing the old session is their action; the handoff is already written.

Do not paste the whole transcript into the tool; backhand reads it from the session file itself.

The current working path is Claude Code JSONL source plus the herdr backend. If another source or backend is requested and the CLI reports it is not implemented, state that plainly and stop.

---name: backhanddescription: Distil the current long conversation into a compact, high-fidelity handoff file a fresh session can re-import, then you clear. Use at a planned stopping point in a long session before context bloats or auto-compaction, when the reasoning is not yet written to durable files. Final design decisions belong in ADRs.---Produce a session handoff with the `backhand` tool bundled in this skill.## OutputWrite a three-zone markdown handoff:- Intent: the first substantive user prompt, copied verbatim from the transcript after skipping Claude command-wrapper turns.- Thread: typed middle items for decisions, pivots, rejected options, constraints, design points, and open work.- State: the stopping point from the end of the transcript, including compact tool-use and tool-result traces.The front matter links to the full transcript so the next session can re-open the source if needed.## Steps1. If the user did not pass a focus argument, ask what the next session is for.2. Resolve the directory that contains this `SKILL.md`.3. Run the bundled preflight and CLI: `<skill-dir>/bin/backhand handoff --focus "<focus>" --backend herdr`4. Add `--first-prompt-hint "<text from the first substantive user prompt>"` if the current working directory has many Claude transcripts and the first prompt is known.5. Add `--profile`, `--harness-dispatch-path`, `--herdr-harness`, `--harness-effort`, or `--timeout` only when the user asked for a specific model, harness, or dispatch command.6. Print the exact output path the tool reports. Remind the user that clearing the old session is their action; the handoff is already written.Do not paste the whole transcript into the tool; backhand reads it from the session file itself.The current working path is Claude Code JSONL source plus the herdr backend. If another source orbackend is requested and the CLI reports it is not implemented, state that plainly and stop.

Frequently asked questions